The Misfortune Cookie: An Esther Diamond Novel by Laura Resnick Page A

him.
    “I guess not,” he admitted.
    “Where’s my lawyer?” Stella asked, seething with impatience. “Isn’t he here yet?”
    “Yeah, he got here about twenty minutes ago. He’s meeting first with Ronnie and Jimmy and Tommy and . . . oh, all the rest of them,” Lopez replied. “He’ll see you after he’s done with them.”
    “How long will
that
take?” she demanded.
    “I’m guessing you could make a dent in
War and Peace
while you’re waiting.”
    “I ain’t got all night!”
    “Actually, you do,” Lopez pointed out.
    “Why, you rotten, lousy, stinking—”
    “Hey,
I’m
not the guy who sent only one lawyer here to represent all of you,” he said. “Take it up with Victor Gambello if you’re not happy.”
    “Hmph.”
    Turning away from Stella, Lopez nodded to the uniformed policewoman who stood nearby. She unlocked our cell as he said, “Come on, Esther. Let’s go.”
    “Huh?”
    As the cell door opened, Stella stepped protectively in front of me and eyed Lopez. “Where are you taking her?”
    “Relax, Stella. We’re letting her go.”
    “You are?” I said in surprise.
    “Yeah.” He gestured for me to exit the cell. “Come on.”
    I looked doubtfully at Stella, not wanting to leave her here. When she realized why I was hesitating, she shook her head and patted my arm. “Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ll be outta here pronto. I just gotta wait for my lawyer.”
    “And for a judge,” Lopez said.
    “Oh, shit,” she said in disgust. “I forgot. It’s New Year’s Day.”
    Stella sighed, rolled her eyes, and sat down on a bench, settling in for a long wait. I asked if she wanted me to bring anything here for her, now that I was evidently being set free; but she said her assistant was taking care of that. So I gave her a quick hug, wished the other inmates the best of luck with the legal system, and exited my cell.
    I felt a rush of relief as I followed Lopez down the hall and left the holding area. I was out of there! And apparently not going to appear before a judge, after all, let alone face being convicted of assaulting a police officer.
    Lopez didn’t stop walking until we reached the window where I could reclaim my possessions from the NYPD. He gave them my name and verified my release.
    A moment later, a man appeared at the end of the hall. “Has anybody seen—Oh, there he is. Lopez!”
    As my companion turned to look at him, I recognized the redheaded cop who’d participated in the bust at Bella Stella.
    He recognized me, too. His face split in a grin. “Miss Diamond! Delighted see you again.”
    I shrewdly sensed that the wiseguys weren’t the only people who’d found certain events at the restaurant vastly amusing.
    Lopez asked him, “What do you want?”
    “We need to finish the—”
    “Yeah, I know. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Lopez replied. “I just need to wrap this up.”
    “Do you need any . . . Oh,
right.
Never mind.” The cop grinned again. “I just love a happy ending.” He was chuckling as he turned and went back the way he had come.
    “God, will this shift never end?” Lopez muttered in despair.
    I searched my soul for some compassion but didn’t find any. Go figure.
    While we waited for someone to retrieve my stuff, I asked him, “What’s going to happen to Stella?”
    “In the long run, we’ll see,” he said. “Meanwhile, she’s right—she’ll be released on bail after she’s arraigned.”
    “What about the restaurant?”
    “It won’t be reopening for a while, Esther.” It was clear from his tone that he knew this was bad news for me. “Maybe not ever—not as Stella’s place, anyhow.”
    “Oh.” I wasn’t surprised, but my heart sank, even so.
    He was avoiding my eyes as he said, “You’ll have to find another job.”
    “Uh-huh.” After a moment I asked, “Am I all done here? I mean, what happened to my arrest for . . . ? You know.” I made an awkward gesture indicating the cheek I had