Free Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

drinks. People passed. Several smiled at the three of us. Susan spoke to some of them.
    "Would you ever put your underpants on backward?" I said.
    "Is this a trick question?" Susan said.
    "No," I said. "Dawn Lopata's underpants were on backward when they took her to the hospital."
    Susan shook her head.
    "No one would make that mistake," she said.
    "Unless it was a man and he was rushed," I said.
    "Unless that," Susan said.
    "Also," I said, "she had rather large breasts but no bra."
    "How large?"
    "I never saw her in person," I said, "but in pictures she seems in the D-cup range."
    "Did she seem to be braless in the pictures?" Susan said.
    "No."
    "It's not a dilemma I've ever faced," Susan said. "But most women would not want to go braless with breasts that big."
    "My thought exactly."
    "And you are wondering if maybe someone else dressed her?" Susan said. "And getting the bra on was too much work?"
    "I am."
    "Would that mean that Jumbo did it?"
    "Nope. But it means somebody wanted to, ah, clean up the scene a little."
    "Z?" Susan said.
    "Probably."
    "Have you consulted Quirk about this?" Susan said.
    "No."
    "Don't you think you ought to?" Susan said.
    "No."
    "Why not?" she said. "Why not take advantage of what he might have learned already?"
    "We decided not to consult," I said.
    "Why not?"
    "We both think the best thing is for me to start from scratch," I said. "And reach a conclusion and compare it with Quirk's."
    "He said that?"
    "No."
    "So . . . ?"
    "I mentioned it, and he agreed. There's stuff you know," I said, "without saying much."
    "Oh," Susan said. "I'm blundering into that male thing again."
    "No matter where you go," I said, "you don't blunder."
    "Thank you," Susan said. "But talk to me about the, ah, male thing, a little more."
    "Quirk wants to know if Jumbo's guilty. He doesn't care if he can prove it. But he wants to know. If I go through the exercise and conclude that Jumbo is guilty, and Quirk's conclusion is the same, then he can relax and let them railroad Jumbo, even if there's no proof."
    "And that's justice?" Susan said.
    "Enough justice for Quirk," I said. "As long as he's sure Jumbo is guilty."
    "But he's never said all this."
    "Mostly not," I said.
    "But you know it," Susan said.
    "I do."
    "Because that would be enough justice for you," she said.
    "It would," I said.
    The squirrel had vanished, and Pearl was now staring thoughtfully into the middle distance.
    "And if you conclude that Jumbo didn't do it, or at least didn't do it with intent . . . ?"
    "I'll report it to Quirk, and he'll have to decide."
    "If he decides to fight it?" Susan said.
    "I'll help him."
    "If he decides to let Jumbo be railroaded?" Susan said.
    "He won't," I said.
    All three of us sat for a bit, looking into the middle distance.
    Then I said, "May I mix us up some fresh drinks?"
    "Yes," Susan said. "You may."
    So I did.
    Zebulon Sixkill VI

    "A bouncer?" Lucy said. "I can't be with a bouncer, for God's sake."
    "Gotta make a living," Zebulon said.
    "How much living can a bouncer make?" Lucy said.
    "Don't know."
    "You didn't even ask?"
    "No."
    "What's wrong with you?" she said.
    "Don't know," Zebulon said.
    "You're not going to play football anymore?"
    "Guess not."
    Lucy stared at him silently, and as she stared, he could almost see her withdraw into the perfect gloss of herself.
    "Thank God we didn't get married," she said.
    "Why?"
    "It would have been so much harder to leave you," she said.
    "Leave?"
    "My family disapproves of divorce," she said.
    "You're going to leave?"
    "One minute I'm living in a nice condo with the campus God, the man who's going to be a famous professional player and make millions of dollars."
    Zebulon shrugged.
    "Next minute I'm living in some dump with an Indian from Montana who works as a bouncer?"
    "I guess," Zebulon said.
    "I wasn't brought up for that, Z. I can't be that."
    "Maybe I can get back in shape," Zebulon said. "Transfer. Take care of business."
    "Maybe," Lucy said. "Maybe. Maybe. I can't