“Nope. But right after these two idiots went at it, I went on a monthlong trip to Thailand. You probably talked to Aaron.”

“That’s right,” Quay said.

“What do you mean ‘went at it’?” Decker asked.

“It was on the late side when they came in. Around eleven, but that’s not crazy. We’re open until twelve on weekdays, two on weekends.” A pause. “It must have been a weekday. Thursday, I think, because I left on Saturday. They started off okay—a little loud, but par for the course. About fifteen minutes before closing, I made a last call. Five minutes before I locked the door, the guy wanted another. I told him no. He started getting belligerent with me. She started yelling at him not to yell at me. Then he started yelling back at her. There was some name-calling. Luckily, there were several customers still here, including Big Eric. Helped me escort them outside. They were both skunk drunk.”

“Eric is a big guy.” Quay took a bite of his ribs. “Good stuff.”

“We try.”

Decker said, “Do you know what happened to them after they left?”

“No, I do not,” Maddy said. “But I didn’t hear yelling anymore. I cleaned up, left about an hour later. No one was in the parking lot. I went home. The guy was a psycho.”

“Why do you say that?” McAdams asked.

“The eyes … flat, dead, just empty. Then again, it could be he was drunk. No one looks sweet when they’re shit-faced.” Maddy heard her name. “That’s all I remember. I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Did you ever see these two together after that one time?”

“Nope,” Maddy said. “But like I told you, I was gone for a month on vacation. Wish I was back there now.”

“I’m sure.” Quay wiped his face. “Thanks for your help, Maddy.”

“No worries.” Maddy licked her lips. “You know about Occam’s razor?”

“We do,” McAdams said. “Simplest is best.”

Maddy said, “If you guys think that he did something to Pauline, then he probably did.”

AFTER RIBS AND libations, they left the bar. Quay said, “I think we’re pretty much done for the night. No other places are as big as the two bars we just went to. And it sounds like they ended their evening here.”

“I think you’re right,” Decker said.

“Looks like they took the fight over to Elsie’s,” Quay said. “We’ll put out a BOLO on Baer’s car tomorrow morning, see if we can find the son of a bitch.”

“Does Baer have a car?”

“No idea, but if he does, I’ll find it,” Quay said. “You two hitting the road tomorrow?”

Decker said, “Unless something happens, we will be going back home.”

“What could happen?”

“Earthquake, fire, flood, pandemic,” Decker said. “Who the hell knows?”

Quay smiled. “In the meantime, have a good night.”