"There wasn't a tail."
"Maybe you didn't see him."
"There wasn't a tail."
"So?"
"Have you got their phone tapped?"
He was silent.
"What are you trying to tell me, Dunkenstein?" I asked.
"That I think you're crazy."
"She used the phone to tell somebody I gave her a ride into New Iberia?"
"She told her husband. She called him from a bar. Some people might think you're a dumb shit, Robicheaux."
I looked at the mist hanging in the pecan trees. The leaves were dark and wet with dew.
"A few minutes ago I was enjoying a cup of coffee and the morning paper," I said. "I think I'm going to finish the paper now and forget this conversation."
"I'm calling from the little grocery store by the drawbridge. I'll be down to your place in about ten minutes."
"I think I'll make a point of being on my way to work by then."
"No, you won't. I already called your office and told them you'd be late. Hang loose."
A few minutes later I watched him drive his U.S. government motor pool car up my front lane. He closed his car door and stepped around the mud puddles in the yard. His loafers were shined, his seersucker slacks ironed with knife-edge creases, his handsome blond face gleaming with the closeness of his shave. He wore his polished brown belt high up on his waist, which made him look even taller than he was.
"Have you got another cup of coffee?" he said.
"What is it you want, Minos?" I held the screen open for him, but I imagine my face and tone were not hospitable.
He stepped inside and looked at Alafair's coloring book on the floor.
"Maybe I don't want anything. Maybe I want to help you," he said. "Why don't you try not to be so sensitive all the time? Every time I talk with you, you're bent out of joint about something."
"You're in my house. You're running on my meter. You haven't given me any help, either. Cut the bullshit."
"All right, you've got a legitimate beef. I told you we'd handle the action. We didn't. That's the way it goes sometimes. You know that. You want me to catch air?"
"Come on in the kitchen. I'm going to fix some Grape-Nuts and strawberries. You want some?"
"That sounds nice."
I poured him a cup of coffee and hot milk at the kitchen table. The light was blue in the backyard.
"I didn't talk to you at the funeral. I'm not good at condolences. But I wanted to tell you I was sorry," he said.
"I didn't see you there."
"I didn't go to the cemetery. I figure that's for family. I think you're a stand-up guy."
I filled two bowls with Grape-Nuts, strawberries, and sliced bananas, and set them on the table. He put a big spoonful in his mouth, the milk dripping from his lips. The overhead light reflected off his crewcut scalp.
"That's righteous, brother," he said.