Murder at Willow Slough Read Online Free Page B

clout. It’s fun to have candidates for mayor traipse through my office every four years, looking for that endorsement and its automatic 40,000 votes. They have to sit in my office, even if they think they’re there to talk to Foster and Jordan. You come to me, baby! Plus I get to throw in a few business-related questions, which the hotshots never think about. Of course they always outvote me on the endorsements. They don’t know I just vote for whoever they don’t want. Keep ‘Em Honest, it’s another of Mascaro’s Rules.
    “And every December for the last several years, we get three big Christmas cards: The White House, Washington. Know why? The Ohio primary was very competitive last time. We’re circulated statewide, our endorsement matters. We influence every Gay and Lesbian voter in the swing state of Ohio.
    “Not too shabby for an immigrant’s son who never went to college, eh? Even if I do like dick. The entire world likes dick, why should I be any different?”
    “Excuse me, except Lesbians.”
    “I have Gay women on the payroll, they’re hard workers. The only problem with Lesbians is that there aren’t enough of them, and they don’t spend anything like the guys do. The women have two bars, the men have ten. The men’s bars advertise, only one of the ladies’ can afford to. Demographics, I didn’t invent this stuff. But jeez, next time, hire stupid people and tell them what to do. No more ‘journalists.’ Hire fags so stupid they’ll make bartenders look like scholars. And change the name back to Gay Times. That’s what started this whole thing.”
    “The Times is one of the few Gay papers built on the classic model, with a successful businessperson running the money, but having no influence on the editorial content. What does being the publisher mean to you?”
    “People look at me with new respect. I’m not just a bar owner anymore, some old drag queen, keeper of a sleazy tavern; I’m giving something back. The Gay community associates me with The Times and my Gay and Lesbian bookstore as much as the bar now. So do the media. Every reporter in town subscribes to us to read Jamie. He’s a star, advertisers fly out of the woodwork. He adds excitement to Columbus, sophistication, sparkle. We helped the city make up its mind about Gay rights. A few years ago John Preston even named Columbus the best Gay city in America—not New York, not San Francisco—and here I am, right in the thick of it.”
    In a rare flash of modesty Louie added,“But it’s not just me.The whole Gay and Lesbian community here is looked on with more respect.”
    Besides Stonewall Union and the all-important activists, it was Casey’s and Jamie’s doing, but he’d never let them know that, it broke a rule. Don’t tell ’em you love ’em, they’ll want more money.
    “If he’s that goodlooking and talented, how long can you keep him?”
    “That’s the real question. At contract renewal the non-Gay weekly made me shell out an extra five grand for his services. The Pinnacle has three times our circulation and Jamie loves the power of big numbers. But he also needs the freedom Casey gives him.”
    It was unspoken, but Louie knew why. If anything happens to Rick, I’m toast. Jamie didn’t change jobs for fear he’d be stuck on assignment when Rick needed him.
    “What’s he like privately? Help me get inside his head so I know what to ask him.”
    “I have to admit, he’s kind and thoughtful. But so hurt inside, so aloof. He won’t set foot in bars unless there’s genuine news, and I’m not talking Mr. Ohio Leather.
    “But I know human nature, his self-control won’t last forever. Maybe he’s really a vampire. You know he’s going to kill you, but he’s so beautiful you can’t resist. Go ahead and bite me, so I can feel alive!”
    Jeez, fantasizing over an employee. Louie swore off reading any more Anne Rice books.
    “What else? Last call, Mr. Barman.”
    “When I hired Casey, I basically left