'I don't know.'
'He died without telling you.'
'Yes.'
'You and Walter have been together eight years,' I said. 'Your son, Jason?'
'Yes.'
'Jason appears to be in his middle twenties,' I said.
She smiled again.
'The eight years is public and official,' she said. 'Our liaison began a long time before that, while Walter was still married to the beatnik.'
'Sherry Lark?'
'I became pregnant with Jason about the same time she did with Stonie. I said nothing. I knew better than to upset the apple cart at that time. I ended the relationship with Walter, and went away and had Jason, and raised him. Later when the beatnik was gone, I came back into his life. I never explained Jason, and Walter never asked.'
'Did they ever divorce?'
'Walter and the beatnik?'
'Yes.'
'No, they didn't.'
'Why not?'
'I think each hated the other too much to give in,' Dolly said.
'Why didn't you tell Clive about Jason when you came back?'
'The separation was horrible. The beatnik may be primarily interested in flowers and peace, but she tried to gouge him for every penny. Had she learned of Jason, she would have succeeded.'
'And that would have been less for you,' I said.
'And Jason,' she said.
'What made you change your mind?' I said.
'Walter was revising his will. I wanted Jason to get what was his. No one would have to know anything until Walter's death, and then Miss Hippie Dippie couldn't do anything about it.'
'And Walter wanted proof that Jason was actually his son,' I said. 'Hence the DNA tests.'
'Yes.'
'Where was he tested?'
'I don't know.'
'Was Jason tested?'
'We donated some blood for the DNA match. I spoke to our doctor first. Larry Klein. He's a lovely man. Very cute. Jason just thought it was part of a routine physical.'
'Do you think the rest of the family knows anything?' I said.
'To my knowledge, you and I are the only ones who know about this, and of course Dr. Klein.'
'You know he went to Dr. Klein?'
'No. He said he had. And was waiting for the results.'
'You're sure Clive is Jason's father?' I said.
'I said I was a courtesan. I am not a whore.'
We sat for a while. I thought about the offer. The case had its own merits, and it was also a wedge back into the situation. It is very bad for business when someone kills your client. I might see Penny again, whom I liked. I would almost certainly get a further look at Dolly's knees, which I also liked.
'Georgia in August,' I said. 'Hot dog!'
TWENTY-EIGHT
IT WAS HOT in Lamarr. The sky was cloudless and the sun hammered down through the thick air. I parked at the top of the long driveway. Everything was pretty much the same. The lawn was still smooth and green. The sprinklers still worked, separating small rainbows out of the hot sunlight. On the wide veranda in the shade, two guys in Security South uniforms stood looking at me. As I got out of my car one of them walked down the front steps and over to me. He was carrying a clipboard.
'Your name, sir?'
'Spenser,' I said. 'Nice clipboard.'
'I don't see your name here, sir.'
'With an S-p-e-n -s-e-r,' I said. 'Like the English poet.'
