he went somewhere else first, but Lovella seemed to think heâd head straight for Billy Polo if he needed help.â
âDid that information on Polo do you any good?â
âNot yet, but it will. Iâm just waiting to see what weâve got on our hands before I proceed. Even if the death was accidental, I suspect Barbara Daggett will want me to look into it. I mean, for starters, what washe doing on a boat in a rainstorm? And where has he been all this time?â
âWhere have
you
been?â Jonah asked.
I focused on him and realized heâd shifted the subject. âWho, me? Iâve been around.â
He picked up a pencil and began to tap out a beat, like a man auditioning for a tiny blues band. He was giving me a look Iâd seen before, full of heat and speculation. âAre you dating anyone?â
I shook my head, smiling slightly. âThe only good men I know are married.â I was being flirtatious and he seemed to like that.
His blue eyes locked into mine and the color rose in his face. âWhat do you do for sex?â
âJog on the beach. How about you?â
He smiled, breaking off eye contact. âIn other words, itâs none of my business.â
I laughed. âIâm not avoiding the question. Iâm telling the truth.â
âReally? Thatâs funny. I always pictured you out raising hell.â
âI did some of that years ago, but I canât stand it these days. Sex is a bonding process. Iâm careful who I connect up with. Besides, you donât know what the marketplace is like. A one-night stand is more like a wrestling match with a couple of quick take-downs. Talk about demoralizing. Iâd rather be alone.â
âI know what you mean. I was out there hustling some the year she was gone, but I never got the hangof it. Iâd go in a bar and some babe would sidle up to me, but I never made the right moves. Couple of times, women told me I was rude when I just thought I was making small talk.â
âItâs worse if youâre successful at it,â I said. âBe grateful you never learned the gamesmanship. I know a couple of guys on the circuit and theyâre hard as nails, you know? Unhappy. Hostile toward women. They get laid, but thatâs about all they get.â
Behind him, Lieutenant Becker came in and took a seat at a desk across the room. Jonahâs pencil tapping started again and then stopped. He tossed it aside and rocked back in his chair.
âI wish life were simple,â he said.
I kept my tone of voice mild. âLife
is
simple. Youâre the one making things complex. You were doing great without Camilla, as far as I could see. She crooks her finger, though, and you go running back. And now you canât figure out what went wrong. Quit acting like a victim when you did it to yourself.â
This time he laughed. âGod, Kinsey. Why donât you just say whatâs on your mind.â
âWell, I donât understand voluntary suffering. If youâre unhappy, change something. If you canât make it work, then bail out. Whatâs the big deal?â
âIs that what you did?â
âNot quite. I dumped the first and the second one dumped me. With both, I did my share of suffering, but when I look back on it, I canât understand why Iendured so long. It was dumb. It was a big waste of time and cost me a lot.â
âIâve never even heard you mention those guys.â
âYeah, well Iâll tell you about them sometime.â
âYou want to have a drink when I get off work?â
I looked at him briefly and then shook my head.
âWeâd end up in bed, Jonah.â
âThatâs the point, isnât it?â He smiled and did a Groucho Marx wiggle with his eyebrows.
I laughed and turned the subject back to Daggett as I got up. âCall me when Dr. Yee has results on the post.â
âIâll call for more
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