“Not entirely. Nora Gail’s place keeps potential troublemakers concentrated in one spot. Her bouncers keep them in line.”
“Today they didn’t.”
“Today was an exception. That scumbag is bad news no matter where he is.”
“I should report you for police brutality.”
“He had that coming, and then some. He got off on a technicality the last time he passed through our judicial system. This time he’ll spend a nice, long time in prison.
“And, by the way, they caught Lyle Turner in New Mexico. He confessed to slitting Pasty’s throat for screwing around with Ruby Faye. It had nothing whatsoever to do with you, so you can stop looking over your shoulder for bogeymen.”
“Thanks for telling me.” The news relieved her, but this latest development was still on her mind. “Don’t try to get me off the subject. I’m not going to sweep this under the carpet. Pat Chastain would love to know that there’s a bordello operating right under his nose.”
Reede laughed. He took off his hat, ran his hand through his hair, and shook his head in dismay over her naïveté. “Have you ever met Mrs. Chastain?”
“What does that—”
“Have you?”
“No. I’ve talked to her on the telephone.”
“She’s a country club hag, tanned skin stretched over solid bone. She wears more gold jewelry than a pimp, even when she plays tennis. She thinks her shit don’t stink. Got the picture? She likes being the D.A.’s wife, but doesn’t like the D.A., particularly in bed.”
“I’m not interested in—”
“Her idea of foreplay is, ‘Hurry up, but don’t mess up my hairdo,’ and she would probably rather die than let him come in her mouth.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Pat’s got a favorite out at Nora Gail’s who’ll swallow it and pretend to like it, so he’s not going to lift a finger to shut the place down. If you were smart, which I’m beginning to seriously doubt, you won’t embarrass him by letting on you even know that Nora Gail’s place is out there. And don’t even think about tattling to Judge Wallace. He never partakes, but all his friends do. He sure as hell isn’t going to stop their party.”
“My God, is everybody in this county corrupt?”
“Oh, for crissake, Alex, grow up. Everybody in the whole goddamn world is corrupt. You might be the only person who ever went through law school and came out believing that the law is still based on morality. Everybody’s guilty of something. Everybody’s got a secret. If you’re lucky, the next guy’s secret is juicier than yours. You use his secret to keep him quiet about yours.”
“I’m glad you brought that up. It was Nora Gail you were with the night Celina was killed.”
“Congratulations. You finally got one guess right.”
“It wasn’t a guess. Wanda Plummet told me.”
He grinned. “When did you figure her out?”
“I didn’t,” she admitted with some reluctance. “I recognized her picture in the yearbook. You could have told me, Reede.”
“I could have, but you’d have started pestering sooner.”
“I didn’t pester her. She was most cooperative.”
“She was scared. You can’t tell by looking at her now what a hell-raiser she used to be.”
“I’d rather talk about her sister, Nora Gail. The night my mother was killed, were you with her all night?”
“Wouldn’t you love to know?”
“What were you doing?”
“Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.”