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."I left the room, found a drinking fountain and cup dispenser in the hall, filled a large paper container and returned with it.Lorna was speaking softly when I placed the cup on the table in front of her.".and I was cadging at this bar in Gardena.This Mexican man--Raoul or Jorge or something--started talking to me.I thought I was pregnant, and I was desperate wicked bad for money.He said he'd give me two hundred dollars to act in a nudie film."Lorna stopped, slugged down the water, took a deep breath and kept going."The man said he needed another girl, so I called Betty at the Cherokee place.She said yes, and the Mexican man and me picked her up.He got us hopped on reefers, I think 'cause he was afraid we'd get scared and back out.We drove down to Tijuana, and we made the movie at this big house outside town.The Mex man worked the lights and ran the camera and told us what to do and drove us back to LA, and that's _all of it, from the beginning_, so will you call my folks now?"Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlI looked at Russ, then Harry; they were staring at the girl impassively.Wanting to fill in the blank spaces of my own private lead, I asked, "When did you make the film, Lorna?""Around Thanksgiving.""Can you give us a description of the Mexican man?"Lorna stared at the floor."Just a greasy Mex.Maybe thirty, maybe forty, I don't know.I was on hop, and I don't remember too good.""Did he seem particulary interested in Betty?""No.""Did he touch either of you? Get rough with you? Make passes?""No.He just moved us around.""Together?"Lorna whimpered, "Yes"; my blood buzzed.My voice sounded weird to my own ears, like I was some ventriloquist's puppet."Then this wasn't just nudie stuff? This was you and Betty playing lez?"Lorna gave a little dry sob and nodded; I thought of Madeleine and pushed ahead, oblivious to where the girl might take it: "You lez? Was Betty lez? You do any _lez_ pub crawling?"Millard barked, "Bleichert, can it!" Lorna leaned forward in her chair, grabbed the soft daddy cop and hugged him fiercely.Russ looked at me and brought a flat palm slowly down, like a conductor asking the orchestra for a hush.He stroked the girl's head with his free hand, then cocked a finger at Sears.The girl moaned, "I'm not lez, I'm not lez, it was just that one time"; Millard cradled her like a baby.Sears asked, "Was Betty a lesbian, Lorna?"I held my breath.Lorna wiped her eyes on Millard's coat front and looked at me.She said, "I'm not lezzie, and Betty wasn't, and we only bummed at normal-type bars, and it was just that one time in the movie because we were broke and on hop, and if this gets in the papers my daddy'll kill me."I glanced at Millard, sensed that he bought it, and got a strong instinct that the whole dyke offshoot of the case was a fluke.Harry asked, "Did the Mexican man give Betty a viewfinder?"Lorna muttered "Yes," her head on Millard's shoulder."Do you remember his car? The make, the color?""I.I think it was black and old.""Do you remember the bar where you met him?"Lorna lifted her head; I saw that her tears had dried."I think it was on Aviation Boulevard, near all those aircraft plants."Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlI groaned; that part of Gardena was a solid mile of juke joints, poker parlors and cop-sanctioned whorehouses.Harry said, "When did you see Betty last?"Lorna moved back to her own chair, clenching herself against another display of emotion--a hardcase reaction for a fifteen-year-old kid."The last time I saw Betty was a couple of weeks later.Right before she moved out of the Orange Drive place.""Do you know if Betty ever saw the Mexican man again?"Lorna picked at the chipped polish on her nails."The Mex was a fly-by-nighter.He paid us, drove us back to LA and left [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]