“Loraine, you’re mixing up pieces of several different rumors. Who’s your source on all this?”
“I can’t tell you who. You might be wearing a wire.”
“Me? No, are you? Don’t forget which of us is the suspect. You’re the one flitting around uncharged. You’re the one causing all the trouble and for some reason the police are afraid to come after you.”
“Prominent citizen trumps irrelevant stranger every time.”
“You were quite the actress putting on that oversexed and helpless routine at the motel.”
She relaxed, unhooked her seatbelt, leaned back, and smiled, “You went for it. Show a man some skin and his brains slide down into his pants.” She changed to a slow, mocking voice, “Isn’t my little bikini just the cutest thing you’ve ever saw? You do like to look at me, don’t you?” Then back to normal, “Thank God I had to wear it only once. You’re a regular Boy Scout aren’t you, running around like that?”
“Pretty dumb of me, huh, trying to help a bunch of strangers.”
“You and one other guy at the party were the type I was looking for, horny and gullible. I was working both of you. I figured one of you would catch fire.”
“What fun! And I was the winning stooge. The loser is happily going on with his life somewhere.”
She looked directly at him. “You didn’t seem to mind.”
“No, I didn’t at the time, but I paid an incredibly high price for that piece of sex, wasn’t worth five seconds of my freedom.”
“You surprised me when you turned me down at the motel. The bikini was to get you going, and when I took it all off, you were supposed to go all stupid. I overestimated your horniness. I expected I’d have to screw you again to keep you properly motivated. You know, make you think there would be regular sex if you kept doing what I wanted. But you didn’t require it, thank God. You just charged off like Don Quixote to right the wrongs of the world.”
“You must have known when Towson would be murdered, and you got me to his place at the proper time. I was the stranger with only some cockamamie explanation for being there. It was supposed to appear that in my delusional mind I was in a love triangle.”
“He was such a sick pup, your Honor. He imagined that with Senator Towson out of the way he’d have me all to himself.”
“Sex is merely a weapon for you, isn’t it?”
“I’m over seventy. No man is going to do anything for me without some manner of sex.”
He believed that was the first honest statement of her feelings he had heard from her. “That’s not true,” he said. “You’re just afraid to find out.”
“I’m getting what I want my way.”
“You tried to get my fingerprints on that gun box in the motel room, didn’t you? How did that box end up in Tammy’s closet?”
“Now, wasn’t I clever? I caught Barner going through some things in my bedroom when he was there exterminating months ago. I told him to never come back. When I failed to get your prints on the box, I called him. I bluffed him saying I knew he’d been pilfering things from customer’s homes. He begged me not to turn him in. It would ruin his business. I told him I needed a favor. Such an ignorant man.”
“You blackmailed him into leaving that small shopping bag in Tammy’s closet when he serviced her place the next time. Naturally she would look through it and get her prints on the gun box.”
“Yes, apparently he found time in between smelling her panties.”
“Why did you bring Tammy into it anyway?”
“Two reasons, the first is strategic. If you’d just gone to see Towson and left, no one would know you’d been there. I couldn’t count on you leaving fingerprints. I couldn’t even count on him letting you in. My plan needed Tammy. I knew you’d find her and tell her you’d gone to Towson’s. Then she’d give evidence you were at the crime scene.”
“And the other reason?”
“Embarrassment, the date-rape thing. I wanted to link her forever with Barner, start people talking about a sex scandal, dream girl carrying on with the repulsive town creep. The rumor would ruin her. No brains or breeding yet she sailed through life because Al wanted to keep her magical boobs within reach.”
“They were lovers?”
“Of course they were lovers. He’s a man isn’t he? She turned him against me with all her jiggling around.”
“You just admitted you planned to murder him.”
“I admit I was thinking about it. Norma Martin saved me the trouble.”
“That’s too wild. You’re telling me you planned this whole scheme but Norma Martin conveniently came by that afternoon and shot him for you?.”
“Lucky me.” She shrugged. “And the town won’t be laughing at me anymore. They were saying the Mensa babe wasn’t smart enough to hold her man. He had millions and they thought I would end up with only a piddling monthly alimony. They thought the good life was over for me. Did you see the faces on the town bitches at the party when I left with you? Half hated me, half were cheering me on. And all knew they would be home in bed with their snoring pot-bellied old man while I was merrily getting laid by the eager young guy.”
“This isn’t just about jealousy and revenge. You’re hurting for money and you stand to gain big bucks out of his death. Furthermore, I’m going to prove you did it.”
She was definitely annoyed at that. Ray jumped back as she pulled away.
A fascinating confirmation of his suspicions and he needed to hear it to clear his mind. But it wasn’t recorded so it would do no good toward her prosecution. He’d give Sandy the details. She wanted everyone together that night to discuss all that was known.
And Sandy has a proclamation—says she’s figured out the killer’s identity.
Chapter 35
“Just give me the rest of my money and I’ll get out of here.” Sonny Barner felt awkward sitting on the white-cushioned porch chair across the table from the woman. Sitting like socializing, he thought. Like the dumb bitch actually wanted him in her house one second longer than necessary. Why have him sit anyway? Couldn’t she see his dirty coveralls?
“Stink kinda bad today, Mrs. Dellin. You know, the chemicals.” Why talking nice to her anyway, like she cares what shit he gets into.
“You smell to high heaven and you’ve been drinking.”
“Had to crawl around under some guy’s house to treat scorpions. Got special stuff that I use. Dumb guy said he’d been throwing old boards into his crawlspace for years. Said you never know when you might need a piece of lumber. Okay by me if he wants to breed scorpions under his house and then pay me to kill them.” Barner thought that was sort of funny, but she didn’t even smile. When she hands him the money she can go fuck herself.
“Did you carry any of them in here, in your cuffs, in your shoes?”
Should tell her tough shit if he did. Hold off until the cash is in his hand. Feeling good about things. Stopped on the way over here and had a couple shots and beer. Anybody would need something under his belt to face this woman. Would really celebrate later. Stop at Discount and buy a case of Daniels. Can buy it by the case now. Go home spread that pretty green paper all over the floor: twenties, fifties, lots of hundreds. Flip them up in the air if I want.
“The money—Mrs. Dellin.” Should call her by her first name, she can’t stop him. Call her Loraine like she’s nothing special, see how that grabs her. Loraine, I’m sitting on your white fucking cushion, Loraine. What’s she gonna do, tell him to bring the senator back to life? She’s the one has to play nice now.