“Yes.”
“How long ago were those pictures taken?”
“During a previous marriage,” Jesse said.
“I don’t…” she said. “I don’t know what to say.”
“It gets worse,” Jesse said.
“Worse?” Joni Shaw said.
There was no way to ease it in.
“We’re pretty sure he killed one of them.”
“Killed?”
“Does he own a gun?”
“A gun? You mean he shot someone?”
Jesse nodded. Joni Shaw had her arms folded across her chest as if she were hugging herself.
“Mother of God,” she said.
Jesse didn’t want to bombard her. He waited for her to reorganize.
“You know this stuff?” she said.
“Yes.”
“Jesus,” she said. “The fucking pervert.”
“Does he own a gun?” Jesse said.
“I guess I sort of knew it,” Joni Shaw said. “You know how you know something and you don’t know it?”
Jesse nodded.
“He was out a lot, and drunk nearly all the time,” she said.
Jesse nodded again.
“Look at me,” she said. “If you were married to somebody like me, wouldn’t you stay home nights?”
“Yes.”
“He wasn’t a big deal in bed,” she said. “All that stuff in the books? Bullshit! Most of the time he was too drunk to get it up.”
“Did he own a gun?” Jesse said gently.
“Probably too old for him,” she said. “How old was the kid you caught him with last night?”
“She admits to fourteen.”
“Fourteen? Jesus Christ!” she said. “Sick bastard.”
I’ll circle the gun, Jesse thought.
“You love him?” he said.
Joni Shaw looked puzzled for a moment. She hunched her shoulders, still hugging herself.
“He’s famous… He’s got money… We didn’t have much of a sex life but he was nice to me most of the time…” She looked suddenly straight into Jesse’s eyes. “And sex is easy to get.”
“I would think so,” Jesse said.
“He was never…” She paused. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jesse said. “He was never… ?”
“He was never a mean drunk,” she said. “And when he was sober he was really quite charming.”
“So it was a happy marriage.”
“Sure. He was a good provider. And I,” she said, “made him look, ah, potent.”
“Did he own a gun?” Jesse said.
Joni looked at Jesse as if she’d never heard the question before.
“A gun?”
“Un-huh.”
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll show you.”
Chapter Sixty-four
Kelly brought Alan Garner into Jesse’s office at quarter to ten in the morning.
“Picked him up as soon as he came to open the office,” Kelly said.
“Gino know?”
