it left her empty-handed and frustrated and more suspicious than ever that something had been swept under the rug.
"You ready to go back to town, or what?"
Reede was standing in the doorway with his shoulder
propped against the frame, insolently maneuvering a toothpick
from one side of his mouth to the other. He might have
eaten breakfast, but his tone of voice let her know that his
foul disposition remained intact.
"Yes, I'm ready, if you'd be so kind as to drive me."
"Good. The sooner I get back to work, the better. Somebody's
got to ride herd on the crazy sons of bitches out driving
in this."
"As long as you're out here, why don't you spend the day
by the fireplace?" Junior suggested to Alex. "We could pop
popcorn. Celina used to love that. Maybe we could talk Lupe
out of a batch of pralines. I could drive you back later when
the roads have cleared."
"It sounds wonderful, Junior, thank you, but I've got work
to do."
He wheedled charmingly, but she remained adamant. The
Mintons walked her and Reede to the door. She didn't see
Sarah Jo. If she were even aware that she had guests in the
house, she made no effort to present herself.
Angus looped Alex's arm through his as they made their
way down the hall. He spoke softly. "I know this is difficult
for you, girl."
"Yes, it is."
"Heard anything about your grandma?"
"I phone the nursing home every day, but there's been no
change."
"Well, holler if you need anything, you hear?"
Alex gazed at him with genuine puzzlement. "Angus, why
are you being so nice to me?"
"Because of your mama, because I like you, and mainly,
because we've got nothing to hide."
When he smiled at her, Alex realized that it was easy to
see where Junior had come by his charm. He and Reede were
engaged in their own conversation. Alex overheard Reede
say, "Ran into one of your old girlfriends last night at the
Last Chance."
Her ears picked up at the mention of the tavern where she
had an appointment later that day.
"Oh, yeah?" Junior was saying. "Who was that?"
"Gloria something. Forgot her married name. Curly black
hair, dark eyes, big tits."
"Gloria Tolbert. How'd she look?"
"Horny."
Junior gave a dirty and masculine laugh. "That's Gloria.
Takes a strong man to keep her satisfied."
"You ought to know," Reede said drolly.
"Well, what happened last night, you lucky bastard? Did
you leave a contented smile on Gloria's pretty face?"
"You know I never discuss my love life."
"That's just one of your traits that irritates the hell out of
me."
Alex turned around in time to see Junior playfully sock
Reede in the gut. His fist bounced back like he'd struck a
drum.
"Is that the best you can do, old man?" Reede taunted.
"Admit it, Minton, you're losing it."
"Like hell I am." Junior took a swipe at Reede's head.
The blow was dodged just in time. Reede tried to catch Junior
behind the knee with his boot. They fell against the hall table,
almost toppling a ceramic vase.
"Okay, boys, cut it out before you break something,"
Angus said indulgently, speaking to them as though they were
still in grade school.
Alex and Reede pulled on their coats and he opened the
door. The frigid wind swirled inside. Junior said, "Sure you
can't stay here where it's cozy?"
"I'm afraid not," Alex replied.
"Shoot. Well, good-bye then." He pressed her hand between
his and kissed her cheek.
Father and son watched as Reede assisted Alex over the
icy stone walkway to where his Blazer was parked. He helped her up into the truck, then went around to the driver's side god vaulted in.
"Brrr," Junior said, shutting the door. "Ready for a hot
toddy, Dad?"
"Not yet," Angus answered with a scowl. "It's too early
in the day to be drinking hard liquor."
"Since when have you taken into consideration the time
of day when you wanted a drink?"
"Get in here. I want to talk to you." Limping to favor his
toe, he led his son back into his den. "Stoke up that fire,
will ya?"
When the flames were licking fresh logs, Junior faced his
father. "What is it? Not business, I hope. I'm taking an
official day off," he said around a yawn, stretching like a
sleek cat.
"Alex Gaither."
