'A selection of, ah, adult novelty items.'
'Coop,' I said, 'you dog.'
'Want to see?' Hawk said to Cecile.
'Oh, ick,' Cecile said.
'That mean I'm all you need?' Hawk said.
'It means, oh ick,' Cecile said.
Hawk grinned. Coop had assessed his position vis-a-vis fighting his way out of there, and found it not to be viable. He stopped pressing against my hand and leaned back again against the couch.
'Okay,' he said. 'I have an eye for the ladies.' He looked at Hawk standing beside Cecile. 'I mean, don't we all?' he said.
Some of us don't use a pimp,' Hawk said.
Coop opened his mouth and thought about what to say, and apparently thought nothing would be best. He looked at me. A couple of simpatico white guys. I'd understand. He and I could clear this whole thing up.
'You want to he a senator,' I said. 'Maybe president. A sex scandal? A divorce, almost certainly messy? With the likely negative effect all that would have on Kinergy stock?'
'Okay,' he said. 'You've got me by the short ones. What kind of deal can we make.'
'I thought you'd never ask,' I said.
'How much,' Coop said, 'will this cost me?'
He felt better. He was back on familiar turf. He was making a deal.
'Hard to say at this point. I want my accountant to have full access to all Kinergy's financial records.'
'You mean an audit? Why?'
'I do,' I said. 'I understand Kinergy has a cash problem.'
'Cash?'
'That's what they tell me.'
'Absolutely not,' he said.
'I want you to pay for the audit,' I said.
'I can't do that. That's absurd.'
'And,' I said, 'I want to know everything you can tell me about Darrin O'Mara.'
'O'Mara?'
'Yep. The company pimp.'
'O'Mara? I don't know anything about O'Mara,' Coop said.
'That's the deal,' I said. 'Audit and O'Mara. Or we tell everyone everything.'
'I'm not going to agree to that.'
'I've already spoken with Mrs. Cooper.'
'Wilma?'
'Yep.'
'About what?'
'If I were you I wouldn't want her to find out any of this,' I said.
'Oh God.'
'My thoughts exactly,' I said.
'I can't. I'll pay you. I am wealthy. I'll pay you a young fortune.'
'O'Mara and the audit,' I said. 'Or Wilma and the press and probably the SEC and maybe the vice squad.'
'Jesus,' he said. 'Oh Jesus, I can't. I can't.'
I leaned forward a little with my hands clasped and my forearms resting on my thighs.
'Coop, darlin',' I said. 'You gotta.'
I t was like pulling a camel through the eye of a needle. While we talked Hawk collected all the videotapes in a gym bag he found in the bedroom closet. Then he and Cecile sat and listened for a while. Then after about a half hour he stood.
'Me and Cecile got to go review all these tapes for evidence.' he said.
'Me and Cecile?' Cecile said.
'Might have to watch them two, three times. Make sure not to miss a clue.'
'Two or three times?' Cecile said.
'Maybe learn something,' Hawk said.
