Devil's Waltz Part 41

"You're sure about that."

"Real sure. Really real sure, man. That is not my thing."

"Tell me about seeing her with this guy."

"Like I said, once upon a time I was working there and once upon a time I went to take a smoke and seen her. Only reason I remembered was 'cause a the guy. He wasn't one a them."

"One of who?"

"The f.u.c.kheads. She was, but not him. He, like, stood out."

"Stood out how?"

"Straight."

"Businessman?"

"Nah."

"What then?"

Gabray shrugged.

"Was he wearing a suit, Robert?"

Gabray smoked hard and thought. "Nah. Kinda like you-Sears Roebuck, that kind of jacket." Drawing his hands across his waist.

"A windbreaker?"

"Yeah."

"What color?"

"I dunno-dark. It was a long-"

"Time ago," said Milo. "What else was he wearing?"

"Pants, shoes, whatever. He looked like you." Smile. Smoke.

"In what way?"

"I dunno."

"Heavyset?"

"Yeah."

"My age?"

"Yeah."

"My height?"

"Yeah."

"Same hair as me?"

"Yeah."

"You have two d.i.c.ks?"

"Ye- Huh?"

"Cut the c.r.a.p, Robert. What was his hair like?"

"Short."

"Bald or a full head?"

Gabray frowned and touched his own bare dome. "He had hair," he said grudgingly.

"Beard or mustache?"

"I dunno. It was far."

"But you don't remember any facial hair?"

"No."

"How old was he?"

"I dunno-fifty, forty, whatever."

"You're twenty-nine and he was much older than you?"

"Eight. Next month I'm twenty-nine."

"Happy birthday. He was older than you?"

"A lot older."

"Old enough to be your father?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Nah-not old enough. Forty, forty-five."

"Hair color?"

"I dunno-brown."

"Maybe or definitely?"

"Probably."

"Light or dark brown?"

"I dunno. It was nighttime."

"What color was her hair?"

"You got the picture there."

Milo shoved the photo in the barkeep's face. "Is this what she looked like when you saw her?"

Gabray pulled back and licked his lips. "Uh-uh-it was . . . her hair was different."

"Sure it was," said Milo. "It was sitting on an intact skull."

"Yeah-no-I mean the color. You know, yellow. Real yellow-like scrambled eggs. You could see it in the light."

"She was under a light?"

"I guess . . . yeah. The two a them were-a streetlight. Just for a sec, till they heard me and split."

"You didn't tell the other detectives about any light."

"They didn't ask."

Milo lowered the picture. Gabray smoked and looked away.

Milo said, "What were Ms. Herbert and this straight-looking guy doing under the light?"

"Talking."

"His hair wasn't blond?"

"I told you, hers was. You could see it, man-it was like a . . . banana." Gabray chuckled.

"And his was brown."

"Yeah. Hey, if this is so important, how come you're not writing it down?"

"What else do you remember about him, Robert?"

"That's it."

"Middle-aged, dark windbreaker, dark hair. That's not much to trade with, Robert."

"I'm telling you what I saw, man."

Milo turned his back on Gabray and looked at me. "Well, we tried to help him."

"You got someone, like tight?" said the bartender.

Milo kept his back turned. "What do you mean, Robert?"

"Tight case, man. I don't want to be telling you something and have some dude walk on some Miranda or something and come looking for me, you know?"

"You haven't told me much, Robert."

"You got someone tight?"

Milo pivoted slowly and faced him. "What I got is you, Robert, trying to jerk me around, withholding evidence on top of that brick in your trunk. I figure six months minimum-get the wrong judge, you might even be talking a year or so."

Gabray held out his hands. "Hey, I just don't want someone walking and coming after me. This guy was . . ."

"What?"

Gabray was silent.

"This guy was what, Robert?"

"A con-okay? He looked like serious business. A hard-case."

"You could tell that from far away?"

"Some things you can tell, okay? The way he stood, I dunno. He had these shoes-big and ugly, like you get in the joint."

"You could see his shoes?"

"Not up close-the light. But they were big-I seen shoes like that before. Whaddya want from me-I'm trying to help."

"Well, Robert, don't you worry. There's no one in custody."

"What if?" said Gabray.

"What if what?"

"I tell you and 'cause a that you bust him? How do I know he's not gonna get out and come looking for me?"

Milo held up the photo again. "Look what he did, Robert. What do you think? We're gonna let him walk?"

"That don't mean nothing to me, man. I don't have confidence in the system."

"That so?"