"I'm Richard's bodyguard. Where else would I be?"
He had a point. "Where were you the night his body was supposedly attacking this woman?"
"Her name is Betty Schaffer."
"Have you talked to her?"
His eyes widened. "She's already cried rape once on a fine, upstanding white boy. No, I haven't talked to her."
"You could try and blend in a little."
"I'm one of only two black men for about 50 miles," he said, "There's no way for me to blend in, Anita, so I don't try." There was an undercurrent of real anger there. I wondered if Jamil had been having trouble with the locals. It seemed likely. He wasn't just African American. He was tall, handsome, and athletic looking. That alone would have gotten him on the redneck hit parade. The long cornrow hair and the killer fashion sense raised the question that he might violate the last white male bastion of homophobia. I knew that Jamil liked girls, but I was almost willing to bet some of the locals hadn't believed that.
"I assume that is the other African American guy." I was careful not to point at Milo. He was watching us, face expressionless, but too intense. Muscle recognizes muscle, and he was probably wondering about Jamil just as we were wondering about him. What was professional muscle doing out here in the boonies?
Jamil nodded. "Yeah, that's the other one."
"He doesn't blend in, either," I said. "Who is he?"
"His name is Milo Hart. He works for a guy named Frank Niley who is supposed to arrive today."
"You and he sit down and have a talk?"
"No, but Ed is just full of news."
"Why does Frank Niley need a bodyguard?"
"He's rich," Jamil said as if that explained it, and maybe it did. "He's down here doing some land speculation."
"Ed the plane mechanic tell you all this?"
Jamil nodded. "He likes to talk, even to me."
"Gee, and I thought you were just another pretty face."
Jamil smiled. "I'll do my job when Richard lets me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means if he'd let me watch over him like a good Skoll is supposed to, this rape charge would never have happened. I'd have been a witness, and it wouldn't be just her word against his."
"Maybe I should talk to Ms. Schaffer," I said.
"Babe, you just read my mind."
"You know, Jamil, you're the only person who ever calls me babe. There's a reason for that."
His smile widened. "I'll try to remember that."
"What happened to Richard, Jamil?"
"You mean did he do it?"
I shook my head. "No, I know he didn't do it."
"He did date her," Jamil said.
I looked at him. "What are you saying?"