Sam Kincaid 01 - The Commission

What do you mean?”
    “I’m trying to be as delicate as I can, Ms. Winkler, but what we really need to know is whether Mr. Vogue was involved in any unusual sexual practices that might have some connection to his death. Things such as group sex, sadomasochistic sexual behaviors, anything of that sort?”
    “Jesus, who the hell have you been talking to?” replied Winkler.
    No response from either of us created an awkward period of silence. “Okay,” she continued. “So Levi had some unusual sexual interests. I still don’t see what this has to do with his murder, but I’ll answer the question anyway. Several times, Levi asked if I would bring another dancer back to the motel. He said that he wanted to try a three-way—you know, two women and a guy.”
    “Did you comply with his request?” McConnell asked.
    “Never. I always lied to him about it. I told him that the other dancer wasn’t into that sort of thing. That seemed to satisfy him.”
    “So you never participated with him in any group sex, is that correct?”
    “No. I didn’t say that. I just wasn’t interested in arranging a group scene with another dancer. I didn’t want to share him with anybody else. Twice, Levi showed up at the motel with another guy. He introduced him only as Jerry, and that’s about all I can tell you about him.”
    “Can you describe Jerry?” I asked.
    “Yeah. He was a white guy, a little older than Levi, probably mid-to-late forties, about six feet to six-one, medium build, short, brown hair.”
    “Did he have any facial hair or any distinguishing body characteristics such as tattoos or body piercing?”
    “Clean shaven. No piercing that I can recall, but he did have a tattoo on his upper arm. It was a small dragon. Red, I think.”
    “Which arm?”
    She thought a moment and then said, “I can’t remember.”
    “Did Levi ever explain to you who this guy was?” I asked.
    “He acted funny about that. He seemed real guarded about it. Once, I think he said that he worked with the dude, but I can’t be sure.”
    “So what did the three of you do when you were together?” McConnell asked.
    “Well, Levi was kind of a watcher, a voyeur, I guess you’d call it. That’s what attracted him to the club in the first place, I think. He liked to watch. He liked to watch me masturbate. With this Jerry, it was the same thing. Levi got off watching me do the guy. Once, I did them both at the same time, but mostly he liked to watch me get him off. I finally told him I didn’t want to do it anymore so he stopped bringing the guy around. He didn’t like it, but he never brought the dude back.”
    “So, you never saw this Jerry again, is that right?”
    “Yeah, that’s right.”
    “Just a few more questions, Ms. Winkler, and we’ll be finished,” said Kate. “When and where was the last time you saw Levi alive?”
    “I saw Levi last night at the motel. I had the night off, and his wife was out of town, so we agreed to meet at six-thirty. He actually didn’t get there until a little after seven. He’d stopped at a Mexican restaurant we like and brought some takeout dinner for us.”
    “Which Mexican restaurant?”
    “Rosa’s Cantina on Ft. Union Boulevard.”
    “Did he act nervous or upset about anything? Was he behaving in a normal way?”
    “If he was upset about anything, I sure didn’t notice it. I’ve thought about that a lot today, and last night seemed just like any other time we’ve been together. We talked, ate dinner, and then had great sex. We watched TV in bed together until I fell asleep. I woke up about midnight and Levi was gone. I didn’t know anything had happened to him until one of my girlfriends called. She heard about it on the news this morning.”
    “Do you have any idea who might have killed him?” Kate asked.
    “None whatsoever,” replied Winkler.
    “Tell us about your relationship with John Merchant. Is he still your boyfriend? Are you still seeing him?”
    The look of surprise on her face told us that she wasn’t expecting to be asked about John Merchant. “You must’ve been talking with Mommy Dearest. She never did like Johnny much. As to your questions, the answers are no and no. He’s not my boyfriend any longer, and I quit going out with him three or four months ago.”
    “Was he aware of your ongoing relationship with the victim?” I asked.
    “Look, if you’re suggesting that Johnny had something to do with Levi’s murder, I don’t think so. It just