Freeman’s million-dollar baby getting ripped off, I’d expected her to be swimming in her own tears.
She said, “Splendid. Was hoping I’d hear from you. I rang you once or twice.”
“Saw Freeman walking out. Where’s he going?”
“All the way back to Quitman, Mississippi, for all I care.”
“Your man is here and you called me.”
“Wanted to take you up on that offer, buy you a drink.”
“I need one. That’s one reason I came.”
She was finishing up her chocolate martini and ordering another.
She asked, “What are you having?”
I ordered the usual.
The televisions were on. Lisa’s face was all over the news. Showed her with her father, years ago. Showed her and Wolf’s wedding picture.
Sade said, “Tragic. She looked so young and beautiful. They said a lot of money was found on the beach. Something like forty thousand. The man she was with, heinous individual based on the news accounts. Her relative to boot. She mixed in something horrible, it seems.”
I turned away from the TV. “Can I ask you a question? About you and Freeman.”
“Let me guess. Hmmm. Why am I getting married to a self-absorbed, egomaniacal, greedy, publicity-seeking son-of-a-bitch?”
She chuckled.
I said, “You’re slurring.”
“I love vodka. It doesn’t take anything away from you. It’s not a tyrant. Never pompous.”
“Sounds like you’re celebrating while Freeman is mourning.”
“Join me.”
“Heard Freeman’s room was broken into while we were at Howard Hughes.”
“What of it?”
“Any idea who did it?”
“Marcus has so many enemies, there are so many people that would love to get their hands on that book to bring him down. It could fetch a pretty penny on the black market.”
“How many drinks have you had?”
She shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Maybe you should slow down.”
“Tonight I’m getting rat-faced. And that means I’m going to be vulnerable.”
Her eyes met mine for a moment, testing me.
I said, “My brother has hypermnesia.”
“What’s that exactly?”
“His superpower. He remembers almost everything.”
The books were at my side. I put Dawning on the counter.
She smiled.
I put Manumit on the counter, left them side by side.
She stopped smiling. A wave of soberness washed over her face.
She said, “Maybe we should go to my suite. We can talk in private. ”
“I’m not here to start any... flapdoodle.”
“Money? You want money for this discovery?”
“Not money.”
“Then what is your purpose?”
I pulled the books off the counter, put them in my lap.
Didn’t really know why I was here. Maybe it was because I had dishonored most of the Decalogue and I needed some redemption, no matter how small. Part of me wanted to undo something I’d done to make myself feel better. Death was a done deal, couldn’t undo that. This was all I had on my plate that could be fixed. Killing had left me in a state of alexithymia.
“What if I stole the briefcase?”
“Did you?”
“What if I had it taken from his room?”
“Then you’d be brilliant.”
“I know you have separate rooms. I just don’t know what this was all about. Maybe it’s not about money. If you married him you’d have his money, at least access.”
“God, no. I have my own money. Always have.”
She paused, then gave me a charm-school smile.
I asked, “What was in that briefcase?”
“If you stole it, as you claim, then you would know.”
“The computer.”
“Bravo.”
“What else? Was it just the book ... or ... what?”
She adjusted herself, leaned in closer. “Underneath that computer was my manumit.”
“You lost me.”
She held that I-have-a-secret smile, sipped her martini.
She said, “They don’t have a clue that Marcus based his persona on Tom Cruise.”
“His persona? What do you mean?”
“Marcus changed his lame image, became over-the-top after he saw the movie Magnolia. Started emulating the ‘Seduce and Destroy’ guy Tom Cruise played in the movie.”
“Thought he was doing Sharpton.”
“Tom Cruise.”
I shrugged. “Never saw the movie.”
“A terrified boy hiding inside of someone pretending to be a misogynistic, heartless leader. What a farce. Tom Cruise all the way. A very bad version of Tom Cruise at that.”
“Obviously.”
She shook her head over and over. “Now he believes the hype.”
“A man doesn’t get ahead in this world by holding his tongue and sitting on his hands.”
“Same goes for a woman.” She sipped. “Same goes for a woman.”
She sipped her martini again, looked around the room. My eyes went to the television. Cameras were out in front of Wolf’s home in Hancock Park. Would see that home in my dreams until I couldn’t dream anymore. Saw Wolf’s two little children in the crowd, but I didn’t see Wolf. I saw Lisa’s relatives in the mix. Everybody was so solemn. Los Angeles was waiting.