'How about Mrs. Buckman?' I said.
'Oh sure, Lou and I were pals, too. But Stevie was the one.'
'Any idea who might have wanted to kill him?'
'God, I wish I knew which one,' he said.
'Which one of what?' I said.
'Of those bastards in the Dell. Everybody knows it was one of them.'
'He had trouble with someone from the Dell?'
'Sure, haven't you even found that out yet?'
'I'm new in town,' I said. 'Tell me about it.'
He looked at me for a moment.
'You're jerking my chain aren't you, Spense? You know more than you're letting on.'
'I'd like to hear your version,' I said.
'Compare stories, see if you can catch somebody lying,' he said. 'I know how that works.'
I nodded.
'Well as I understand it, he got into a beef with a couple of guys from the Dell.'
'Because?'
'I guess they wanted to extort some money from him. He had that little horseback tour business, you know?'
'And?'
'And Stevie was a tough kid. Played football. Been in the Marines. He told them to take a walk.'
'And?'
'And they killed him. Show everybody what might happen if they didn't cooperate with the Dell.'
'Do you cooperate?'
'Sure,' he said. 'Cost of doing business.'
'You could move.'
'I came out here to get away from the whole L.A. scene,' he said. 'Agents, managers, lawyers, phonies, backstabbing as a way of life? No thanks.'
I thought there might be other options besides L.A., but it wasn't something I cared to argue about.
'You make films, you get used to paying off people,' he said. 'Happens everywhere.'
'Un-huh.'
'That's what I do,' Ratliff said. 'It's my passion. I make the films I want to make and I do it on my terms.'
'If the deal is right,' I said.
He grinned.
'Hey, Spense, nothing's perfect.'
'Can you think of anyone other than the farmers in the Dell who might have had anything against Buckman?'
'Stevie, naw. He was a straight guy. Up front, you knew where he stood.'
'People like that sometimes make enemies,' I said.
'Steve was a good guy. Everybody liked him.'
'Me too,' I said. 'How about his marriage.'
'Man, it was beautiful,' Ratliff said. 'Soul mates, I'm telling you. It's a goddamned shame.'
'So you know it was the Dell, but you don't know who in the Dell?'
'That's it exactly,' Ratliff said.
'Anyone but Buckman ever stand up to them?'
'Not that I know about, and certainly not since they killed Stevie.'
'The object lesson worked,' I said.
'I'm afraid it did,' Ratliff said. 'You think you can crack this?'
'Sure,' I said.
'Well, you know,' Ratliff leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head, 'if you do it would make a hell of a story.'
'You going to make me a star?' I said.
