'What a funny guy you are,' she said. 'This is one of the most successful companies in the world. Are you at all impressed with anything that goes on here?'
'Coffee's good,' I said.
She smiled. 'I'll broaden the question,' she said. 'Are you impressed with anything? Anywhere?'
'Susan Silverman is fairly amazing,' I said.
'That's the woman that was with you in Chatham.'
I nodded.
'Tell me about the corporate pimp,' I said.
'It's just an expression,' she said. 'He used to spend a lot of time with Cooper and Bernie Eisen and Trent, before Trent died, and you know he's this sex guru. It's just sort of a joke around here.'
'Tell me about the time he spent.'
'God, you sound like one of my therapists,' she said. 'You know, he'd be at company social events, they'd play golf together, sometimes he'd come here to see one or another of them. They'd have lunch.'
'Any women involved?'
'There were some, in those sex seminars he runs. Wives, some of our employees.'
'How about Coop?' I said. 'He take one of those seminars?'
'Not that I know.'
'Big Wilma?'
A dele put her head back and laughed. 'Wait'll you meet Big Wilma,' she said.
33
Susan and I were cooking dinner at my place, for Hawk and a thoracic surgeon. Which is, of course, to say that I was cooking dinner and Susan was setting the table, and putting cut flowers around.
The surgeon was an absolute blockbuster of a black woman named Cecile. I was making my own version of moussaka, with zucchini and onions and peppers and no eggplant. I hate eggplant. I was drinking a martini made with orange vodka while I cooked, and the rest of them were sitting at my kitchen counter drinking martinis too, and watching me.
'I hope this isn't too exhausting for you,' I said while the lamb was browning.
'No,' Hawk said, 'I'm cool with it. But how come you didn't prepare in advance.'
'I was busy fighting crime,' I said.
'Who's winning?' Hawk said.
'Crime,' I said.
'Little guy with the long hair reappear?'
'Not yet. I'll let you know.'
'I ready to pounce,' Hawk said.
Susan took so small a drink of her martini that it might simply have been that she sniffed at it.
'Something I've been thinking,' she said.'When you had lunch with the CEO of that company.'
'Bob Cooper,' I said. 'Kinergy.'
'Yes. Wasn't that a private club?'
'That's why I felt so honored,' I said.
'So how did Mr. Long Hair get in?'
'You're making me look bad,' I said. 'I never thought of that.'
'As long as one of us did,' Susan said.
'The finger of suspicion would point at Coop.'
'I'd think so,' Susan said. 'Of course I'm not a detective.'
'Oh shut up,' I said.
Susan smiled her contented smile and took in another gram of martini vapor. I went back to my moussaka.
'Where did you learn to cook?' Cecile said. 'I'm always curious about men who cook.'
'We been cookin', ' Hawk said to her.
'Shh,' she said. 'Did you learn from Susan?'
Hawk and I laughed.
