Dennis offered Billy Darwin. "I thought you two were close."

"Why?"

"You came with him from Atlantic City."

Carla said, "You don't talk to your boss. You know what I mean, goof around, say anything you want, unless you have something going. And we don't."

Dennis took another step closer saying, "I thought you two might be hot for each other."

"It's there, but we both know it wouldn't work. Billy's into casinos and I'm not. I may go back to school and get my MBA. Billy's happy, he has a girlfriend who comes down from New York to see him. She was a showgirl in Las Vegas when they met."

"I see him going for a different type." "Guys are guys, Dennis."

"Does he fool around locally?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"You said you need someone to talk to, that's what we're doing, talking. I'm in the same boat. Where I'm staying we talk about baseball or losing weight."

"You've been talking to the police lately." Dennis felt they were getting to it now.

She said, "And you talk to Robert Taylor."

"How do you know?"

"He told me. He was in to see Billy with his jam box and played a record for him. Marvin Pontiac. Have you ever heard of him?"

“`I'm a Doggy'? `I stink when I'm wet'? Yeah, I like Marvin. He's different."

"Robert said the rights to the songs are available and Billy could get in on it if he wanted."

"What'd he say?"

"What do you think? He said no."

"Doesn't like the music?"

"It's Robert. Billy says Robert has a criminal mind. He isn't even sure Marvin Pontiac exists."

"He's dead. Run over by a bus in Detroit."

"You know what I mean. You can never be sure where Robert's coming from." Carla showed her smile. "But you can't help liking him."

"You talk to him much?"

"He stops by the office to chat. He thinks you were up on the ladder when the guy was shot"

holding Dennis with her dark brown eyes-"and saw the whole thing."

"I came down, that's when I first met Robert."

"Were you?"

"What?"

"On the ladder when the guy was shot?"

Dennis hesitated.

She said, "You were, weren't you?"

He didn't answer because he didn't want to lie to her, but wasn't sure why. Because they were talking? Confiding?

She said, "One of the security guys told me about the story going around, that you were there."

"Why am I still here?"

"Robert said you were threatened."

"How would he know that?"

"I suppose he's guessing. He said, `You know Dennis, the way he makes his living, ain't afraid of nothing.' " Carla doing Robert, and it was close. "'But he ain't gonna mess with anybody shoots people they don't like.' "

"That wasn't bad."

"I do Charlie Hoke, Billy…" She cleared her throat and said, " `I went to the top of the ladder today,' " in Billy Darwin 's quiet, unhurried voice.

"'The next time I think I'll go off.' "

"I can hear him," Dennis said.

"And he's serious," Carla said. "He'll try it."

"He's crazy if he does."

"He said he'd jump."

"But doesn't know how to enter the water. He could break his legs."

"He'll do some kind of study," Carla said. "Billy never takes risks without checking it out first. I have to investigate the background of nearly everyone he hires. I looked into yours, Dennis. I wondered why you got married at such a young age."

"She was a very cute girl."

"But what?"

"People born and raised in New Orleans only move if they're forced to."

"And you didn't love her enough to stay."

"And get a regular job for the rest of my life, no. You check everybody out, huh?"

"Pretty much. Charlie was the most fun."

"You check on guests?"

"Some."

"What about Germano Mularoni?"

"And his lovely wife, Anne? Yes, I did."

"What does Germano do for a living?"

"He's a gangster. I thought you knew that."

It surprised Dennis that she said it though not to hear that he was.

" Detroit Mafia?"

"No, but that's rather murky. He was in prison once, for tax evasion."

Dennis said, "So Robert-"

"He works for Jerry, but that doesn't really tell you where he stands, does it? Take this battle reenactment coming up," Carla said, "why is Jerry on one side and Robert on the other?"

15

HECTOR DIAZ ARRIVED FROM DETROIT and Robert and Tonto picked him up in Memphis. There he was coming out of the jetway in a black suit buttoned up, Hector less primitive than Tonto but not much. Hector was tall for being Mexican and liked to pose in his sunglasses, the ring in his ear, his hair pulled back into a pigtail, a coleta that was like a matador's. Hector, a long time ago, had caped bulls in Mexico City but never made it to Spain; he was older than Tonto by twenty years, somewhere in his late fifties. And was tired now from sitting around Detroit Metro when the flight was delayed. Robert told him to sit in the backseat of the Jaguar, stretch out and take it easy.

On the road south Tonto gave Hector a Navy Colt cap-and-ball pistol he got out of the glove box. Give him an idea of the kind of weapons they would be playing with. Hector checked it out, spinning the cylinder, thumbing back the hammer.

Robert said to the rearview mirror, "Be sure what you doing, man, it's loaded."

They picked up Jerry in front of the hotel after waiting close to an hour. Jerry came out in a black windbreaker and all four of them were in dark clothes-Robert in dark brown, Tonto in his denim jacket and a black bandanna-because Jerry said you always dressed dark you're going to confront somebody; you dress in light colors you looked like a fuckin twink. Tonto went in back with Hector to let Jerry ride in front. They got on Old 61 again, south, down to the Dubbs turnoff, left, and pulled into the lot in front of the club, Jerry saying, "This is it?"

Not impressed by this big run-down barn of a place, JUNEBUG'S painted to fit across the entire front where cars and pickups were angle-parked. "It's a honky-tonk," Robert said, "what Loretta Lynn sings about." He crept the Jaguar past an open spot and backed in to face out. Robert said to Hector, "Stay where you are, man, and rest. Know what I'm saying? You watching my auto."

It was after ten, the club the only lights out here in the country on a dark night.

They were out of the car now, Robert and Tonto slipping on their shades, Robert saying to Jerry, "They gonna be looking us over."

Jerry said, "Yeah…?”

"Don't say to anybody the fuck you looking at, till we do our business."

"Say please and thank you," Jerry said, "and wash my hands after I take a piss. Come on."

Robert followed him inside, Tonto watching their backs: the three walking in to country swing coming from the sound system but no two-steppers out on the floor, Robert observing country dudes at the bar and some of the tables on this weeknight, not much of a crowd, a drum kit and speakers on the empty bandstand straight ahead, only a few women among the beer drinkers, that little blond whore… Toni? No, Traci, talking to a dude at the end of the bar that was to the left and ran all the way back. Robert followed Jerry toward the near end where a young dude stood resting his back against the bar, elbows on the round edge, baseball cap curved down around his eyes inspecting Jerry coming toward him, the kid hanging in, but then bailed to give Jerry room, Jerry not even looking at him. Jerry had his arm raised, calling to the bartender, "Hey, come here," to Wesley in his undershirt, maybe the same one from the other night. Robert said, "Wesley, how you doing, man?" Wesley looking but not knowing shit who he was looking at. Jerry handed him a business card saying, "You don't have to read it, Wesley. Give it to your boss." They watched him walk down the bar with the card, looking at it again. Jerry said, "Fuckin Wesley. Beautiful guy."