Hugger Mugger

"About something besides Vallone?" I said.

"Yeah, Rudy's always been pretty happy being Rudy," Becker said. "But while he was enjoying that, he did mention that Clive had discussed modifying the will."

I waited.

"You interested in how?" Becker said.

"Yes, I am," I said, "if you could get through swallowing the canary long enough to tell me."

"It pains me to say this," Becker said, "but Walter appears to have been a closet sexist after all these years. He wanted the will to add a clause giving managing control of Three Fillies Stables to any male issue."

"Jason Hartman," I said.

"That's the only male issue we know about."

"Why the hell didn't Vallone tell us that?"

"Maybe he forgot," Becker said.

"You believe that?"

"Rudy's pretty lazy," Becker said. "But he's made a good living around here for the last thirty years. And he's probably noticed that if he runs his mouth a lot about nothing, and keeps it shut about anything that matters, things work out for him. Especially if it matters to the Clives."

"Well," I said. "Now we've got a motive. If Pe

"That's a lot of ifs," Becker said.

"Maybe I can make them less iffy," I said.

"If Pe

"She's capable of Delroy," I said.

"Good point. I wouldn't have believed that either if we didn't have to see it every time we looked."

The bathroom door was open. From where I sat I could see Susan get out of the shower with a towel. She saw me looking at her and smiled and flipped the towel like a fan dancer. I gri

"You do anything with Herb the tracker?"

Becker laughed.

"Kid couldn't track a bull through a china shop," Becker said. "I sent him straight over to Hector Tobin's repair shop to get his car in compliance. Last name ain't Simmons, by the way. It's Simpson."

"Clever alias," I said. "You talked to Tedy Sapp at all?"

"Nope. He's got no time for me. He's too busy looking after the brood of refugees you dumped on him."

"You know about that."

"I sort of pay attention. I got nothing much else to do."

"You ready to move on Pe

"'Cause you don't like her boyfriend? Or whatever he is."

"She's got opportunity, and motive."

"Un-huh."

"She's got Delroy."

"Un-huh," Becker said. "You got a murder weapon?"

"No."

"Eyewitness?"

"No."

"Fingerprints? Powder residue? Confession? Any of that kind of stuff?"

"If we can arrest somebody, and pressure somebody, we can turn somebody."

"Sure, do it all the time with guys rob a convenience store. But these aren't guys robbed a convenience store. These are Clives. Gimme some evidence."

"Maybe the sisters will be in shape to talk with me," I said.

"I'd like to hear what her sisters have to say."

"Okay. Everybody who is anybody is heading back down to Lamarr tomorrow. Me too. I'll talk to SueSue and Stonie this weekend."

"I'm looking forward to it," Becker said.

"Because you thirst for justice?"

"Because I always like to see what happens after somebody pokes a stick into a hornet's nest."

We hung up and I sat for a bit in my chair, thinking and looking at Susan. With the towel contrived in some way to cover all areas of special interest to me, Susan was sitting in the sink in the bathroom, applying her makeup. I wasn't startled by her position anymore. She liked a lot of light and she liked to get close to the mirror and she was small enough so she could, and she took a long time putting on her makeup, so she sat in the sink. Once I'd asked her about it and she had turned the question back. "Wouldn't you sit in the sink," she had said, "if you weren't so big and didn't fit?"

I was now at a point where I didn't understand why anyone wouldn't sit in the sink.

DOLLYHARTMAN'S COTTAGEin Saratoga was a cottage in name only. It had Greek Revival columns out front, and a big dining room with a fifteen-foot ceiling where hors d'oeuvres were spread upon a lace tablecloth, and champagne chilled in silver buckets. A couple of kids who would have looked comfortable in jeans looked quite uncomfortable in French maid outfits as they circulated through the house pouring champagne. Dolly was there being the hostess with the mostess in a gauzy white gown that had several layers and made her look vaguely like Little Bo-Peep. Her son, Jason, was with her, greeting guests, looking polished in a crisp black shirt buttoned to the neck, and black linen trousers. Susan got a glass of champagne, which she used mainly as a prop, and went to the buffet table, which, she knew, was where the action would be. People interested Susan. She also knew I needed to be alone with Dolly.

"How are you doing?" Dolly said.

"I keep learning more and more, and knowing less and less," I said. "You're sure you can't think of anyone at all that knew of Walter's DNA testing?"

"Me, Walter, and Dr. Klein," Dolly said. "I can't believe Walter told anyone but me. He was very secretive. Dr. Klein didn't even tell me."

"Walter told you?"

"Yes. He called me-the night before he died, as a matter of fact-and told me. He was quite excited about it."

"Dr. Klein have a relationship with anyone in the Clive family?" I said.

Dolly was silent for a moment, as if examining something she'd never seen before. Then she smiled.

"I do believe that Larry might have had a little fling with the Hippie."

"Sherry Lark?"

"Or whatever her name is this week," Dolly said.

"How recent a fling?"

Dolly smiled some more.

"Did you ever see the play Same Time Next Year?"

"I know the premise," I said.

"Well, it's like that, sort of, I think. Larry and the Hippie would gather occasionally, when she came to Lamarr to see her daughters, or when Larry went to San Francisco to a medical conference."

"He's married."

"Yes," Dolly said. "And happily, as far as I can tell. I think Sherry was his walk on the wild side, and God knows he would have been discreet about it."

"How do you know about it?" I said.

Dolly smiled widely, and there was a small flush on her lovely cheekbones. She didn't say anything. Larry Klein, you dog.

"Do you think they might still be, ah, relating?" I said.

"If they were, I assume they still are."

"Possibly… Men sometimes reveal confidences to women with whom they are sleeping," I said.

"Really?" Dolly said. "I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you."

I went to find Susan.

FIFTY-THREE

I GOT TO Lamarr with the taste of lipstick from Susan's goodbye kiss no longer lingering, but its memory still insistent. Back in my old digs at the Holiday I

"How are things going?" Klein said as he organized a couple of sausage biscuits on his plate.