Tod opened an eye and looked between me and Lee.
“Am I off duty?” he asked Lee.
Lee nodded.
Tod got up, taking his gun with him, patted his leg to call Chowleena and said to me, “Got a fund raiser tomorrow night, you on Drag Duty?”
Tod and the rest of the drag community of Denver often did fund raisers where they lip-synched their hearts out and gave their tips to charity. Stevie and I were Tod’s alter-ego, Burgundy Rose’s official drag hags. It was the only true workout I got, lugging around Burgundy’s sequined dresses. They weighed a ton. As Tod said, “They don’t call it drag for nothing, girlie.”
I nodded to him. “If I’m alive, wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”
Tod’s eyes moved to Lee. “It’s a drag show for charity. You bringing Indy?”
Lee stood and since Tod was no longer wearing his high heels, he went from looking down on Lee to looking up. Tod’s gaze didn’t waver.
“If I’m not workin’, I’ll be there.”
Tod looked again to me. “Swear to God, you f**k this up, I’m calling the white jackets.”
Then he and Chowleena left.
“You find Rosie?” I asked Lee, coming out of the lounge.
“No.”
“The diamonds?”
“No.”
“Is Duke back?”
“Yes.”
“Is he safe?”
“Yes.”
“No diamonds?”
“They’re gone.”
“Fuck!” I stomped my foot. “Who has them?”
“That’s a good question.”
“Fuck, f**k, f**k!” I snapped again. “Did you talk to Terry Wilcox?”
“Yes.”
“How’d that go?”
I had lifted my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun so I could look at him. During my questioning, Lee was looking beyond me to the alley and into the backyards of my neighbors. When he answered, his eyes shifted to me.
“I gave him your excuses for missing dinner on Wednesday.”
“What were those?”
“You’d be with me and I’d be f**king your brains out.”