It was closer to nine-thirty than nine when they got Kay Spalter’s call on Gurney’s landline. He put it on speakerphone in the den.

“Hey, Kay,” said Hardwick. “How are things in beautiful Bedford Hills?”

“Fabulous.” Her voice was rough, dry, impatient. “You there, Dave?”

“I’m here.”

“You said you were going to have more questions for me?”

He wondered if her abruptness was a way of feeling in control or just a symptom of prison tension. “I’ve got half a dozen of them.”

“Go ahead.”

“Last time we spoke, you mentioned a mob guy, Donny Angel, as someone we should look at for Carl’s murder. The problem is, the hit on Carl seems too complicated for that.”

“What do you mean?” She sounded curious rather than challenging.

“Angel knew him, knew a lot about him. He could have put together an easier hit than a sniper shot at a cemetery service five hundred yards away. So let’s assume for a minute that Angel wasn’t the bad guy. If you had to come up with a second choice, who would it be?”

“Jonah.” She said it without emotion and without hesitation.

“The motive being control of the family company?”

“Control would allow him to mortgage enough properties to expand the Cyberspace Cathedral into the biggest religious rip-off project in the world.”

“How much do you know about this goal of his?”

“Nothing. I’m guessing. My point is, Jonah’s a much bigger sleazeball than anyone realizes, and company control means big money for him. Big. I do know he asked Carl about mortgaging some buildings and Carl told him to go fuck himself.”

“Nice brotherly relationship. Any other candidates for killer?”

“Maybe a hundred other people whose toes Carl stomped on.”

“When I asked you the other day why you stayed with him, you gave me sort of a joke answer. At least, I think it was a joke. I need to know the real reason.”

“Truth is, I don’t know the real reason. I used to search for that mystery glue that attached me to him, but I could never identify it. So maybe I really am a cheap gold digger.”

“Are you sorry he’s dead?”

“Maybe a little.”

“What was your day-to-day relationship like?”

“Generous, patronizing, and controlling on his part.”

“And on yours?”

“Loving, admiring, and submissive. Except when he went too far.”

“And then?”

“Then all hell would break loose.”

“Did you ever threaten him?”

“Yes.”

“In front of witnesses?”

“Yes.”

“Give me an example.”

“There were quite a few.”

“Give me the worst.”