“That’s good because the glasses aren’t clean. You can take off your tie. It’s like a bloody sauna in here.”

“Might cool things off if we opened all the windows.”

“Go ahead. I’ll be back in a jiff.”

After getting some decent ventilation, Decker sat down on the sofa. O’Dell came in with a plate of clams drenched in malt vinegar and tartar sauce. He tossed Decker a can of 7UP and then took a swig from a bottle of Heineken. He ate sans utensils, popping clams into his mouth and licking his fingers afterward. “Delicious. Sure you’re not interested?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.”

Another healthy gulp of beer. “So you haven’t found Rudy. You think he might be dead?”

“Don’t know,” Decker said. “I’m interested in the time you got along with him.”

“That would be never.”

“You were in a band with him for years. You must have gotten along a little bit.”

“Nope, never.” He ate another clam. “If we didn’t break into fistfights, it’s only because we were too blasted to care. Whenever I was sober, which wasn’t too often, I never liked the son of a bitch.”

“But you two weren’t overtly at war all the time.”

He thought about that. “I suppose there were a few times that I could be in the same room with him.”

“Rudy wrote most of the songs for the band?”

“Yeah, like I told you before—Rudy and Primo. That’s why me and Ryan got the raw end of the stick, mate.” Another clam. “The band may fold but the songs live on. Just not for me.”

“I know the band went through lots of women.” A smile on O’Dell’s face. “In addition to the groupies, did Rudy have a special girlfriend?”

“I don’t know, mate, we wasn’t close. Is this going somewhere?”

“Does the name Melinda Little sound familiar to you?”

O’Dell thought a moment. “Melinda…Melinda…Melinda was mine, til the time…” Recognition in his eyes. “There was a Melinda.”

Decker perked up. “Melinda Little?”

“Melinda something.” Decker described her and O’Dell said, “Could be.”

“What can you tell me about her?”

“Not much. It was a fog. She was around thirty?”

“More like thirty-five.”

O’Dell slowly nodded. “If me memory is intact, I think she was one of ’em who made the rounds.”

“Meaning?”

“What do you think?” O’Dell finished his clams and put the plate down on the coffee table. “Something’s clicking in the airspace.” He pointed to his brain. “I remember something about her being married. She liked to fuck. I don’t think she was getting too much at home.”

Decker nodded.