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.The death of Patricia has to require he bechecked out.So they grab him for murder first.Do you think he would maintaina chivalrous silence? He would want to lay all the facts on the line, withlittle distortions here and there, to try to show justification or at least aplausible excuse for murder."Once they round up Cass and Carl and Martha Whippler and start questioningthem one at a time, how long do you think Lysa Dean would stay in the clear.Make up a headline, honey.Star Implicated in Orgy Murder.She'd be even worseoff.I have to find out how good these guesses are.If she's going to be inthe soup, the best I can do is warn her.Maybe she can take some steps.Long-term contracts.Public relations advice.Something."Dana frowned."I see what you mean.But he could have just said Phoenix."Page 86ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"I think he's there.It's close.I want to check it out.""All right, dear."I patted her on the foot."I like obedient women."She yawned."I just feel terribly passive, I guess.""Entirely, completely passive?"She pursed her lips.She tilted her head.She laid a finger alongside hernose."Well.I wouldn't go so far as to say that."ThirteenI HAD the random idea of poking around the Four Treys to see if I could findsmall hint of a visit from Vance M'Gruder the night of Patty's death, but myfew small memories of the hardnosed vigilance of the Las Vegas cops outweighedthe impulse.They deal, day and night, with every kind of spook and hustler inthe world, and they would be focused very intently on this murder, and I didnot relish the prospect of being bounced up and down while trying to explainmy passing interest.Besides, if M'Gruder was as bright as I imagined, he would not have put in anappearance in the stage lighting of any of the downtown casinos.He would haveher Desert Gate address.Once he got to town it would be no great feat to findout when her shift ended.As I shaved I tried to guess his most plausible mode of transportation.It wasjust about three hundred miles to Phoenix.I decided that if I were doing it,I'd settle for a good fast car.With enough muscle under the hood, and theright kind of springing for the mountain curves, you could safely call it afive-hour run.Leave Phoenix at six and arrive at eleven.Spend an hour hunting her down andkilling her.Back by five-thirty in the morning.Sneak into the bridal bed.Aprivate car was safer than a bus, a scheduled flight or a private plane.Cashfor gas.No records, no fellow passengers.Properly done, casually done, he could have people convinced he had never leftat all.If he had the cold nerve necessary to make that earlier run to SantaRosita.We walked to the dining room for breakfast, my lady wearing that green whichwas all she happened to have.My drowsy lady walked close at my side, withouthaste, her smile as inward and bemused as that of the Mona Lisa.She hugged myarm and beamed up at me and gave me a sleepy wink.And then she yawned.Between us we ate a mountain of wheat cakes, a bale of bacon.I found a Phoenix paper in the lobby rack, checked through it and found asociety editor by-line.I coached Dana and put her into a phone booth with afake name and a reasonably plausible cover story.I stood outside the boothand saw her eyes go fierce and bright.She gave me a savage little nod.When she came out, she said, "What a sweet woman! The M'Gruders are stayingwith a couple named Glenn and Joanne Barnweather.She spake their names withsocial awe.Old friends of his, apparently.They flew in from Mexico Cityabout five days ago, she thinks.She had an item on it.They're staying at thePage 87ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlBarnweather ranch out beyond Scottsdale.You were sure, weren't you?""Not completely.But I'm beginning to be.So let's go take a look at them."We went back to the room and packed.A tremendous chore.She made ahousewifely ceremony of it, trotting around the room in a charade of seeingthat no meager possession was overlooked, earnest frown between her eyes,white teeth biting into the fullness of underlip.I caught her as she went by, planted a kiss upon the frown lines and told herthat she was a fine girl [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]