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He held up the paper he had been reading from. “You never said
the words Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
“No.”
“None of this sounds familiar at all?”
Kevin felt the anger rising but forced it back down. “Nothing. It’s
a lie. You know how people are. She probably wants to sue the
city so she can get a big payday.”
Bill’s jaw muscle was flexing and it took a long time before he
spoke.
“Had you been drinking before you talked to the woman?”
“I don’t know where this is coming from. No. I don’t do that. I
wouldn’t do that. You know my clear rate. I’m a good detective.”
Kevin held out his hands, almost blind from the throbbing pain in
his head. “C’mon, Bill. We’ve worked together for years.”
“That’s why I’m talking to you instead of firing you. Because in
the past few months, you haven’t been yourself. And I’ve been
hearing rumors.”
“What rumors?”
“That you’re drunk when you come into work.”
“It’s not true.”
“So if I gave you a Breathalyzer, you’d blow a zero, right?”
Kevin could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He knew how
to lie and he was good at it but he had to keep his voice steady.
“Last night, I was up late with a buddy and we were drinking.
There might still be some alcohol in my system, but I’m not drunk
and I didn’t drink before coming into work this morning. Or that
day, either. Or any day, for that matter.”