I stood in a circle of people, munching a canape, Sol’s Delight-cooked lobster, Campbell’s mushroom soup, and a dash of Tabasco, smeared on a Ritz Cracker. In fact, everyone at the party was eating Sol’s Delight. Sol insisted. It was all right by me; I loved the stuff. We weren’t discussing the case. Mostly, the people in the group were asking my advice on legal matters. Since the story hit the papers and snippets of the news conference was shown at least a million times on television, I had picked up a reputation as a brilliant criminal defense attorney. I just hoped some of the publicity would translate into paying clients.
Captain Russo approached me. “Say, O’Brien, you wouldn’t know anything about a couple of bodies the Signal Hills Police found in an abandoned warehouse, would you? Before you answer, the prints on the knife were unreadable.”
I gave him my best dumbfounded look. “Nope, don’t know a thing about that.” Then I smiled.
“I didn’t think so.” He smiled back, shook my hand and wandered off.
Rita and Kathie were seated alone at a table, sipping champagne and having a serious discussion. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, and frankly, I didn’t want to know.
They turned when they saw me looking at them. Kathie winked. Rita frowned.
“Everybody, shut up and listen,” Sol shouted as he burst in through the doors. Andre, the manager of Rocco’s, and Al Roberts, looking thin and a little pale, stood at his side.
“I want to introduce Rocco’s new fabulous entertainment genius. Let’s hear it for Al Roberts, direct from New York’s Break O’ Dawn Club and a long engagement in Chino. That’s right-Andre has signed the one and only Al Roberts to an extended contract.” He patted Al on the back. “Take it away, maestro!” Nobody said that Sol wasn’t the Baron of Bullshit.
Al slid onto the piano bench and began to play-old favorites from the forties like “Stardust,” “As Time Goes By,” and “I’ll Walk Alone.” Everyone loved it.
A couple songs later, a hush fell over the crowd. People whispered, some pointing to the woman who had slipped into the room from a side door. She wore a cornflower-blue satin gown with heavy ruffles down the side and a big satin bow in front. Her makeup was perfection and her light grey hair was pulled back, highlighting her still beautiful face.
Without saying a word, she gracefully ascended the steps to the raised platform and stood next to Al. She looked down at him, seated on the bench, smiled, and placed her arm lightly on his shoulder.
Al stopped playing and looked up at Sue Harvey. He lingered for a moment before turning back to the audience. “After a slight detour of almost thirty years, my girl and I were married last night.”
He turned back to the piano keys. The lights dimmed and Sue beamed in the spotlight with an elegant radiance. She swayed with the music and started to sing: “Your eyes of blue, your kisses too, I never knew what they could do, I can't believe that you're in love with me…”
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Jeff Sherratt
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Detour to Murder jo-3 Page 29