Duplicity Dogged Тhe Dachshund

29

At the memorial service for Conrad and Stevie, swirling dust motes shimmered like sequins above a large photograph of them at their wedding. In the photo, Stevie was radiant in a traditional bridal gown and veil; Conrad wore a splendid morning coat, a pleated white shirt, modestly patterned skorts, and his signature ear bobs. They looked so vital, so alive, that it was hard to believe they were dead.

Inside the chapel, an organist played softly while the audience sat in silence, still stunned at the ugly violence that had lived among them. Outside, the media slavered over a breaking scandal that involved some of Florida’s most prestigious politicians and businessmen. A grand jury had decided that Leo Brossi had killed and been killed by Gabe Marks, and that I had shot Denton Ferrelli in self-defense. Once again, my name had become front-page news. I had actually been turned into something of a heroine, which shows that people who write about killing don’t have a clue what it means to do it.

I sat with Josephine and her husband. Josephine kept an arm tight around my shoulders as if she were afraid I might bolt and run. I might have too, if I hadn’t known reporters would love to see it.

A moment of quiet fell, and then the organist swung into a loud rendition of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” the signal circus bands use to alert performers that a major disaster has struck. At the cue, a line of clowns wearing red noses and big silly shoes stepped through the side door and took seats in the front two rows. Pete followed them, also dressed in full clown, and stepped to the dais to deliver the eulogy. Now that Denton was no longer a threat to Conrad’s plan for a retirement home for circus performers, I knew there was joy mixed with Pete’s sadness.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Guidry a few rows back and across the aisle. Ethan Crane was almost directly behind him, and both of them were watching me. Their eyes held identical questions that I couldn’t decipher. Or maybe I just didn’t want to.

I can barely answer my own questions, how could I answer theirs?