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take her upstairs, and she sucks me off. But that ain't all. She takes a camera - a fucking camera! - out of her bag and asks me to take pictures. No shit!

Close-ups, she wants, of her and the Black Blade.'

Myron's stomach began to churn again. Win looked on with his usual noninterest.

Horty continued. 'Next night, she come back. Takes on me and Willie at the same time. We take more pictures, have a good old time. 'Cept this time I had my camera too.'

'So you took some pictures of your own.'

'Shit, yeah.'

'Did you and Kathy have any more, uh, encounters?'

'Nope. She moved on to other dudes, though Prime-looking babe for such a ho. All blond and built and shit.'

'You talk to her after that?'

He shrugged. 'Little. Not much. But once she started up with Christian, man, it was a whole other story.'

'What do you mean?'

'She be all nose up in the air, like her shit don't stink no more. Two of them all lovey-dovey and shit, like they was going steady on a TV show. All of a sudden the slut thinks she's some fucking pure-ass cherry. I mean, the ho been riding the Blade like a fucking bronco, and now she don't even say how-do. That ain't right. That just ain't right.'

Mr Etiquette.

'So you decided to blackmail her,' Myron said.

'No way. Unhunh.'

'We know about it, Horty. We know she paid you for the pictures.'

Horty made a snorting sound. 'Aw, shit, that ain't blackmail. That's a business transaction. I just called her one day and told her I might have to knock her down a few pegs. And then I said a picture was worth a thousand words. She kinda agreed with all that and said she'd be willing to pay for such wonderful pictures. I told her they was real valuable to me. Had a lot of sentimental value and shit. But we finally reached an agreement. A mutually beneficial agreement,' he stressed, 'not blackmail.' He took hold of his leg and winced. 'End of story, man.'

'You left something out.'

'What?'

'The gang-rape in the locker room.'

He did not seem surprised. He half-smiled and said, 'Rape? Man, you ain't listening. This woman had Horty's Three Hs: Hot, Horny, Ho. Shit, she'd jump naked into a rock pile if she thought they'd be a snake in it. She loved it. We all had a good time.'

Win looked at Myron. The look said Keep your cool.

'How many of you?' Myron asked.

'Six.'

207

'Why,' he said in a low voice, 'didn't you just take the money, Horty?

Why did you have to rape her?'

'I just told you, man-'

'She didn't come to that locker room for consensual sex with six people.

You raped her.'

'Can't be, man,' he said with a shake of his head. 'She a ho through and through. And once a ho, always a ho. That's just the way it is. Fucking cunt acting all high and prissy and shit. Quarterback's girl. Miss fucking all American cheerleader. Who the fuck did she think she was? So yeah, I showed her. I reminded her where she come from, what she really is. Not some fucking prom queen. A slut. A dick-loving ho.'

Win now stepped in front of Myron. Preventive measures.

''Sides,' Horty continued, 'I owed her boyfriend. Big-time.'

'Christian Steele?'

'Yeah. He did me wrong. I did him wrong. Passed around his little ho.

Just a little payback, my man. To the prick who got me thrown off the team.'

'No,' Myron said. 'It wasn't Christian.'

'What you talking about?'

I spoke with Coach Clarke. Two guys showed up for a game high. That's why you were thrown off. Christian had nothing to do with it.'

'Oh,' Horty said with a shrug. 'Ain't that something.'

'Your remorse,' Myron said, 'is very touching.'

'I gotta get to a doctor, man. My leg is killing me.'

'Weren't you worried about getting caught?'

'What?'

'Weren't you afraid she'd report the rape?'

Horty made a face as if Myron had suddenly started speaking Japanese.

'You crazy, man? Who she gonna tell? She just gave me major cash to keep it all quiet. She say anything, it all gets out. The whole ugly truth. Everyone would know - Christian, her mammy, her pappy, her teachers. Everyone would know what she just paid all that money to hide. And what if she was dumb enough to tell? There were pictures and witnesses of her doing Willie and me at the party. Who gonna believe she was raped after seeing that?'

Dean Gordon had made the same argument, Myron remembered. Great minds thinking alike.

'Hey, look, man, my leg's killing me.'

'Did you ever see Kathy again?' Myron managed.

'Nope.'

'Were you the one who threw away the panties?'

'Nope. One of the other guys had them. Thought he'd keep them as a souvenir. When he heard she was missing, he got scared, threw them away.'

208

'Who?'

'I ain't giving names.'

'Yes,' Win said. 'You are.' He rested his foot against the broken tibia.

That was enough.

'Okay, okay. Like I said, they was six of us. Three brothers, two white dudes, one chink.'

Equal opportunity rapists.

'One was the place kicker. Guy named Tommy Wu. Then there was Ed Woods, Bobby Taylor, Willie and me.'

'That's five.'

Horty hesitated. 'Give me a break, man. The other dude was the one who threw away the panties. But he's a friend, man. Still give me money when I'm down, you know. I can't just give him up. He's big-time.'

'What do you mean, big-time?'

'Plays pro ball and shit. I can't give you his name.'

Win put the slightest pressure on the leg. Horty bucked.

'Ricky Lane.'

Myron froze. 'The running back for the Jets?' Dumb question. How many Ricky Lanes who now play pro football went to Reston University? 'Yeah. Now look, man, that's all I know.'

Win said to Myron, 'Do you have any other questions for him?'

Myron shook his head.

'Then leave,' Win said.

Myron did not move.

'I said,' Win continued, 'leave.'

'No.'

'You heard what he said. You'll never convict him. He pushes drugs to kids, rapes innocent women, blackmails, steals, whatever, and laughs about it.'

Horty sat up. 'What the fuck is this?'

'Leave,' Win repeated.

Myron hesitated.

Yo, man, I told you everything I know.' There was a tremble in Horty's voice.

Myron did not move.

Horty shouted, 'Don't leave me alone with this crazy motherfucker!'

'Leave,' Win said.

Myron shook his head. 'No. I'll stay.'

Win studied Myron. Then he nodded and approached Horty, who was trying to claw away but not getting far.

'Don't kill him,' Myron said.

Win nodded. He went to work with the careful precision of a surgeon.

His face never changed expression. If he heard Horty's cries, he never showed it.