True Blue

CHAPTER 63

THE SUN was setting as they finished their meal. Herbert had served the dinner in a Roman ruin-style pavilion next to an elaborate water garden with a pond, waterfall, and hundreds of thirsty flowers.

“I wonder if Herbert rents out for parties,” said Roy, as he used chopsticks to push a last bit of spicy pork into his mouth.

“If you had a full-time gig here would you ever want to leave?” said Mace as she sipped on a glass of Chinese beer.

Roy glanced at her. “So about me asking you to join me in the hot tub-”

“What about it?” Mace cut in.

“Uh, nothing.”

Her tone softened. “Look, it’s just been awhile. The last few years did a number on me. Made it hard to have a normal relationship. Hell, if I ever could in my line of work.”

“I understand that.”

“But I like hanging with you. And you put a lot on the line for me. I won’t forget that.”

Mace leaned forward and made marks on a cloth napkin with her sticks. “Diane Tolliver’s office.”

“You want to go back to there? Why?”

“Something happened, Roy. Those guys came after me right after I was there.”

“How would they have even known you were there? I was the only one up there with you and I didn’t tell anybody.”

“We also need to get into Diane’s house.”

“Won’t the police have it taped off?”

“It’s just tape.”

“No, it’s just a felony. More than one, actually. You could go back to prison.”

Her face eased into a hard mask. “I’m already in prison, Roy, but I’m apparently the only one who can see the damn bars.”

“What do you hope to find at her house?”

“She wanted us to talk to Andre Watkins. The bandits beat us to it. So we have to get that information from another angle.”

“Come on, shouldn’t we leave this to the police?”

“Some jerks tried to kill me. I’m not walking away from that.”

“You have no idea if that’s connected to what happened to Diane.”

“My gut is telling me different. And I listen to my gut.”

“It’s never wrong?”

“Not on the important issues, no.”

Roy eyed the immense gymnasium facility Altman had shown them across from the guesthouse.

“You up for a little B-ball?”

“What? You didn’t have enough with Psycho?”

“I would assume it would be a little friendlier than that.”

“Never assume. Remember how you described my play? I can hard-foul with the best of them. But I didn’t bring my uniform.”

“I bet a guy like Altman has all that stuff.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“One-on-one?”

“I saw what you did to Psycho. You’re out of my league.”

“Come on, I’ll take it easy on you.”

“Gee, just what I wanted to hear.” She paused. “How about a game of HORSE instead?”

“HORSE?”

“Yeah, you know the game, right.”

“I think I played it once or twice.”

“Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I spent the last two years of my life playing it every day. Still game?”

“No problem.”

“Don’t sound so confident. What are we playing for?”

“Playing for?”

“I’m not getting all hot and sweaty for nothing.”

“You up for anything?”

“Not if the loser has to give the winner a full-body massage while naked, or some crap like that.”

“No nakedness or bodily touching. I promise.”

She looked at him warily.

“Come on, Mace, trust your gut.”

“Okay, my gut says whatever you propose I accept.”

“Okay. You win, we both keep investigating this thing without the cops. I win, we go to the cops and tell them everything and let them handle it.”

Mace looked at him with a stony expression.

“You’re not going to back off your gut, are you?” he said.

“I guess I expected a little more from you, Roy.”

“I think you’ll thank me at some point. You ready?”

Mace stood. “Better bring your A-game, Kingman.”