The porch fell silent. “It must’ve been tough on you,” Ben finally ventured. “When the Professor died.”
“It was. But that’s not what I was talkin’ about. The Professor was gone a long time before he died.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It was the junk, boy. When he started with it, he thought it would squelch the pain. Let him focus on his music. But it didn’t work that way. All those stories about people creatin’ great art or havin’ brilliant ideas when they’re high—it’s just crap. Ain’t possible. May seem brilliant at the time, but when you’re cold sober, you realize it’s crap. And meanwhile the junk is killin’ your body. Eatin’ away at your soul.”
“Is that what happened to the Professor?”
Scat nodded. “ ’Stead of helpin’ him, it hurt him bad. He was losin’ the music ’cause he couldn’t shake the habit. That’s what he and Earl fought about most of the time. It wasn’t Lily, least not till the bitter end. It was the music. Earl tried everythin’. He dried the man out, learned his songs and played them so they wouldn’t be lost. He tried to save the man before he lost his music to the smack. But he couldn’t do it.”
“They did fight about Lily, though, right? In the end.”
“They did,” Scat said, nodding gravely. “And that’s where I still hold myself accountable. That’s why I still wake up some nights in a cold sweat.”
“Why?”
“ ’Cause I coulda stopped it.”
“How?”
“Least I think I coulda. I knew what was happenin’. I knew her better than any of them. Nothin’ good ever come from a woman like that.”
“You’re talking about Lily? But I thought—”
“Lily was a beautiful songbird, all right, with a set of cords Ella herself might’ve coveted. But when it came to men, she was bad news with a capital B.”
“How so?”
Scat shrugged. “Oh, she was all the time flirtin’, comin’ on to the boys. Leadin’ ’em on. Makin’ ’em think there was some hope. She did it to everyone.”
“Even you?”
Scat grinned, but Ben thought there was something awkward and forced about it.
“I shoulda told Earl to hang it up, told him she was just a flirt and a tease and not to make anything of it. But I didn’t. And as a result, we had a tragedy.”
“Then you believe Earl killed Professor Hoodoo.”
“Hell, yes, son. Weren’t no doubt about it then; ain’t no doubt about it now.”
“Earl says he didn’t do it.”
“What do you expect him to say? He must have some terrible guilt about it. Earl ain’t a violent man. Never was. He just lost his head, that’s all.”
“It would take more than just losing your head to drive a man to murder.”
“Don’t be so sure of that, son. A man with a temper is a dangerous thing. Those calm, cool collected types like Earl are sometimes the worst. It may take a lot to push them over the edge, but once they go, they go all the way.”
“Temporary insanity?”
“I guess that would be a lawyer’s way of puttin’ it. All I know is that Earl did somethin’ he ordinarily wouldn’t do.”
Ben wondered if Scat was right. If Earl had been temporarily insane, he might’ve gotten off—if he hadn’t pled guilty. “You’re sure it was Earl?”
“Ain’t no doubt. I heard them fightin’. I heard Earl threaten him. I saw Earl go to the man’s apartment. And not an hour later, the joint’s on fire, with George inside. I hate to think of it—that poor messed-up man, maybe still alive, burnin’ to death. Now that’s the stuff nightmares are made of.”
Ben had to agree. He still had nightmares about the time he and Christina had been trapped in a burning church. Burning had to be a horrible way to go—and burning alive! That was simply too gruesome to imagine.
“Did you know Lily was meeting Earl at the club last week?”
“No clue. I could see somethin’ was up, with Earl actin’ like a father whose daughter’s out on her first date. But I never woulda guessed it was Lily. Hadn’t heard nothin’ about Lily for years.”
“Do you have any idea who might’ve killed her?”
Scat tilted his head to one side. “You mean besides the obvious?”
“You don’t think Earl killed her, too!”
Scat shrugged. “He had good reason, didn’t he? In many ways, it was that woman who ruined his life, ruined his career. Drove him to murder—and still never was his girl.”
Ben frowned. This interview wasn’t helping a bit. Worst of all, it was raising some very disturbing possibilities in his mind. “Well, if you can think of anyone else who might possibly have a reason to kill her, let me know, okay?”
“I will,” Scat replied. “But I don’t think that’s likely.”
“I wish I could’ve heard the Professor play. It’s a shame he died so young.”
“I don’t know,” Scat said softly. “Sometimes I think that. Other times I think—maybe it’s just as well.”
“What?”
“The Professor was a brilliant musician—head and shoulders above the rest of us miserable day players. If he had lived—really, what did he have to look forward to? The Sonny and Cher show? Lollapalooza? Let’s face it, the music industry today is controlled by teenagers and morons who think music is what you see on MTV in three-minute videos. There ain’t no place for a musician like Professor Hoodoo in this world.”
The man was probably right at that. “You know, there’s just one thing that’s bothering me. If you’re so sure Earl is a murderer, maybe twice over, why do you work for him?”
Scat spread his arms wide. “Hey, kid—I’m a musician. I go where the music is.”
“But—I always thought you liked Earl.”
“Me? Hell, no.”
“But you play in his club. You play poker—”
“So what? I don’t like Earl. I didn’t like him twenty-odd years ago. I think he stole the magic from the greatest jazz musician who ever lived in these parts.” His eyes darkened. “Stole a woman he didn’t deserve.”
“You loved Lily, too,” Ben said quietly.
Scat shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “ ’Course I did. Everyone did.”
“There’s something more.” Ben inched forward. “Something you’re not telling me.”
“Maybe it’s none of your goddamned business.”
Ben didn’t let up. “Did you want Lily for yourself?”
“I didn’t have to want nothin’.”
“Were you sleeping with her?”
Scat’s teeth ground together. “ ’Course I was sleepin’ with her, you little twerp. I was married to her!”
Ben fell back in his chair, stunned.
“How do you think she happened to be at that club? Who do you think introduced her to our little group? She came on my arm, pal. She was my lady.” He wiped a hand across his brow. “I was always loyal to her, too. Always. But she strayed. When she started in with the Professor, that was one thing. They could make music together in a way I could never hope to, could never dream of. The Professor was beyond human rules.” His eyes narrowed. “But Earl was just a gross disgusting pig. A thief, that’s all he was. He stole things that weren’t his. Music. Women. Whatever he could get his hands on.”
“But if you hate Earl so badly—”
“A man’s gotta eat, you know what I’m saying? Earl has a nice place, and he’s one of the few around who still knows what a club should be, what music should be. Just between you and me, he’s one of the few in this town who really understands the meaning of jazz.”
“Earl quizzed me on that subject. I flunked. I don’t suppose you’d like to clue me in?”
Scat grinned, then spread his arms wide. “It’s like the great Satchmo himself said—”