“Sorry. You didn’t come here about me,” Rhoda said. “Let’s see. Loretta and Christy were pretty tight. Christy mighta told her something about this whole baby thing. You know, her lying about the kid really pisses me off.”

“Maybe she’d apologize if she were alive,” I said.

“Christ, she’d dead and I’m bad-mouthing her. That’s pretty wrong. Sorry. Go on with your questions.”

There I went again, nearly alienating a person who could help me. Jeez, when would I learn? “Did Loretta pick up johns near your bar?”

“Tell you the truth, the less I knew about that subject, the better I felt. Larry finally helped me understand that owning a place like the icehouse wasn’t good for me spiritually or emotionally-and Loretta was one of the reasons. She was just a kid, for Christ’s sake.”

Spiritually or emotionally? Obviously Larry’s words. “Larry sure looks out for you, doesn’t he?”

“He’s the best.”

“Back to Loretta. Is there anything you can remember that might provide me with the information I need to solve this murder?”

“Okay. I’m thinking hard here.” Rhoda squeezed her eyes closed. “I remember that pimp came and dragged her out of the icehouse one afternoon.” She looked at me. “Actually she and Christy were sitting outside-we usually kept the garage door up and folks would sit a long time, especially the regulars. Anyway, he was all sweet-talking Loretta at first and he called her by a different name… what the hell was it?”

“Maybe there was something special about that day? Something that might jog your memory?”

“Nah, I… Wait.” Rhoda thumped her head with the heel of her hand. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“You remember something?”

“Loretta had a diamond ring tattoo on her finger-you know, on the left hand. That’s what he called her. Diamond. Shit, I was doing so much weed back then it’s a wonder I could put on my panties with the label in the back.”

“Maybe that was her street name,” I said, half to myself.

“Yeah. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

We talked for several more minutes, but Rhoda couldn’t pull anything else from her memory. Finally I rose and said, “You and Larry have been wonderful.” I gave her a card. “If you think of anything else, call me anytime.”

She stood. “This place, doing the motorcycle thing? We love it. It’s totally selfish. The icehouse wasn’t. I felt like I helped people by letting them talk, by being there all the time, standing behind that bar. I kinda miss that. Will you let me know if I helped Christy one last time, whether she deserved it or not?”

“Sure. If anyone else besides the police comes around asking questions about Christine O’Meara, do me a favor and don’t tell them anything.”

“Deal,” Rhoda said with a smile.

I drove home, watching for the white Focus Larry had mentioned. I saw a few-they’re probably the most rented car in the country-but none of them followed me.

As I turned the corner onto my street, I noticed an unfamiliar Honda parked at the curb in front of my house. I pulled into my driveway, and got out, heading for the back door. The woman who’d been waiting in the car immediately came after me.

“Are you Abby Rose of Yellow Rose Investigations?” she called.

New client or the press? The press, I decided. She confirmed this by saying, “Mary Parsons, investigative reporter for K-”

“Sorry,” I said, stopping to face her near my back gate. “I can’t help you.”

I didn’t expect this to deter her, and it didn’t. “Is it true Emma Lopez has hired you to learn the truth about the infant found under her demolished house?”

“I said I can’t help you.”

“But she is your client?” Parsons said.

“I suggest you leave, because I have police friends who-”

I was interrupted by Kate’s 4Runner pulling in behind my car.

“Hey, Abby,” Kate called as she got out.

Before I could warn Kate, she walked right up to the reporter and held out her hand. “Kate Rose. You new in the neighborhood?”

“She’s a reporter. I’ve politely asked her to leave. A few more minutes and polite is off my radar.”

“I only have a few questions, Ms. Rose,” Parsons persisted. “Just a minute of your time. Please?”

She was resorting to please? Must be new on the job. “Kate, let’s go inside.” I opened the gate and walked through, Kate on my heels.

“I’ll be around,” Parsons called before we were inside the house.

I wondered then if Larry Murray had mistaken a white Focus for a pale gold Honda earlier today. But I doubted he’d make an error like that.

While Kate fed Webster, I took a Dr Pepper from the fridge and popped the top. The sugar and caffeine hit me almost immediately, and I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. “Want to do Chinese?” I asked Kate when she came back into the kitchen from the utility room.

“Let me make a call first.” She took her cell from her skirt pocket and punched in some numbers.

“Hi,” she said into the phone. “We on for tonight?”

I watched her lose her smile as she listened. Then she said, “I understand completely. You need to straighten things out with your ex. A teenage boy needs as much time as he can get with his father.”

After she hung up, I said, “Did you know before now that he has an ex and a kid?”

She raised her chin. “Yes, I did. I asked about his family and he finally told me about his son.”

I sipped my Dr Pepper. “Finally told you?”

“Clint was reluctant to talk about his son at first. He was worried I’d run for the hills, I guess.”

“Smart guy. You just left Terry because you didn’t want kids, and Clint knew that, right?”

“I told him. Yes.”

“Does this change how you feel about Clint?”

“I-I don’t know. A half-grown child is different from a newborn, and-”

“I’m glad you’re giving this some thought.” I could tell this was the wrong time to discuss her choices. She needed to sort this out in her mind without my interference.

“I’ll give it plenty of thought. Now, how about that Chinese? I’ll drive,” she said.

“Can we pick up and eat here? I’ll be out on the case tonight, and before I leave I should document what I’ve learned today.”

“What’s going on, Abby?”

I told her about Billings.

She opened a kitchen drawer and removed the takeout menu. “I’m glad DeShay will be with you. I hate when you deal with people like this Billings guy in the daytime, much less after dark.”

“I know how to protect myself, Kate.”

“Why? Because Daddy taught you to shoot? That doesn’t mean I’ll stop worrying.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I know.” I wanted to tell her I was worried, too-worried about her getting her heart broken. But I kept my thoughts to myself. I was getting better at that, thanks to Jeff.

18

DeShay picked me up at nine thirty for our meeting with Billings. As I slid into his T-bird, I patted my jeans pocket. “Got the money.”

“How much are you paying him?” DeShay said.

“Four hundred,” I answered. “I hope what he’s got is worth that much.”

“You’re worried about money? Is that company you inherited in trouble all of a sudden?” DeShay turned onto Kirby and headed for the freeway.

“No, but that doesn’t mean I don’t spend my money wisely.”

“I hear a lot of you rich people are penny-pinchers. Now, tell me everything you know about Billings. Then we need to plan our cover story for why I’m with you. Don’t want Billings to get suspicious of me.”

By the time we reached Billings’s apartment complex on the southeast side of town, DeShay knew everything I did. We decided he’d pretend to be a partner in my detective agency. Seemed simple and believable.

DeShay pulled into the pitch-black parking lot. All the lights had either burned out or apparently been used for target practice. The overflowing Dumpster, the burglar bars on some of the apartment windows and the fact that one section of the complex had obviously burned down at some point and never been rebuilt brought the word slum to mind. Yup, I was glad DeShay was by my side.