I walked down the slope, the wind cool, wimpling the water. His egg-shaped face was ruddy, his eyes bright, every hair on his head perfectly in place. “Has a crime wave hit Franklin?” he said.
“You tell me.”
“Why you’d leave my table at Clementine’s?
“I didn’t like the way things were going.”
“You mean Rowena’s wandering eye?”
“You said it, I didn’t.”
“She’s a young woman. What’s the harm?”
“Her husband might have an opinion.”
“Dave, you’re a Puritan, and you know it. Come inside.”
“Do you know a lowlife by the name of Kevin Penny?”
“A lowlife? Let me see. Nope. Who is he?”
“A pimp and a meth dealer. He says he’s delivered dope and women to your house.”
“Grand. Anything else?”
“He says he makes deposits in a bank account used by your company. He operates around the Jennings area.”
“Let’s go inside. I have some aspirin in the kitchen. How about a cold washcloth on the forehead?”
“None of this is true?”
He walked ahe
ad of me, looking over his shoulder. “It’s good I like you.”
“I don’t think you get it, Jimmy. This isn’t a courtesy call.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s a visitation by a lunatic.”
I caught up with him and slipped my hand under his arm. I turned him around. He seemed surprised.
“Lose the attitude, Jimmy,” I said.
He looked down at my hand. “All right, I will. My attitude is one of kindness to you. I respect your service to the country and your service to the community. You’ve been through perfect misery in the last two years. That isn’t lost on me or others. Learn who your bloody friends are, Dave.”
“Been hanging with the Aussies?”
“That’s a cheap shot.”
“Tony Nemo says you shafted him.”
“Tony has a fried egg for a brain.”
“I think Levon Broussard is a decent and honorable man,” I said. “I also think he’s naive. Nobody is going to use me to hurt him.”
Jimmy put his hands on his hips and looked at the bayou, his face cool and handsome and at peace. “I don’t know what to say. Come have a cold drink with me. Please.”
“This guy Penny is lying?”