“Linda had been having her car fixed at the station for six, seven, eight years, who the hell remembers. About a year ago, she started acting different toward me, real friendly.” He popped a half-dozen french fries in his mouth. “My wife and I…we were going through some bad times. I fell for it, and I fell for her. Actually thought I loved the broad until she up and left me. I not only lost her, but I lost her business as well. Teach me to mix business and pleasure. I’m just lucky my wife never caught on. That’s all I’d need. My wife’s Mexican and comes from an old-fashioned Mexican family. Know what her brothers would do to me if they found out I was messin’ around on her? God knows, if they didn’t finish me off, a divorce would. Alimony and child support. I’ve got six kids. My wife is also a Catholic. I had to get dispensation to marry her. Jesus, don’t ever mess around on a Mexican woman.”

He spoke as if only Mexican women grew irate at their adulterous husbands. Decker said, “Let’s go back to Linda Darcy.” He pulled out his notebook. “What exactly did you mean by ‘she started acting friendly’?”

“Well, for years she’s all business. Lube the car, change the belts, flush out the radiator. Sometimes she drove the pickup, sometimes she drove the Dodge. That was a honey of a car. A two-tone job—”

“Jim, how did she act friendly?” Decker said.

“Well, she just changed. Smiled when she spoke to me, touched my shoulder as we looked inside the hood together. Then, out of the blue, she said she had a little time and suggested grabbing a cup of coffee at this very McDonald’s. One thing led to another, next thing I know, we’re in bed together.” Grains paused. “But that’s all in the past. What’s this all about, anyway?”

“Linda Darcy’s been murdered,” Decker said.

Grain’s eyes bugged out even farther, then he began to choke. Decker stood up and gave him a sharp rap between his shoulder blades. Grains coughed, spit out a mouthful of food into a napkin. Decker waited for him to settle down, but Grains kept uttering “goldam” over and over.

Decker finally said, “How long did you and Linda have the affair?”

“Goldam,” Grains said. “Murdered? How?”

“Shot,” Decker said. “How long did you and Linda—”

“You don’t suspect I had anything to do with it!”

“Please answer the question, Jim,” Decker said.

“You aren’t going to tell my wife, are you?”

“How about we start with me asking the questions, and you answering them. How long had you and Linda had your affair?”

“Goldam,” Grains said. “Six months.”

“When did it start?”

“A year ago.”

“And it lasted for six months?”