PI On A Hot Tin Roof

cheap—but that’s another story.” Maybe that was the mob part of the deal. “Leave it at this—they needed the money, and they got certain other concessions from LaGarde. Look, I don’t do business with my family—you may have heard things about them. Kristin and I were both pawns.” He looked away. “God, I wish I had it to do all over again!”
    Suddenly he seemed to come out of a trance. “I’m sorry.” She noticed that he was blushing slightly. “My friends tell me I should be in therapy—I can’t seem to stop telling the story. What was it you said you were here about?”
    “Your ex-wife hired me to investigate her fiancé’s death.”
    “Buddy Champagne. I thought it was a suicide.”
    “The police think not. I came to you because Warren LaGarde sent me.”
    “But—what would I know about Buddy Champagne?” His puzzlement seemed real.
    She decided on a smallish lie. “Mr. LaGarde sent me because he said I was in over my head—that his daughter was psychotic and you could verify it. Now you’re telling me in so many words that he’s the one who’s dangerous. Frankly, I’m wondering what else you can tell me about him. Like why you think that.”
    He steepled his hands. “Warren LaGarde is a major piece of work. All I can tell you is that he was willing to throw his daughter at me because he wanted something—so maybe he wanted something from a prominent judge as well. But that doesn’t help you, does it? That wouldn’t be a reason to kill said judge.”
    She backtracked—there was more than one way to get at this. “Well, tell me.
Am
I in over my head? LaGarde said Kristin put you through the wringer—that she’s a chronic liar and therefore must be manipulating me.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Does that strike you as a little self-serving?”
    “A little.”
    “Look, maybe she did put me through a wringer, but I was probably just as toxic for her as she was for me. She was just a kid when we met—didn’t know what she wanted, or who she was, or who I was. I put her through school, and then she dumped me. End of story.”
    “I don’t mean to pry—”
    He smiled. “Oh, yes, you do. That’s your job.”
    Taking that as a license to pry, she said, “LaGarde said she had an affair along the way.”
    “
An
affair! She was a slut. But then so was I. We were just—fucked up, that’s all.”
    Talba was so used to Eddie she half-expected Truelove to excuse his French. It was restful to meet a white man who could swear guiltlessly.
    “But make no mistake about it, that is one hardheaded woman. And bright—whoo! She might have been young and dumb when we met—meaning no street smarts—but she’s smart as hell. I couldn’t believe it when she dumped me—I mean, no matter what, you can’t just dump family…I thought.”
    Talba interrupted him, having sudden second thoughts. “Meaning you still consider her family? Still see her and talk to her?”
    “Are you kidding?” he said. “That one I got over without a therapist. I never want to see the woman again. She may not be the devil, even if her father thinks so, but she’s so selfish and manipulative”—his mind wandered off—“then again, guess who made her that way? I always wondered about Warren.”
    “About Warren?” Talba wondered if he was going where she thought he was going. “Meaning you think he has a sexual hold on her?”
    He seemed relieved that she’d been the one to say it. “I just don’t know. But I sure don’t rule it out. It would explain why he tries to control her every move, wouldn’t it?”
    “Yes, but so would insanity. Which is what he’s claiming for her. What do you think—crazy or not?”
    “I think he’s the quintessential overprotective parent and she’s way too close to him. When she left, I told her—fool that I am—that her family would never get another penny from mine.” He stopped to get Talba’s reaction. “Yeah, yeah, I know how dumb that sounds—I’m over that kind of stuff. But listen, know what she said? She said, ‘Fine. We don’t need it.’ Now tell me she isn’t too tied up with Daddy.”
    “Well, in that case, let’s take another tack. You really don’t seem to think much of Warren. What if she finally did break away? What if he didn’t actually want her to marry Buddy—would he kill to keep it from happening?”
    So far, he’d impressed Talba as thoughtful and balanced. But on this one he didn’t hesitate. He began to nod before