“He knew something. He didn’t seem to care.”

“But according to you, he cared enough to cancel his trip and fly out to see her.”

“True that. He freaked when she said she was dumping him. It surprised me.”

“Why?”

“Because he didn’t seem to care that much about her.”

“Maybe he cared because he’d stood to lose his interest-free bank.”

Aaron didn’t talk for a moment. “That might be. He did go to Vegas a lot.”

“Garth goes to Vegas, Garth goes to Reno. Does Garth have a gambling problem?”

“Garth?” Aaron laughed. “He plays two-dollar tables and quarter slots. Sometimes he plays the poker machines. I rib him about it all the time. I once told him that he was the only guy I knew who could make fifty bucks last a weekend.”

“So why does he go to Vegas so much if he really doesn’t gamble?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

Decker didn’t answer.

“You know the saying,” Aaron replied. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

“What happens in Vegas?”

“Nothing too spectacular.” But Aaron looked very uncomfortable. “I mean, it’s just that Garth likes women. They’re notches on his belt, you know what I’m saying.”

“What kinds of women?”

“See, that’s the thing. He doesn’t have a certain kind. He likes them all: young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, fat, skinny, blond, brunette, redhead, bald, you name it. He told me it’s his goal in life to screw every kind of female in the world. I told him that was impossible because everyone was different. Then he said that that’s the point; he’d never get it all, so he’d have to keep going.”

“What did you say to that?”

“I dunno. We just laughed or something. C’mon, Lieutenant. We’re guys. That’s what you do when you’re young and single and that’s certainly what you do in Vegas.”

“Do you know if Garth was into kinky?”

“According to Garth, he was always up for anything new.” Aaron pressed his lips together. “Call me old-fashioned, but it turns me on when I get a girl off. Garth didn’t care about that. He told me several times he likes it back door. He told me that with back door, the guy has a grip and doesn’t have to look the girl in the eye. He made a point of saying that with back door, the guy’s always in control.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

MANDY KOWALSKI DIDN’T decorate with heart.