North held his gaze until the words dried up and Teddi’s eyes dropped.

“It’s not a secret,” Teddi finally said in a low, rough voice. “It was in the papers.”

“No, it’s not a secret.”

“He’s a lovely young man. Truly. Most of them—” Teddi fluttered fingers at the boys on the deck, who were now playing some kind of drinking game that involved bananas and obscene postures and more pitchers of mimosas. “Most of them come to drink my champagne and to look for a rich daddy and to laugh at me when they leave. And that’s all right; I know the deal, and I invite them because I enjoy looking at them, and I laugh at them when they leave.” A savage hook pulled the corner of Teddi’s mouth. “Especially when they leave with an older man, drooling over him, convinced he’s going to give them everything their real daddy didn’t. And Shaw isn’t like that. He’s really quite wonderful. Quite remarkable.”

“Yes, he is.”

Teddi managed to meet North’s eyes.

“You won’t ever tell anyone about Shaw and the Slasher again.”

It took a moment. Teddi’s lips moved silently, and then he jerked his head in a negative. “I won’t.”

Out of the corner of his eye, North saw Regina Rex—wig and dress and heels, the whole getup—lingering at the buffet. A prickle of irritation ran through North; no doubt she wanted to know what all the drama was about, especially after the way Tom and Billy had left. “I guess I can’t convince you to stop inviting Regina to these things.”

With a roll of his eyes, Teddi said, “If only I could. She’s insisting that I help her with a fundraiser to renovate the Lucky, although from what I’ve heard, she’s gotten plenty of donations, and she’s already got the permits so it’s not like she has to jump through more hoops.”

“Too bad. If she’s going to stick around, let’s talk business so we can get out of here.” North unfolded the printed images from Allure’s security footage and placed them on the table. He pointed to the man sitting next to Matty. Then he shuffled the pictures, showing different angles of the man’s face. Teddi leaned closer, perching a pair of cheaters on his nose and flushing slightly with embarrassment as he did.

When North had cycled through all the printouts, Teddi pocketed the cheaters and leaned back in his seat. “That’s Mark Sevcik. He’s lived here for years. He does something in finance, I think, although lots of people say that and it’s hard to know what it means.”

“You know that already? You don’t need to show this around, ask some questions?”

Teddi’s smile could have cut glass. “I’m queen of the gays, aren’t I?”

“Does he have a partner?”

“Not that I know of.”

“One of your friends?”

“Not really. I’ve had him over a few times. Brunch, once. He’s pleasant enough, but—” Teddi frowned.

“What?”

“Nothing in particular. I always had the feeling he was like them.” He waved those shiny nails at the boys on the deck, who were now engaged in an ultra-erotic wrestling match which involved lots of short-shorts being dragged down and then hastily pulled back into place. “A bit older. A bit more class. But a climber.”