Free Tony Dunbar - Tubby Dubonnet 06 - Lucky Man by Tony Dunbar Page B

made building subdivisions in Kenner. Harvard undergraduate and a law degree from California Christian. His radio talk show,
Righteous Anger
, led the ratings for three years. His campaign literature said divorced, no children. He grew up in Lakeview. If you remember his ads, he promised to clean up the city. That’s a toned-down version of what he used to say on the radio. I tuned him in sometimes when I was working late, and to me he sounded like a Nazi, but that’s just a personal opinion. He pays his bills. He was arrested once when he was on spring break from college, but his record was expunged.”
    “Can’t you find any dirt?”
    “I’m doing my best, but he seems to be your basic nasty zealot.”
    “I wonder what caused him to be so aimlessly hurtful?”
    “I’m not a shrink. Possibly he wants to be paid to go away.”
    “You’ve lived in Louisiana too long.”
    “I’ve got to admit I don’t understand a man like Dementhe,” Flowers said. “There’s a million murderers and rapists out there for a district attorney to prosecute. Why doesn’t he worry about them?”
    “You’re not going to charge me for these observations, are you?”
    “I wouldn’t pay for them, if I were you.”
    “I guess that’s it, then. How’s the rest of your business these days?”
    “I’ve got a full plate, but I always give you first priority, you know that. Your jobs are always… ”
    “Always what?”
    “Strange?”
    “That’s me. Anyway, I can’t think of anything else for you to do right now.”
    “Call me if you do,” Flowers said.
    ***
    Raisin and Sapphire were having a late afternoon sandwich at Johnny’s Po-Boys on St. Ann Street. Raisin was trying not to notice things like the part in her hair, the way her long fingers held her sandwich, and the line of her jaw as she chewed, because he knew from long experience what his fascination with the little things meant. He was getting hooked, and he knew his heart was about to soften up again. It had happened before, with almost all of his women. He had to fight constantly to stay free.
    “I guess you’re hungry,” he said, watching her crunch down a large dill pickle.
    “You’re a doll to say that,” she said, obviously in fantasyland too.
    “Mustard on my chin?” she asked.
    “No. Is your band playing tonight?”
    “I’m off tonight, don’t you remember? It’s my last Monday off until two weeks from now when the Hot Rocks from Mobile are coming through town.”
    “Maybe I’ll catch your show tomorrow.”
    “Oh, would you?” she asked happily. “That would be sweet.”
    “You know, they don’t pay you enough for the hours you have to put in.”
    “At least they pay us something. The dancers actually have to pay the club to work there.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “You didn’t know that?” She raised a surprised eyebrow. “Mr. Bakustan charges each girl thirty dollars a night to work at the club, and they don’t even get free drinks. They’re not even supposed to eat anything from the buffet, but if he likes you he doesn’t say anything.”
    “Do you mean all their money comes from tips?”
    “You got it. That’s why they dream up these scams like the ‘Super Orgy’ or the ‘Cat Walk’ so they can make some dough.”
    “The ‘Super Orgy’ sounds interesting.”
    “That’s the way it’s supposed to sound, but it’s a racket. They say to the guy, ‘Do you want to come in the back room with me for an orgy?’ and he thinks, gee, that sounds good. She says, ‘It’s fifty bucks, pay in advance.’ They get the money and take the guys in the back and do some special dances, which are, I am sure, pretty dirty, and they say that’s it. That’s the orgy. The guy is pissed, but by then they’ve already got the money.”
    “Don’t they even, you know, give the customer a hand job or something?”
    “Not that I know of. You’ve got to go to the massage parlors for that.”
    “Or I could take a taxi ride with