Free A Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

both of them had ended up married to him. It was she who brought the conversation back around to the subject at hand. "So fire away," she said.

    I curtsied mentally. She was very deft, making my job much easier than I'd thought she would. "I didn't think you'd be so cooperative.

    "You've been talking to Charlie Scorsoni," she said.

    "It seemed like a logical place to start," I said with a shrug. "Is he on your list?”

    "Of people who might have killed Laurence? No. I don't think so. Am I on his?”

    I shook my head.

    "That's odd," she said.

    "How so?”

    She tilted her head, her expression composed. "He thinks I'm bitter. I've heard it from a lot of different sources. Small town. If you wait long enough, anyone's opinion about you will be reported back.”

    "It sounds like you'd be entitled to a little bitterness.”

    "I worked that through a long time ago. By the way, this is where you can reach Greg and Diane if you're interested." She pulled an index card out of her purse with the two names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

    "Thanks. I appreciate that. Any advice about how they should be approached? I was serious when I said I didn't want to upset them.”

    "No, no. They're straight shooters, both of them. If anything, you might find them a little too up front.”

    "I understand they haven't kept in touch with Nikkie.”

    "Probably not, but that's too bad. Old business. I'd much rather see them let that go. She was very good to them." She reached back then and pulled the scarf out of her hair, shaking her hair slightly so that it would fall loose. It was shoulder length, an interesting shade of gray that I didn't imagine had been tampered with. The contrast was nice ... gray hair, brown eyes. She had strong cheekbones, nice lines around her mouth, good teeth, a tan that suggested health without vanity.

    "What did you think of Nikki?" I asked, now that the subject had been broached.

    "I'm not really sure. I mean, I resented the hell out of her back then but I'd like to talk to her sometime. I feel like we might understand each other a lot better. You want to know why I married him?”

    "I'd be interested in that.”

    "He had a big cock," she said impishly and then laughed. "Sorry. I couldn't resist that. Actually he was awful in the sack. A regular screwing machine. Terrific if you like your sex depersonalized.”

    "I'm not crazy about that kind myself," I said dryly.

    "Neither was I when I figured it out. I was a virgin when I married him.”

    "Jesus," I said. "That's a bore.”

    "It was an even bigger bore back then but it was all part of the message I was raised on. I always thought the failure was mine in terms of our sex life." She trailed off and the faintest tint came to her cheeks.

    "Until what," I ventured.

    "Maybe I should have wine too," she said and signaled to the waitress. I ordered a second glass. Gwen turned to me.

    "I had an affair when I turned thirty.”

    "Shows you had some sense.”

    "Well yes and no. It only lasted about six weeks but it was the best six weeks of my life. In a way, I was glad to see it end. It was powerful stuff and it would have turned my life around. I wasn't ready for that." She paused and I could see her reviewing the information in her head. "Laurence was always very critical of me and I believed I deserved it. Then I ran into a man who thought I could do no wrong. At first I resisted. I knew what I was feeling for this man but it went against the grain. Finally I just gave in. For a while I told myself it was good for my relationship with Laurence. I was suddenly getting something I'd needed for a long time and it made me feel very giving with him. And then the double life began to take its toll. I deceived Laurence for as long as I could but he began to suspect something was going on. I got so I couldn't tolerate his touch—too much tension, too much deceit. Too much good stuff somewhere else. He must have felt the change come over me because he