A Messenger From the Maniac
- Rojack rushes from the room and tells Ruta that Deborah killed herself. Once again, however, Rojack is overcome with lust and has sex with Ruta in the hallway.
- After they finish, Rojack tells her that Deborah detected "a sniff" (3.22) of Ruta on Rojack, causing her to kill herself. (Have fun living with that guilt, Ruta.) He makes her promise to not tell the police about their relationship—if you can even call it that.
- Rojack heads outside. He finds Deborah's body in the middle of the road; her fall caused a multi-car accident and the police are already there.
- A detective named Roberts approaches Rojack while he's displaying some Oscar-worthy fake crying chops.
- As they chat, Rojack's attention is caught by an old man and "a young couple" (3.54) whose car must've been hit. He finds himself especially drawn to one half of that young couple—the sultry, blonde girl, of course.
- The girl notices him staring and walks over. Her name is Cherry. They chat and flirt for a bit, but her boy-toy Tony (an Italian fellow) pulls her away as soon as he notices.
- Roberts and Rojack get into a police cruiser and head back to Deborah's apartment—Roberts has a few questions for Rojack.
- Officer O'Brien is already there talking to Ruta when they arrive. After Ruta leaves the room to make coffee, the three dudes sit down and get to brass tacks.
- Rojack spews a convoluted explanation of how Deborah "jumped through the window" (3.91). He tells them that Deborah believed that she had cancer (although she was never diagnosed), which likely inspired her suicide.
- Suddenly, an officer named Lieutenant Leznicki barges into the room, accusing Rojack of killing Deborah. He claims that there's medical proof that she was strangled before falling from the window.
- The cops try to take Rojack to the precinct, but they're slowed down by a group of paparazzi and reporters, "their flashbulbs going off, their questions flying" (3.245).
- At the station, Roberts tells Rojack that he believes him, but knows that he slept with Ruta. Regardless, the autopsy will prove the truth.
- As Rojack sits, wondering if he should confess, he notices Cherry across the room, standing with Tony and the old dude from before. He also sees a black man, looking beaten up, talking to a cop at a desk.
- To Rojack's surprise, Leznicki enters the room. The lieutenant explains that the old man with Cherry is Eddie Ganucci—a major Mafioso crime boss. The NYPD has been trying to catch Ganucci for years, but never got a break until Deborah's fall sent him straight into their laps.
- Tony works for the mob, too—he runs "an after-hours spot" (3.310). Cherry is a singer there, in fact, having broken into the music biz by way of a famous singer named Shago Martin.
- As they sit in silence, Rojack hears the black man argue with the officer, claiming that he didn't commit the crime he's accused of. The man keeps asking for coffee, but the cop refuses until he agrees to sign some document.
- Leznicki still thinks that Rojack killed Deborah, however. He tries a few different methods of attack, but gives up and leaves after Rojack maintains his innocence.
- The cop is still arguing with the black fellow. The cop wants them to move to the back room, but the man refuses until the detective whispers something in his ear.
- Just as Rojack is about to crack and give a confession, he hears the man shouting from the other room. Apparently, he was promised booze but only given coffee. Curses.
- Then things get nasty: The cop starts beating the man so hard that Rojack can hear "the sound of a fist on a face" (3.354). Cherry must be hearing this, too, because she looks distraught.
- Rojack leaves the room and approaches Cherry. He calls over to Roberts, asking him to call off the beating—which he does. Rojack even manages to get the address of Cherry's nightclub before being dragged back to the interrogation room. What a sly devil.
- Surprisingly, Roberts tells Rojack that he's free to go since the autopsy revealed that Deborah actually had cancer. That's freaky.
- Rojack leaves the station, not quite knowing what to do. But then it hits him: He needs to visit Cherry at Tony's nightclub.