blowing you up? Itâs so violent.â
âDonât take offense, but my personal opinion is it was one of Stinkyâs practical jokes that got out of hand. I was hoping maybe youâd heard from him so we could clear this mess up. Iâd like tofind out if Iâve offended him or ticked him off in such a way that he needed to get back at me.â
At the mention of Stinkyâs name, Roxanneâs face melted. âI havenât heard âbooâ from the Stinkster. After Donohue told me that you spotted the Lexus there, I worried Stinky blew up, too.â Tears sprung from the corners of her eyes. âHe hasnât even called me to say heâs okay.â
âIâm sure heâs okay,â I said, although I doubted that highly. I put my arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. âStinkyâs fine.â
âYou donât know. Stinky hasnât been fine for some time.â She turned away and wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands. I couldnât help but notice a pair of glittery amethyst earrings and matching necklace. Stiletto was right. No matter how weirded out Stinky might be these days, he was doing very wellâat least financially.
âGotta keep positive,â she said, sniffling. âSay, whereâs that well-hung hunk of yours, Stiletto?â
âStilettoâs having a problem with the rented Crown Victoria.â I nodded in a what-can-you-do way. âIâm sure heâll be around.â Oh, yes. Heâd be around.
âA Crown Victoria. My, my.â Roxanne fanned herself at the thought. âNice to have boku bucks. Is it true that heâs a millionaire?â
It was true but not a fact Stiletto was proud of. In Stilettoâs mind the wealth he had inherited from Henry Metzger, his heartless stepfather, was dirty money. Out of nostalgia he maintained the family mansion back in Saucon Valley, an exclusive suburb for steel executives near Lehigh, but he had set aside the rest for charity and still kept his apartment in New York. We didnât talk about his portfolio much.
âHe lives mostly on his AP salary,â I said. âAnyway, whatâs this aboutââ
âI hear heâs got a set of shoulders on him that could build Rome,â Roxanne interrupted, her eyes gleaming.
âMore like Easton.â
âThatâll do,â she said. âAnd to think of you stuck with that chastity vow. Girl, Iâd have thrown myself on that man without so much as a howdy-do.â
I would have thrown myself on him if it hadnât been for that bogus fax sent by your crazy husband, I thought ruefully.
âSo what do you mean by Stinky hasnât been fine for some time?â I asked.
I expected Roxanne to tell me what a rat her blackmailing psycho husband had been. Instead she said, âI did an awful thing, cousin. Just awful.â She brushed back a strand of copper hair. âCoffee, sugar?â
Was that an offer of coffee or coffee with sugar? âThanks,â I said, perching myself on a padded stool by the makeup counter.
âYou know that he quit his six-figure job at McMullen Coal, right?â Roxanne poured the coffee.
âSix-figure job? What are they mining over there, gold?â
âThat was a recent salary hike. Stinky was making one-sixth that before.â She dumped two spoonfuls of sugar in each cup. Gag. âEarly this year, McMullen Coal moved Stinky off maps and over to special projects where he got tons more money and even two new cars. We were in heaven for about six months and then . . . I probably shouldnât talk about it.â
âThen Stinky got fired for going wacko. Donohue told me.â
âThatâs a bunch of bull, if you pardon my French.â She held out her pinky. âPinky promise to keep this quiet, just between you and me. Because I definitely do not want this to get out around town.â
I dreaded