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The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world

- EDGAR ALLAN POE

Chapter 1

I saw her entrance It would have been hard to miss She had blonde hair that was close to white, the sort that’s called towhead when it belongs to a child Hers was plaited in heavy braids that she’d wrapped around her head and secured with pins She had a high smooth forehead and prominent cheekbones and a mouth that was just a little too wide In her western-style boots she s She earing designer jeans the color of burgundy and a short fur jacket the color of cha on and off all day, and she wasn’t carrying an ulinted like diamonds on her plaited hair

She stood for a s It was around three-thirty on a Wednesday afternoon, which is about as slow as it gets at Arone and it was too early for the after-work people In another fifteen minutes a couple of schoolteachers would stop in for a quick one, and then some nurses from Roosevelt Hospital whose shift ended at four, but for the moment there were three or four people at the bar and one couple finishing a carafe of wine at a front table and that was it Except for me, of course, at ht away, and I caught the blue of her eyes all the way across the roo her way between the tables to where I was sitting

She said, "Mr Scudder? I’m Kim Dakkinen I’m a friend of Elaine Mardell’s"

"She called me Have a seat"

"Thank you"

She sat down oppositeon the table between us, took out a pack of cigarettes and a disposable lighter, then paused with the cigarette unlit to ask if it was all right if she smoked I assured her that it was

Her voice wasn’t what I’d expected It was quite soft, and the only accent it held was Midwestern After the boots and the fur and the severe facial planes and the exotic na more out of a masochist’s fantasy: harsh and stern and European She was younger, too, than I’d have guessed at first glance No arette and positioned the lighter on top of the cigarette pack The waitress, Evelyn, had been working days for the past teeks because she’d landed a small part in an off-Broadway showcase She always looked on the verge of a yawn She cahter Kilass of white wine Evelyn asked me if I wantedcoffee? I think I’d like that instead of wine Would that be all right?"

When the coffee arrived she added creaar, stirred, sipped, and told me she wasn’t much of a drinker, especially early in the day But she couldn’t drink it black the way I did, she’d never been able to drink black coffee, she had to have it sweet and rich, almost like dessert, and she supposed she was just lucky but she’d never had a weight probleain an ounce, and wasn’t that lucky?

I agreed that it was

Had I known Elaine long? For years, I said Well, she hadn’t really known her that long herself, in fact she hadn’t even been in New York too terribly long, and she didn’t know her that well either, but she thought Elaine fully nice Didn’t I agree? I agreed Elaine was very levelheaded, too, very sensible, and that was so

I let her take her time She had acres of small talk, she smiled and held your eyes with hers when she talked, and she could probably have walked off with the Miss Congeniality award in any beauty contest she didn’t win outright, and if it took her awhile to get to the point that was fine withbetter to do

She said, "You used to be a policeman"

"A few years back"

"And now you’re a private detective"

"Not exactly" The eyes widened They were a very vivid blue, an unusual shade, and I wondered if she earing contact lenses The soft lenses so so others

"I don’t have a license," I explained "When I decided I didn’t want to carry a badge anyure I wanted to carry a license, either" Or fill out forms or keep records or check in with the tax collector "Anything I do is very unofficial"

"But it’s what you do? It’s how you ht"

"What do you call it? What you do"

You could call it hustling a buck, except that I don’t hustle a whole lot The work finds me I turn down more than I handle, and the jobs I accept are ones I can’t think of a way to turn down Right noondering what this woman wanted from me, and what excuse I’d find to say no

"I don’t knohat to call it," I told her "You could say that I do favors for friends"

Her face lit up She’d been doing a lot of s ever since she walked in the door but this was the first sot as far as her eyes "Well, hell, that’s perfect," she said "I could use a favor As far as that goes, I could use a friend"

"What’s the proble another cigarette, then lowered her eyes to watch her hands as she centered the lighter on top of the pack Her nails ellbut not aard, lacquered the color of tawny port She wore a gold ring set with a large square-cut green stone on the third finger of her left hand She said, "You knohat I do Saathered"

"I’htened in her seat, squared her shoulders, adjusted the fur jacket, opened the clasp at her throat I caught a trace of her perfume I’d smelled that spicy scent before but couldn’t recall the occasion I picked up my cup, finished my coffee

"I want out"

"Of the life?"

She nodded "I’ve been doing this for four years I caust, September, October, November Four years and four , isn’t it?"

"Yes"

"It doesn’t feel so young" She adjusted the jacket again, refastened the clasp Light glinted off her ring "When I got off the bus four years ago I had a suitcase in one hand and a deniot this It’s ranch "

"I’d trade it for the old denim jacket," she said, "if I could have the years back No, I wouldn’t Because if I had the with theain and knohat I kno, but the only way that could be is if I started tricking at fifteen, and then I’d be dead by now I’ I’et out of the life"

"And do what? Go back to Minnesota?"

" Wisconsin No, I won’t be going back There’s nothing there for o back"