“I don’t have time to take my time, Archer,” she said curtly. “But I’ll tell you this. Hank doesn’t—didn’t—love Marjorie anymore and would have thrown her over in a minute. I mean, divorced her and married someone else. And there were several eligible ladies waiting in the wings, I can tell you that. But then I came along, and I fed Hank’s need. Not just in the bedroom—at his age he wasn’t really interested very much—but in having a pretty young thing on his arm to show off to folks in town. You saw that in the bar, certainly?” Archer nodded. “Well, it made him feel, well, more virile. You know that word?”
“I’ve heard it, yeah.”
“Hank spends time with me in town and then he goes home to Marjorie for a couple of days and comes back to town on Mondays. Marjorie knew I had no interest in marrying the man.”
“Wait a minute, how did Marjorie find out about all this between you and Pittleman? I suppose he told her?”
“No, I did.”
“You!”
“I insisted on it. I’m not going behind another woman’s back like that.”
When Archer still looked confused, she came over to sit next to him. “I know it’s complicated, but it was sort of like a negotiation. I wanted money and a place of my own. Hank wanted a young woman to walk around with and show off. And Marjorie wanted to stay in her big house. In the end, everyone got what they wanted.”
“So, are you happy?” asked Archer.
“Well, I was until I found out Hank was dead.”
“And now?”
“Now, who knows? I’m sort of left out in the cold.”
“Your daddy—” he began.
“—does not figure into the equation of my happiness,” she said firmly. Then her expression changed. “I should go out and see Marjorie later today. We’ll need to let Bart tell her first, of course. You want to come with me?”
Archer looked at her for the longest time until he nodded yes.
“What in the world do you think happened to Hank?” she said. “Who could have killed him? How did he die? Jeb just said it was bloody.”
“Beats me,” replied Archer.
Chapter 15
WHERE’D YOU GET THIS THING?” asked Archer, as, by prearrangement, he was standing in front of the Derby Hotel later that day. His query had been prompted by Jackie’s pulling up in a spanking brand-new four-door Nash Ambassador painted a two-tone blue. It looked like a big-butted bullet about to be launched down the road.
“Hank gave it to me,” she said through the open driver’s window.
“He gave you a house and a car?”
“Well, yes. He wanted me to be able to get around in style after all.”
“I didn’t see the Nash parked at your house.”
“That’s because I don’t keep it at my house. I keep it in a garage not too far from my place. Do you know what the sun beating down here can do to a car’s paint? And don’t get me started on the dust. Get in.”
Archer slid into the passenger seat and no more than a second passed between his hitting the fabric and Jackie hitting the gas. The Nash sprung forward so fast, it snapped Archer’s head back against the seat.
She glanced over at him in her reflector sunglasses, as he looked at her in annoyance. “I like to move fast, Archer. You’ll just have to get used to it.”
Archer rolled his window down and kept ahold of his hat, or he would have lost it to the back seat while they were still in downtown Poca City. He ran his gaze over the woman. She was dressed in a below-the-knee black dress, with a dark pyramid coat on over it, a felt hat with a bow on the side, sheer black stockings, and demure shoes with low, clunky heels. He supposed it was the mourning wear of chattel. It was a good look for her, not that anything wouldn’t be.
They drove for nearly an hour by the sun, and this was confirmed by his watch. When the house came into view, Archer whistled. “Damn, place looks bigger than when I was here the first time. Maybe it keeps growing all on its own like a tree.”
Jackie honked the horn as they pulled up to the gate.
About thirty seconds later, Manuel emerged and opened the gates for them.
“Thank you, Manuel,” said Jackie as she drove on through, while Archer studied the house.
“How big is this thing, really?” he asked.
“I have no idea, but it’s big enough, don’t you think?”