'Probably.'
'He was annoying her,' Walker said. 'She complained to me and I had a talk with him.'
'What'd he say?'
Walker continued to stir his coffee. The gesture was automatic, as if he'd forgotten about it.
'He admitted he followed her out here. Said he loved her. Said he just wanted to be near her.'
'And you think he killed Buckman to clear the way for himself?'
'Might have. Might have heard that the Dell threatened Steve, and saw his chance. Shoot him and the Dell gets blamed.'
'It's a theory,' I said.
'Yep.'
'Mary Lou's part of a group that's buying up real estate,' I said.
'Good for her.'
'Where's she get the money?'
'I look like HR Block to you?'
'I'll take that to mean you don't know where she got the money.'
'You take it to mean whatever the fuck you want to,' Walker said.
'The mayor's part of the group,' I said, 'and J. George Taylor.'
'Yeah?'
'Why do you suppose they're doing that?'
'Real estate's cheap around here.'
'Because of the Dell?'
'Sure.'
'So why does this group want it?'
'Maybe they have confidence in you,' Walker said.
'Figure Potshot would boom without the Dell problem?'
Walker shook his head.
'Not enough water,' he said. 'We're at capacity.'
'You ever sleep with Mary Lou?' I said.
'Hey,' Walker said. 'Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?'
'Do you know who Morris Tannenbaum is?'
'You think she slept with him?'
'Do you?'
'Watch your mouth pal. This is a lady you're talking about.'
'Nothin' unladylike 'bout getting laid,' Hawk said.
'Do you know Tannenbaum?' I said.
'No.'
'But you're worried that Mary Lou might have slept with him?'
Walker stood up suddenly and picked up his hat and put it on.
'Fuck this,' he said and left.
'Touchy,' Hawk said.
'On this subject.'
'You think he might be right 'bout Ratliff?'
'I think you're right about the question of ladies and sex.'
'Good to be right about something,' Hawk said. 'You think she connected with Tannenbaum?'
'Everywhere I go in this thing I keep bumping into either her or him,' I said.
'Don't mean they're connected,' Hawk said.
'Ever since I signed on for this, I been trying to figure out where she's getting the money.'
'Tannenbaum got some,' Hawk said.
'He do,' I said.
'You got any ideas how to find out about him?' Hawk said.
