Spiral

tiki bar, but I spotted her right away. She stood behind him at one of the umbrellaed tables, kneading his neck muscles the way I’d seen her do once before. Though it’d been for her husband then.
    From ten feet away, I said, ”Mrs. Helides.”
    Both of them looked up at me. Cornel Radescu, shirt-less, opened his mouth, but his masseuse beat him to the punch.
    ”We ought to charge you for a membership. You’re here as much as I am.”
    ”I doubt it.”
    There was a chair across from Radescu, and I sank into it.
    From under his dark brow, he looked at my bandaged arm but just said, ”Why have you come back to this place?”
    ”Couple of reasons. Let’s start with Malinda Dujong.”
    ”Malinda?” said Helides.
    ”Yes. Either of you seen her recently?”
    Radescu looked confused, Helides just vacant.
    He gestured toward Dujong’s building. ”She lives over there, on the ground—”
    ”We’ve checked. No sign of her, and some indications that she hasn’t been in her unit for a while.”
    Radescu put on a wary expression. ”If already you know this, why do you ask us?”
    ”Originally I thought the killing of Veronica Held was an isolated incident. Now I’m not so sure.”
    Helides stopped the massage and came out from behind Radescu. ”Malinda was just giving Jeanette ‘spiritual guidance’ or something.”
    ”Partly because of Veronica’s death.”
    ”Yes,” said Radescu. ”But Malinda was not even there at the party that day.”
    ”So she told me.” I looked up at Helides. ”Do you know why?”
    ”Why what?” she said.
    ”Why Ms. Dujong wasn’t at your husband’s house.” Helides nearly stamped her foot. ”It’s my house, too, Mister.”
    ”But do you—”
    ”No!” barked Helides.
    I noticed six or seven people turn to stare at us. ”Ms. Dujong told me she’d received a call to meet someone, supposedly referred to her by Jeanette Held.”
    Radescu said, ”What difference does it make, the reason Malinda was not at the party?”
    ”It was a woman’s voice on the phone.”
    ”Okay,” said Helides. ”Maybe I’m stupid, but I don’t get what you’re talking about.”
    I waited a beat. ”Did you make that call?”
    ”Me?”
    ”Yes.”
    Fists to hips now. ”Why would I need a ‘spiritual advisor’?”
    ”Wait a minute,” said Radescu, coming forward in the chair, muscles bunching. ”Are you saying somebody kept Malinda from the party on purpose, and now has done something to her?”
    ”Pretty good summary.”
    Helides looked to him, then back at me, the expression on her face like a kid accused of stealing a piece of somebody else’s candy. ”Well, I sure as hell didn’t have anything to do with it. Why would I?”
    Time to test the waters. ”Sundy Moran.”
    They exchanged looks again, but it was back to confused and vacant, respectively.
    ”What is this, a name?” said Radescu.
    ”Of a young woman killed within hours of Veronica Held.”
    Helides said, ”Never heard of her.”
    Radescu worried his hands atop the patio table. ”Why do you tell us about this thing?”
    ”Sundy Moran was probably the daughter of Tommy O’Dell.”
    The tennis pro shook his head, now more exasperated than confused. ”Another name I do not know about, or care about.”
    Helides glanced at him. ”He was Spi’s drummer.” Radescu said, ”What?”
    ”In the original band.” She came back to me. ”He wasted himself with drugs.”
    Her certainty stopped me. ”I thought that was long before you knew even the Colonel?”
    ”It was, but I’ve heard the guys talk about him. Only, what the fuck does somebody dead twenty years have to do with Very or this Moran girl?”
    ”Actually I was hoping you two. could help me with that.” Helides glared at me as Radescu drew back in his chair, arms folding across his bare chest.
    She said, ”What’s that supposed to mean?”
    ”You used to drive Veronica here for tennis lessons with her”—I glanced at Radescu—”teacher, right?”
    Now Helides crossed her arms, too. ”So?”
    ”So then you stopped, and Delgis Reyes had to do it. I’m wondering why?”
    ”Because that’s the little wetback’s job.”
    I bored through the slur. ”But there must be a reason why you decided to stop bringing her to see your mutual instructor.”
    ”Okay, mister.” Helides raised her voice again, and other conversations around us halted abrupdy. ”You think Cornel was hitting on our poor little Very, right?”
    Radescu shuddered.