By the time we got back to LaBorde, Leonard and Cason had become buddies. They both had been in the military, in different wars, but they had some similar experiences. When Cason got out of the car at his place, Leonard got out and they hugged.
When Leonard got back in and we were tooling along, I said, “That was some hug.”
“Don’t worry,” Leonard said. “You’re still number one.”
We drove to Marvin’s office. The girl at the bicycle shop was standing in the open doorway. She was dressed warm today. The weather had turned cold and there was a hint of rain on the air. She had on a woolen cap and her hair cascaded out from under that. She wore a leather bomber jacket with a sheep’s wool collar, blue jeans, and some big boots with fur trim. The only thing missing was the sled dogs.
In the office, Marvin had a small heater plugged into the wall and he was sitting by it in his rolling chair.
“Can’t find the money for some real heat?” I said.
“Central air is out,” Marvin said. “And I can’t afford to fix it. We get through with this case, I can. I may even get a new coffeepot and a better water cooler.”
We pulled the client chairs over by the heater. Leonard said, “Are you hinting that we should hurry up?”
“No,” he said, “but a conclusion at some point in time would be nice.”
“We’re starting to believe Kincaid was looking for vengeance for his son,” Leonard said, “and he knew someone whose accounting business he took care of was also someone who, for a fee, could take care of business for him.”
“You think that because Brett thinks that?”
“No,” Leonard said. “Because it’s logical.”
“Another thing,” I said, “Bert tried to blackmail Kincaid. Kincaid admitted that. I think Bert was guessing Kincaid had Mini and Mrs. Christopher’s boy killed. He may not have seemed smart, but when it got right down to it, he could have had things figured out. Kincaid may have had him whacked. He knows the right people, and he makes millions for them on their taxes and accounts. He might be able to have them to do him a favor. Or pay them for one.
“Actually, it’s all guesswork for right now, but it’s all we got. Frankly, I haven’t ruled out June either. She had money too, and she didn’t like Mini, and how much she liked her brother is up for debate. She struck me as a hard ass in a soft-ass body.”
“But you have no proof that anyone did anything?” Marvin said.
“We do have something that might give us some proof by way of our new BFF, Cason.”
We filled Marvin in on all that had gone on. Told him about how Cason got the disc with the names on it.
When we finished, he said, “Cason got two pieces of ass in as many days?”
“Gets two this coming weekend as well,” I said.
“I knew I hated that guy,” Marvin said.
“You’re married, and I might as well be,” I said, “so it’s of no interest to us.”
“Okay, we’re married, but damn, I’m jealous.”
“All right,” I said. “Me too. And Leonard here, I think he was hoping him and Cason might play a little grab-ass.”
“It was merely an affectionate hug between comrades,” Leonard said.
“About the case?” Marvin said.
“Cason is having the disc checked,” I said, “and we’ll get back to you.”
Marvin said, “You know, guys, I don’t want to be paranoid here, but I’m starting to look over my shoulder.”
“You think we’re in danger?” I said.
“I don’t know,” Marvin said. “But if Kincaid is responsible for Bert’s death, it doesn’t take much to piss him off. Why would he bother? It’s just one more death that might tie itself to him. He could have let it go and probably been better off.”
“That may not be his way,” I said. “He strikes me as a man that likes to win at whatever game he’s playing, and from the looks of his office digs, he has the money to make the kind of arrangements he wants for most anything next to a body transplant.”
Marvin got up and poured himself a cup of coffee, came and sat back down.
“So, how do we play it?” he said.
“I’m not one for quitting,” Leonard said.
“Here’s my thought,” I said. “Best thing for us to do is to keep poking our noses in other people’s business and find out if someone will come out and play.”