A Dance at the Slaughterhouse Read Online Free

So once again I had picked Jimmy's saloon as a place to meet a prospective client. Now a baroque woodwind quintet played on the sound system while I drank coffee and Warriner sipped Earl Grey tea and accused Richard Thurman of murder.
    I asked him what the police had said.
    "The case is open." He frowned. "That would seem to suggest that they're working on it, but I gather it means the reverse, that they've largely abandoned hope of solving it."
    "It's not that cut-and-dried," I said. "It usually means the investigation is no longer being actively pursued."
    He nodded. "I spoke to a Detective Joseph Durkin. I gather the two of you are friends."
    "We're friendly."
    He arched an eyebrow. "A nice distinction," he said. "Detective Durkin didn't say that he thought Richard was responsible for Amanda's death, but it was the way he didn't say it, if you know what I mean."
    "I think so."
    "I asked him if he could think of anything I might do to help resolve the situation. He said that everything that could be done through official channels had been done. It took me a minute before I realized he couldn't specifically suggest I hire a private detective, but that was where he was leading me. I said, 'Perhaps someone unofficial, say a private detective- ' and he grinned as if to say that I'd caught on, that I was playing the game."
    "He couldn't come right out and say it."
    "No. Nor, I gather, could he come right out and recommend your services. 'As far as a recommendation's concerned, all I'm really supposed to do is refer you to the Yellow Pages,' he said. 'Except I should say that there's one fellow right here in the neighborhood who you won't find in the book, on account of he's unlicensed, which makes him very unofficial.' You're smiling."
    "You do a good Joe Durkin imitation."
    "Thank you. Pity there's not much call for it. Do you mind if I smoke?"
    "Not at all."
    "Are you sure? Almost everyone's quit. I quit, but then I started again." He seemed about to elaborate on that, then took out a Marlboro and lit it. He drew in the smoke as if it were something life-sustaining.
    He said, "Detective Durkin said you were unorthodox, even eccentric."
    "Were those his words?"
    "They'll do. He said your rates are arbitrary and capricious, and no, those weren't his words either. He said you don't furnish detailed reports or keep track of expenses." He leaned forward. "I can live with that. He also said when you get your teeth in something you don't let go, and that's what I want. If that son of a bitch killed Amanda I want to know it."
    "What makes you think he did?"
    "A feeling. I don't suppose that's terribly scientific."
    "That doesn't mean it's wrong."
    "No." He looked at his cigarette. "I never liked him," he said. "I tried to, because Amanda loved him, or was in love with him, or whatever you want to call it. But it's difficult to like someone who clearly dislikes you, or at least I found it difficult."
    "Thurman disliked you?"
    "Immediately and automatically. I'm gay."
    "And that's why he disliked you?"
    "He may have had other reasons, but my sexual orientation was enough to place me beyond the pale of his circle of potential friends. Have you ever seen Thurman?"
    "Just his photo in the newspapers."
    "You didn't seem surprised when I told you I was gay. You knew right away, didn't you?"
    "I wouldn't say I knew. It seemed likely."
    "On the basis of my appearance. I'm not setting traps for you, Matthew. Is it all right if I call you Matthew?"
    "Certainly."
    "Or do you prefer Matt?"
    "Either one."
    "And call me Lyman. My point is that I look gay, whatever that means, although to people who haven't been around many homosexuals my own gayness, if you will, is probably a good deal less evident. Well. My take on Richard Thurman, based on his appearance, is that he's so deep in the closet he can't see over the coats."
    "Meaning?"
    "Meaning I don't know that he's ever acted out, and he may very well not be consciously aware of it, but I think he