The Payback Game by Nathan Gottlieb

captain’s wife.”
    “Well, if he was,” Boff said, “that makes the captain a suspect.”
    Cassidy shook his head. “Not necessarily, Frank. Fitz’s wife plays bridge with the captain’s old lady and knows her pretty well. Apparently the captain and his wife fell out of love a few years ago. The only reason they stayed together was for the kids. But they made an arrangement. Each one could date whoever they wanted, just as long as they were discreet and didn’t bring the person home. So given that? I doubt the captain was jealous that Maloney was doing his wife.  Certainly not enough to hire a hitman.”
    “So why was he transferring him?”
    “I gather you don’t hang around with cops very much.”
    Boff smiled. “Only when I’m defending them in court.”
    Wendy returned with the drinks, set them down on the table, and left.
    “What you’ve got to understand about cops,” the old reporter began, “is its way more than just a job to them. It’s a whole culture they buy into. And I’m not just talking about that ‘Thin Blue Line’ crap. In cop culture, it’s a serious no-no if one of them is screwing another officer’s wife. So while I don’t think the captain was jealous, I’m sure he was embarrassed. That’s probably why he put in the transfer.”
    Hannah leaned forward. “Galvani didn’t mention that. Do you think he knew but wouldn’t tell us?”
    “That could be,” Boff replied. “Then, again, if it was a violation of some unwritten police code, Maloney might not have wanted his partner to know. Mike, is this Fitz guy sure about the marriage?”
    “If Fitz said it, you can take it to the bank.” Cassidy took a quick hit on his fresh bottle of ale. “He also told me that after Maloney and his wife got divorced, they managed to remain friends. So I was thinking the ex-wife might be able to give you some insight into what was troubling him.”
    “Her name’s Stephanie O’Connor,” Hannah said. “Nicky told me that.”
    “Frank, I’ll ask Fitz to get her address for me and any other info you might need to know about her.”
    “By the way,” the redhead said, “I asked Galvani to check with Internal Affairs to see if they had anything going on with Maloney at the time he was killed. He got back to me later and said IA told him no.”
    Boff held up one finger. “Again, that’s assuming we can trust Galvani,” he said. “I’m going to check him out more closely tomorrow with a friend who’s a top-notch private investigator.”
    “Count me in,” Hannah said.
    Cassidy leaned back and cracked his knuckles. “So at this point, Frank, what do we know for sure?”
    Hannah answered. “We know that Maloney was killed because he was involved in something risky. Most likely something criminal in nature. Two, Nicky was murdered because he was going to write about the cop’s faked heart attack. I think we should concentrate on those things.”
    After taking a sip on his mug and setting it back down, Boff leaned forward and said, “Mike, before we go all-in on this Maloney angle, I want you to consider the possibility that your friend Nicky’s murder might’ve had nothing to do with the dead cop.”
    At this, Hannah shook her head. “Despite your distrust for the obvious, Boff, I don’t see how you can discount the fact that Nicky was working on Maloney’s murder.”
    “I understand,” Boff said patiently. “How long did he indicate he’d been on that story?”
    “About two weeks.”
    “If it was only two weeks, I wonder how much he could’ve discovered in that short period of time. My guess is not much. Certainly not enough to make him an imminent threat to anybody.”
    “True to an extent, Frank,” Cassidy said. “However, with Nicky’s reputation for digging up dirt, if he was asking questions about the dead cop, it could’ve spooked somebody.”
    “A point well taken,” Boff said. “Still, I’d like you to stay open to the possibility that Nicky was killed