Cherry’s eyebrows went way up. “Really? The whole whips and chains thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Still doesn’t ring any kind of bell.”

“She might have had a child. Very young at the time. A little girl.”

“I still got noth…A little girl, you say?”

I nodded.

“I seem to recall, I think it was Eldon Swain. I think he may have had a kid. I remember, when he died, there was something about him leaving a baby girl behind.”

“He was married?”

“Don’t think so, but yeah, I think he might have had a kid. Maybe with one of the dancers there, I don’t know.” He thought a moment. “You know who might be able to tell you?”

I waited.

“Wingstaff.”

“The head of the Comets?” I said. “The biker?”

“Yeah. I could give him a call. Get the two of you together. He might know something about this Trixie chick. The two gangs actually knew each other pretty well, before the Slots up and faded away. When they weren’t trying to kill each other, they were probably drinking, fucking each other’s women.”

I glanced at the clock. Nervously, I said, “It’s the dinner hour. We wouldn’t want to disturb him during the dinner hour.” I was pretty relaxed talking to cops, but did I really want to talk to a biker boss?

“Nah, he’ll be fine. We’re on opposite sides, Bruce and I, but we get along. You’ll like him.”

I was not so sure.

Cherry was reaching for the phone, but before he could dial I had one more question.

“There was something, in one of the Metropolitan stories I think, hinting that there was something unusual about the manner in which those three guys were shot at the Kickstart.”

“Yeah,” Cherry said, holding the phone in midair. “We didn’t release everything to the press.”

“It’s been a while,” I said. “What was it?”

Cherry shook his head. “I’d like to tell you, but I’m not sure it would be a good idea at this time.”

“Let me ask you this,” I said, thinking back to the question I felt obliged to consider, even though I didn’t believe it was possible.

“Shoot,” Cherry said.

“Do you think a woman could have killed those three club members at the Kickstart?”

Cherry considered a moment before answering. “Maybe.”

CHAPTER 21

21

DETECTIVE CHERRY GOT HOLD of Bruce Wingstaff. I heard only half the conversation, which struck me as surprisingly friendly. “Okay, so we’ll catch up with you there,” Cherry said, and rang off. “He’s good for seven. That gives us a bit of time. You got plans for dinner?”

I said no. “But I don’t want to be any trouble. Like, I don’t want you to miss dinner with your wife or anything.”

“No wife, no kids,” Cherry said. “We’ll grab something.”