82 Desire

wall.
    Finally, she said, “He was into dealing a little.”
    “Dealing what?”
    Her fat shoulders shrugged. “Cocaine, I guess. Whatever. He gave me some blow now and then—and he always had pot, too.”
    Skip hadn’t seen any drugs at his house.
    “He was talking about some kind of big score. I didn’t really approve of his dealing drugs—I mean, it wasn’t immoral or anything, I just thought it was dangerous and”—she stuck a knuckle between her teeth to get a grip—”I guess it was.”
    Knuckle or no, her face fell in once again, and her big shoulders shook.
    Then she wagged her head, as if warding off the grief. “No, no, no. I just don’t think it was drugs.”
    “Why not?”
    “Something. Let me think.” She drank some of the water and stared at the wall again. “I know! I asked him. And he said no. That’s what it was.”
    “And then did you ask what it was if it wasn’t drugs?”
    “Yes. Yeah, I did. He said, ‘You’re going to be really surprised, Ellie girl. Really, really surprised. Guess what? It’s halfway legitimate. And not only that, it’s right. Right and moral.’ “Allred laughed, a forced-sounding noise coming out of her throat. “Now how’d I forget somethin’ like that?”

Five
    SKIP COULDN’T WAIT to get back to her office to interview Talba. She was over an hour late, so the girl would have had time to stew. That was good. She was looking forward to an antsy and worried witness, suffering from so powerful a combination of paranoia and boredom she’d be an easy target.
    Instead, she found nothing but a message saying Talba had gone for a walk and would check in from time to time to see if Skip had returned.
    Damn. She hated resourcefulness.
    In fact, Talba returned in about twenty minutes laden with packages and overcome with enthusiasm. “Whoo—great stuff at the museum store. You ever go over there?”
    “Sit down, Ms. Wallis.” Skip spoke sharply.
    Instantly, the friendly demeanor turned hard. “Hey. Who do you think you’re ordering around? I come down here to accommodate you, you’re not here, I wait, and now you got nothing but attitude.”
    “Sit down, Ms. Wallis.” This time Skip’s voice was slightly kinder, and she thought she might have let a bit of the seriousness of what she had to say creep into her expression.
    Wallis looked suddenly frightened. She sat. “Something bad’s happened.”
    “You’re damn right something bad’s happened. I want you to tell me every single thing you know about Gene Allred and everything there is to tell about your relationship with him.”
    “Relationship! Listen, Detective, I don’t have a relationship with the man. I worked for him some, that’s all. I hardly know him. What’s this all about?”
    “Are you still working for Allred? “
    Wallis looked confused, as if she weren’t sure what to say. Finally, she said, “From time to time.”
    “Uh-huh. When was the last time?”
    “Last month, I guess.”
    “You told me you were trying to call him yesterday—why was that?”
    “That’s private.”
    “Nothing’s private, Ms. Wallis. This is a murder investigation.”
    Fury contorted Wallis’s features. “You … white … bitch.” She bit off each word. “How dare you play games with me? Are you telling me Gene Allred’s dead?”
    If Skip had been hoping to provoke a reaction, it wasn’t this one. She’d never been spoken to quite so rudely by a witness, especially one who might be a suspect. Still, she supposed the woman had registered surprise.
    “I hate these damn power games. You treat me like a person or I’m out of here. All day long you’ve pushed me around. You treat me with a little respect.” Her hair extensions were shaking, she was so mad.
    “Ms. Wallis, you just insulted a police officer. You want me to make your life difficult, I’ve certainly got reason. Now, understand the seriousness of this situation. Your employer has been murdered. Calm down and answer my questions.”
    Skip could not allow herself to be insulted, but in the back of her mind, she thought Wallis had a point—she had probably pushed too far and ended up bullying.
    Wallis sulked. She wasn’t about to apologize and Skip wasn’t about to ask her to. Best to forget the whole thing.
    Skip said in a quieter voice: “Were you close to Mr. Allred?”
    “No, I wasn’t close to Mr. Allred. I worked for him.”
    Good. Wallis was backing off, too. “Well, then, why did you call him and then go