Free Lalla Bains 02 - A Dead Red Heart by RP Dahlke Page B

butt on the stool. He nonchalantly added an elbow to the counter and hoisted himself up onto the seat. Roxanne rolled her dark eyes and left for the kitchen.
    Del pretended I wasn't grinning at him. "Hellooo baby, how 'bout I light your fire tonight?"
    I calmly wiped my hands on my napkin and lost the grin. "How 'bout I just light those last three hairs on your head with my Bic."
    He choked and coughed.
    "Hair ball?"
    "You're joking, right? You don't even carry a lighter anymore. You quit smoking, right?"
    "Don't count on it. What do you want?"
    Now sure I was teasing, he was back to his old obnoxious behavior. "Hey, baby, be nice. Bet you'll want to know me better when I win the Pulitzer."
    I pretended to examine my fingernails. "You got five seconds."
    He shook off the insult. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm going to help you find out who killed Billy Wayne Dobson."
    "After you called me a murderer? I think not."
    "No, no, you totally misunderstood that article. It was his mother who said that, not me. I know you wouldn't hurt a fly. Besides, I'm here to help you."
    "If you know something, call homicide. Better yet," I said, pulling Detective Rodney's card out of my purse and giving it a little shove in his direction, "here's the lead detective's card. Tell him."
    With one stubby finger, he gingerly scooted the card back to me. "No thanks. The guy has no sense of humor."
    At least we agreed on one thing. "Tick-tock, Del."
    He leaned closer and whispered, "'The more there is the less you see'—that's what Billy Wayne said before he died, right?"
    I blinked. "That's... I never—nobody could've… Wait a minute. How would you know what he said to me?"
    "I haf my vays. Look, baby." At my frown he switched gears. "Okay, Lalla. I got an interest in this case and I can help, but not if Rodney gets to shove his way into it."
    Another thing we agreed on. "So far you haven't said anything to change my mind about you, either."
    "I heard you were pretty smart... for a blonde. You still want to talk to Merriweather Cook, don't you?"
    "What do you know about Merriweather Cook?"
      "Come on, let's blow this joint and I'll explain everything." he said, and hopped off the stool.
    I stayed where I was. "About Merri Cook?"
    "Yeah, yeah. But, first we've got to go meet a guy."
    I started to get off the stool, then paused. "What do you mean, we ?"
    He grabbed my arm. "Come on, we can talk about it in the car."
    I resisted the arm-tugging and asked, "What guy?"
    "An informant of mine. Look, I don't want to talk about it here, too many ears. He's got some information to give us about Billy Wayne. So, can we go now?"
    I hesitated, looking around at the audience we were attracting. "I don't think it's such a hot idea, me and you leaving together."
    Someone might mistakenly think I'd agreed to give him an interview. I'd rather have a root canal.
    "I know, I know. You think the boyfriend might hear and get jealous, right? I got that problem, too. I'm a regular chick magnet these days. The women can't get enough of the 'ol love machine, probably because I project all this incredible self-confidence. Chicks like that. Though from what I hear, things aren't going so smooth in lover's land for you."
    "We're not leaving together, Del. I'll meet you out front of the Modesto Bee in twenty minutes, and we'll talk about Miss Cook and your informant there."
    "Suit yourself."
    I let Del Potts have exactly five minutes' head start, then jumped into my Caddy and tore out of the parking lot. I hit the on-ramp for downtown Modesto doing sixty. I had to crowd in between a couple of commuters so I could get in, but you would've thought I'd stolen their place in line for tickets to a Smashing Pumpkins concert. Jeez, some people.
    I was coming up on the exit to Standiford Road when I saw the cold blue lights of a Modesto city police cruiser behind me. I slowed down, hoping he wasn't after me, but when he snugged up close enough to my bumper for me to get the point, I