D.C. Dead (Stone Barrington 22)

“Gentlemen, I’m afraid I have nothing else to tell you.” She looked at a diamond wristwatch adorning her slender wrist. “And I’m afraid I have forgotten another appointment for this hour. Will you gentlemen excuse me? I’m sorry about the tea.”

She stood up, and the maid appeared as if on cue. “This way, gentlemen,” she said.

Milly Hart turned and left the room witho

ut another word.

Stone and Dino found themselves in the entry hall, waiting for the elevator.

“I wonder what she’s hiding,” Stone said.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Dino asked.

“Get what?”

“Milly Hart is a hooker.”

21

THEY GOT INTO THE ELEVATOR. “WHY ON EARTH DO YOU THINK Milly Hart is a hooker?” Stone asked.

“Stone, sometimes you are so fucking naive.”

“What?”

“We go to see a woman without an appointment. She walks in clad in Hollywood lingerie, then, while we are questioning her, she suddenly remembers another appointment.”

The elevator doors opened, and, standing before them was Muffy Brandon’s husband. They got off, and he got on.

“Are you getting the picture now?” Dino asked.

“I believe so,” Stone said. “I’m sorry to be so slow on the uptake.”

“The No,y ze="3">“question is, how did Brixton Kendrick afford a high-priced hooker like Milly Hart? He was a government employee, for God’s sake.”

“Private income?” Stone asked.

“Not according to his son. Remember meeting him?”

“Ah, yes, and he was terribly concerned about getting the max out of selling the old man’s house.”

“And we’ve gotta be talking about at least a grand a pop for an hour of Milly Hart’s time.”

“I don’t have any experience with rates for hookers,” Stone said.

“Well, you’ve gotta admit that Milly is a rare beauty, especially in a town full of women like Betty Trask and Muffy Brandon.”

“I can’t argue with that. I don’t suppose Brix Kendrick would have any trouble wanting her. Except that his days already seemed pretty full.”

“Yeah,” Dino said, “he must have been short of time with Muffy waiting for him in the afternoons, and he couldn’t have been seeing somebody else in the evenings, because he was busy being an ideal husband. The question is, how could he get it up that often, at his age?”

“How old was he?” Stone asked.

“According to the FBI report, both he and Mimi were fifty-one, the age at which half of American men have what is politely called ‘erectile dysfunction.’”

“Well, Brix was obviously not having those problems, because he was keeping at least two ladies happy on a regular basis.”

“Maybe his wife had cut him off, for one reason or another,” Dino suggested. “And believe me, they don’t really need a reason.”