Stone looked up to see a lush-looking brunette in her mid-thirties walk up to their table. She was fashionably dressed, coiffed, and made up, and Stone thought her breasts seemed too large for the rest of her.
"Hello, Betty," the woman said, her voice dripping with sympathy. "How are you doing, Sweetie?"
Stone stood up.
"Hi, Beverly," Betty replied. "Oh, Stone, this is Beverly Walters; Beverly, this is Stone Barrington."
"Arrington's friend?" she held out a hand. "She's told me so much about you."
"How do you do?" Stone said.
"How long are you in town for?"
"Not very long," Stone replied.
She fished a card from her handbag and handed it to him. "Call me; maybe I can help."
Stone pocketed the card. "Thank you."
"Betty, I'm so sorry about Vance; I know how close you were."
"Thanks, Beverly," Betty replied, without much enthusiasm.
"Call me, if you want to bend an ear," the woman said. She gave Stone a little wave and walked back to her table.
"Steer clear of her," Betty said through clenched teeth.
"She's the source of the rumor I'm trying to confirm," Stone said. "She told the police that Vance was sleeping with Charlene Joiner."
"She doesn't know anything; she's just inventing gossip."
Their dinner arrived.
"Betty, one more time: Was Vance sleeping with her?"
"All right, I'll tell you about Vance. It was his practice to sleep with all his leading ladies, and a lot of those in supporting roles, too."
"Even after he was married?"
"He never wavered. He'd either have them back to the bungalow for lunch or to his trailer. You haven't seen the trailer, have you? It is very comfortable."
"All his leading ladies?"
"You go back and watch any film that Vance starred in, and you may wonder why the love scenes are so convincing. Well, they were convincing, because they had been very well rehearsed."
"And how many pictures did Vance make after he was married?"
Betty counted on her fingers. "Four," she said.
"You think Arrington knew about this?"
"I don't think Vance was shortchanging her, if that's what you mean."
"This Walters woman told police that Arrington had complained to her that Vance had stopped sleeping with her, and that the reason was an affair with Charlene Joiner."
Betty shook her head. "That just doesn't ring true. Vance was a sexual athlete his whole life. He was in superb physical condition, and he loved sex. He could have made a very nice living doing porno movies, because he had both the equipment and the endurance for the work. It's much more likely that Arrington would have complained of too much sex, rather than not enough."
"How do you know about all this?"