“I am not going to make Newman twiddle his thumbs while I have sex in the parking lot.”
“I’ll ask Newman if he’s okay with it.”
“Nicky, no, and if I tell you not to do it, you won’t be able to.”
“That’s true.”
“I’ll ask Newman,” Ethan said.
“Ethan!”
“I’ll be embarrassed to ask him, but if you forbid Nicky to do it, then I’ll do it.”
“I can’t—”
“If Newman is weirded out, we’ll try to shadow you,” Nicky said.
“You’ll really ask Newman if he’s okay with me screwing one of you in the parking lot?”
“If there’s a motel nearby, would that make it better?” Nicky asked.
“Yes, I guess, but that takes more time, and Bobby is running out of that.”
“Then we’re back to a quickie,” Nicky said.
“No.”
“Then eat more regularly in the next four hours, and we’ll follow you,” he said.
“I said I’d take the snacks.”
“Quickie or we play escort for the rest of this trip, Anita.”
“I have to go do my job now.” I was angry and let it show in my voice.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Ethan said.
“I haven’t agreed to any of this.”
“We know,” Nicky said.
I hung up on him. No I love you, nothing, because I was pissed. I was angry at Nicky for forcing me to think so far outside my comfort zone. I was angry with Ethan for helping him. I was pissed that my metaphysics had gotten out of control, especially in the middle of a police investigation. I hated all my choices, but the thought I hated most was losing control of the ardeur, because feeding on Newman, or one of the other cops, was the worst choice of all.
63
THE WOMAN GOT out of the car, and I asked, “Giselle, right?”
The woman nodded. Newman stared at her, frowned, then looked at me. I knew the expression by now. It meant he believed me, but only because I said so. Strippers in street clothes with no makeup on don’t look much like their stage personas. You have to pay attention to the bone structure. That’s about the only thing that doesn’t change and can’t be faked by normal makeup.
I suggested we talk out in the parking lot in the sunshine, and Newman played along to open her car door and get her outside. I was pretty sure that if Barry saw us with her, he’d raise the alarm or even call the cops. After what had just happened, I couldn’t really blame him, but we still had a murder to solve and another murder to prevent. It’s all about priorities even if you’ve just had a major metaphysical oops.
Newman helped me walk her toward the Jeep. I started eating the now cold French fries not because they were good, but because they were food, and I didn’t want Giselle or any other strangers to be on the menu. We asked her to get inside the Jeep to talk.
“I’m not under arrest, am I?” she said.
When we said no, she wouldn’t get in with us. Her choice. So we leaned against Newman’s vehicle.
Giselle’s face was pale in sunlight. She blinked wide brown eyes almost owlishly. Her eyebrows arched dark and perfect, which made the rest of her naked face look even paler and more unfinished without some extra color. She put her hand above her eyes to shield them from the light. “Couldn’t find my sunglasses this morning,” she explained as if we’d asked.