blown away by the gusting winds.
“What a hunk!” Mercedes was visibly palpitating.
Darnell’s dark skin seemed to glow. “Movie people.
Wow. You know, I hate to bring this up just now, but I’ve
been working on a script, and I wonder if I could—”
“Patrolman Hicks,” Joe interrupted in a solemn
voice, “you’re on duty. Let’s get on with the job.
Maybe I can mention your name to . . .” He paused, apparently wondering which guest would be interested in
a script. “Chips Madigan, the director. Okay?”
“Really?” Darnell looked elated. “Golly. That
would be terrific. Believe me, my script isn’t just an-
other piece of junk. I’ve got serious themes.” He turned
to his partner. “Come on, Merce, let’s hit it.”
The kitchen was clearing out. Judith put both hands
to her head and gave Joe a frantic look.
“What do we do now?”
“We wait,” Joe said, sitting down at the kitchen
table. “It may look like some kind of freak accident,
but in fact they’re going to have to send the homicide
’tecs in.”
Judith was aghast. “Tonight?”
“Of course. You know the drill.” He shot her a wry
glance.
“But it’s two in the morning, and we’ve got all these
people upstairs, and—” She stopped, looked out over
the swinging doors, then lowered her voice.
“Winifred’s still at the dining-room table. She either
passed out or she’s asleep.”
But Winifred Best was wide-awake. Her head jerked
up, then she slowly rose to her feet. “Where’s Morris?”
she demanded.
“Morris?” Judith echoed in a dull voice. “Morris . . .
Mayne?”
Winifred thrust open the sliding doors and entered
the kitchen. “Of course I mean Morris Mayne. The
publicist. He must be at the hotel.” She pulled her cell
phone out of her bathrobe pocket and began to dial in
a staccato manner.
Judith felt not only exhausted but helpless. “I’ll
make coffee,” she said, and started for the sink.
“Hold it,” Joe said. “You can’t use the sink, remember?”
“Yes, I can,” Judith shot back. “We’ll plunge it. I
can’t imagine that it’s seriously plugged up. Anyway,
we’ve got a snake. If the plunger doesn’t work, the
snake should clear the line.”
“You’re missing the point,” Joe said, his patience