Junior pulled down his arms and frowned. "She was all
fired up about that burial business when she came in, wasn't
she? But you brought her around."
"I only told her the truth."
"You made it sound as convincing as a good lie."
"Will you be serious for once?" Angus barked.
Junior looked baffled. "I thought I was."
"You listen to me," Angus said sternly, aiming a finger
at his son. "Only a damn fool would laugh off her determination
to get to the bottom of this thing. Even if she is a
good-looking woman, she means business. She looks soft,
but she isn't. She's tough as boot leather when it comes to
this murder case."
"I'm aware of that," Junior said sulkily.
"Ask Joe Wallace if you don't believe it."
"I do. I just find it hard to take her seriously when she
looks as good as she does."
"You do, huh? Well, I don't see you doing anything about
that, either."
"I asked her out here for drinks, and she came."
"What have you done since then?"
"What do you want me to do? Court her like some snot-nosed
kid? Go the flowers and chocolates route?"
"Yes, goddammit!"
"She'd never fall for that," Junior snorted, "even if I
could do it with a straight face."
"You listen to me, boy. You've got life good. You drive
a new Jag every year, wear a big, diamond-studded Rolex,
go skiing, deep-sea fishing, and to the horseraces whenever
you feel like it, and you gamble big.
"But if this little lady has her way, she'll bust us. Yeah,"
he said, reading his son's frown correctly, "you might have
to go out and get a job for once in your life."
Angus reined in his temper and continued in a more conciliatory
tone. "She hasn't got a prayer of turning up any
evidence. I think she knows that. She's throwing darts into
the dark and hoping to hit one of us in the ass. Sooner or
later, hopefully, her arm'll get tired."
Junior chewed on his lip and said glumly, "She probably
wants a court trial as much as we want a racetrack. That'd
be a real coup for her. It'd launch her career."
"Damn," Angus grumbled. "You know how I feel about
that. I don't like all this career bullshit. Women don't belong
in courtrooms."
"Where would you keep them? In bedrooms?"
"Nothing wrong with that."
Junior laughed shortly. "You won't get an argument from
me, but I imagine you would from millions of working
women."
"Alex might not be working for long. It wouldn't surprise
me if her career was riding on the outcome of this investigation."
"How do you mean?"
"I know all about Greg Harper. He's ambitious, sees himself
in the attorney general's seat. He likes his people to win
convictions. Now, if I've got him figured right, he's letting
Alex do this because he smells blood, our blood. If we got
our tails in a crack over this murder business, he'd get his
in the headlines and gloat every step of the way because there's no love lost between him and the governor. The governor's
nose would be rubbed in shit and so would the racing
commission's.
"On the other hand, if Alex fails to smoke out any skeletons
in our closet, Harper'll have to eat crow. Rather than do that,
he'll boot Alex out. And we'll be there with open arms to
catch her when she falls," he said, jabbing the air for emphasis.
"I see you've got it all worked out," Junior remarked
dryly.
Angus made a grunting sound. "Damn right I do. One of
us better be concentrating on more than the fine way she fills
out a sweater."
"I thought that's what you wanted me to do."
"You gotta do more than gawk and lust from afar. A love
affair would be the best thing that could happen to Alex."
"How do you know she's not involved in one?"
"Because unlike you, I don't leave things to chance. I
made it my business to find out. I've had her checked out."
"You cagey old bastard," Junior whispered with grudging
admiration.
' 'Humph. You gotta know what cards the other guy's holding,
son, or it does you no good to have a winning hand."
While the fire in the grate popped cheerfully, Junior contemplated
all that Angus had said. Then, focusing a narrow
gaze on his father, he asked, "Where would you have this
love affair lead? To marriage?"
Angus slapped Junior's knee and chortled. "Would that
be so bad?"
"Would you approve?"
"Why not?"
Junior wasn't sharing the laugh. He moved to the fire,
away from his father's touch and conniving smile. Absently,
he poked at the burning logs.
"I'm surprised," he said softly. "You didn't think Celina