Head To Head. Linda Ladd

romantic situations. She was insecure.”

      “Yet she seemed to have it all—looks, money, fame.”

      “Sometimes people hide their misery behind those kinds of facades. It’s called self-preservation.”

      Something about the way he looked at me made me wonder if I should slap on some more bricks and mortar to my own facade.

      “Has the cause of death been determined?” he asked suddenly. This time I could see his pain quite clearly. He had cared about Sylvie Border, and a hunch told me there was more to their relationship than what he intimated.

      “Not officially. Why do you ask?”

      “Miki described how she was found. It cuts me to think she suffered long.”

      My cell phone began to play the “Mexican Hat Dance” song, and I pulled it off my belt.

      Bud said, “It’s me, and we got a hit on the surveillance tapes. A busboy showed up at Sylvie’s place around ten-thirty, went in the gate, and didn’t come out. Guess who has a rape record and didn’t show up for work today? Our old friend Troy Inman. Meet me at the station, and we’ll go get him.”

      “I’ll be there in ten.”

      Nicholas Black watched me stand up and replace my phone. “Something important has come up, I presume?”

      “Doctor Black, I’d like to continue this later, if you’ll grant me the time.”

      He stood and retrieved a white linen business card from a gold desk holder. He took a pen and scribbled something on the back of it. “This is my private cell phone number. You can reach me on it at any time. I’ll do anything I can to help you find out who did this.”

      I nodded, glad to hear it, and took his card, because I wasn’t done with him yet, not by a long shot.