Wenderhole gave her a fleeting smile. “Primo had been into the punk scene, but it was wearing thin. He was having trouble with the band, and he really wanted to be more behind the scenes. He liked my songs. We did a demo tape. Leroy somehow managed to get the tape played at a few of the alternative stations. I didn’t make a dime off it, but, man, hearing yourself over the squawk box. It got me women. It got Leroy women. It got us welcome at all the clubs. Problem is, if you run around with shit, you get your hands dirty. And that’s exactly what happened.”

He patted the wheelchair.

“We were partying just like we always did, except one night some hyped-up bro went crazy and started peeling off rounds. Leroy caught it in the chest and head. I caught it in the back. When I woke up, I couldn’t move my legs. I couldn’t even feel my legs.”

Wenderhole’s jaw clenched as tightly as his fists.

“I wasn’t allowed to feel that sorry for myself because at least I was alive. Leroy…he didn’t have a chance.” A beat. “It wasn’t a wake-up call, it was a fuckin’ time bomb going off in my brain. For the first time in my life, I could be on drugs legally because the pain was so unbelievable.”

“It must have been hell.”

“If there was something worse than hell, I was in it. I swore that I was going to clean up my act and do something. It took me years, but finally I joined the human race. I started trying to better myself. I talked to other paraplegics. I realized that I was luckier than most because my dick still worked. I eventually did get some feeling back in my legs and toes. For a while, I could even manage on crutches. But you get older, it don’t get better. I finally got tired enough to admit I needed a little more help. I can still swim like a fish, but I’ve been using a wheelchair for the last three years.”

Wenderhole waited long enough for Marge to feel that it was okay to ask questions.

“Did you talk to Ekerling after you got shot?”

“I think Primo visited me a couple of times, then nothing. No market for a rapper in a wheelchair, and there was lots of others writing rap. He didn’t have any use for me anymore.”

“Did you think that Leroy’s connection to Ekerling had something to do with Bennett Little’s murder?”

“Why would I think that? Ekerling didn’t come into the picture until way later.”

“And you never questioned Leroy about Bennett Little’s murder?”

“No. I didn’t want to know nothing.”

“And your only involvement in the incident was picking Leroy up from the park.”