“I figured they had a bunch of bills to pay,” Donna Grace said, swallowing hard and closing her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Quinn. I’ve tried not to think about this all morning, convincing myself that Gina is gonna be all right. That those horrible stories can’t be true. Not here. Not in Jericho.”

Quinn nodded. He offered more condolences while Donna Grace picked up a bouquet and twirled it in her hand, smiling softly.

“Seems like yesterday I was stringing flowers for your parents’ wedding,” she said. “Jason talked the whole town into donating something. We hung Christmas lights in the old oaks on the Square, folks barbecuing and carrying on until sunup. Your daddy sure was crazy about Miss Jean. Makes me sad sometimes when I think they’re not together anymore.”

“I guess folks grow apart.”

Donna Grace tossed Quinn the bouquet. He wasn’t expecting it and barely caught it before it hit the floor.

“Give these to Jean for me,” she said. “A little private joke between us. Hope it makes her smile.”

*   *   *

Lillie identified herself to the bouncer at Dixie Belles, a muscly white boy in an official Grizz jersey, while Charlie Hodge waited outside in case Domino decided to bolt. Both of them had a good look at the woman’s booking photo from 201 Poplar: prostitution, possession with intent, and assault on a law enforcement officer.

The bouncer got a girl and the girl then got another man, this one saying he was the day manager and didn’t want trouble. This man was copper-colored, bald as a coot with a Fu Manchu and a physique that looked like a former bodybuilder who one day up and said fuck it. “Nope,” he said. “No way. Come back when you got some paper.”

“Okay,” Lillie said. “But with traffic, I’ll make it just in time for the dinner show. I saw the billboard outside. Y’all got a real-life porn star coming to town? That’s some real class.”

“Kiley Ryan,” he said. “She once took on a whole football team by herself. It was some kind of record. Maybe you should stick around, lady. Learn a few tricks.”

The man laughed at that, turning to the bouncer, who smirked. Lillie’s face didn’t change and soon the laughing died down.

“That’s okay,” Lillie said. “Probably better training for a guy like you. You look like you spent a little time inside. Probably need to keep limber to make some new friends.”

“I don’t need your shit today,” he said. “Bring back some paper or quit harassing my people.”

“When I come back with more people, it might delay Miss Ryan’s one-woman show,” she said. “Or you can just go get Domino and we can all go about our day.”

“Just who the fuck are you?”