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to having what they want when they want it. I guess that’s why so many of them end up in the system after their playing careers are over.”
    â€œSo what do you do for fun, Sterling?”
    â€œThese days I haven’t had much fun. The regular season opens in a few weeks and I still have some owners that are playing hardball with some of the veteran players. On the other hand, some of the veterans see what the rookies are making fresh outta college and they’re jealous, which I can understand. When you’ve given your heart and soul to a team and some rookie who hasn’t proven his worth comes to camp with a $12 million signing bonus, it gets under their skin. The trick is to find a happy medium—a contract that both parties can live with.”
    â€œWell, how much longer are you going to be in town?” Kelly asked.
    â€œA few more days. Why?”
    â€œI was thinking I haven’t had much fun myself since Coco Nimburu blew into town and shook up everybody’s world. And if you want some company, I thought we could have some coffee or something. Talk, or shoot a game of pool, whatever.”
    Sterling felt himself stiffen. It was a natural reflex for him. Women came onto him all the time. This was nothing new, but it was different.He found Kelly attractive, just as any man would. But now he wanted to change his ways. He wanted to stop the bed-hopping and finally go after Vanessa Wright. Nevertheless, he hadn’t had sex since he left Denver, almost forty days ago. And his body was telling him he could go after Vanessa later. Right now, it needed to be submerged into some friendly flesh.
    â€œI’ll tell you what. I may have some time later this evening and I may not. Sometimes contract talks go late into the night.”
    â€œYeah, sometimes investigations do, too,” Kelly said. “Let’s just play it by ear.”
    â€œCool,” Sterling said.

CHAPTER 27
    Nelson Blake had told me all that I needed to know as far as who the suspects were. He had eliminated himself and anyone from his drug-infested world when he told me that they were all making money. Rarely does a drug dealer have a better set-up. They even had a processing lab inside the prison. There was absolutely no reason to disrupt the free flow of drugs from Norrell. When the warden was killed, everybody lost money and the lab was shut down.
    Somehow, the word “money” kept coming up, yet the money wasn’t taken. This led me to believe that either the killer didn’t need the money, or this was a righteous killing. The killer wanted to expose the warden. Maybe that was the reason for the bullwhip. Maybe the killer wanted to punish Perkins for his crimes. But why the wife? Why scourge her? Why rape? Did she have anything to do with drug dealing? I was baffled.
    â€œKelly,” I said as we zoomed down the Beltway to Arlington in her black Stingray. “What do you think is going on?”
    â€œThe hell if I know, Phoenix. I’ve been thinkin’ about the handsome lawyer we just left.”
    I looked at her. Kelly was smiling from ear-to-ear. I knew what that meant. She was going to screw Sterling. She had already made up her mind.
    â€œKelly, don’t you think…”
    She cut me off. “Phoenix, don’t. Okay? I know what you’re going to say and I don’t need to hear it right now. You know what I’ve been throughwith Simon, and you know he lost Tiffany. Maybe we need each other right now to move on. You know what they say, ‘Nothin’ gets you over the last one like the next one.’”
    â€œSo Sterling was havin’ a thing with Tiffany?” I asked.
    â€œProbably. I mean, she was his personal assistant. All the traveling together. Let’s not forget that she was good-looking and so is he. I’d say they were knocking boots.”
    It was hard for me to understand Kelly’s attitude about sex. There had been a lot of