by Ellen Hart
Jane was at a loss. Everything she could say sounded lame and inadequate.
“This is more information than you wanted.”
“One last question. Why did Elvio murder your brother?”
Sabrina stared at the center of the table for a few seconds, then broke into sobs.
“I’m sorry. If it’s too—”
“No,” she said, covering her mouth, fighting back tears. “I need to tell someone. I came close to telling you yesterday when I was in your kitchen.” She took a deep breath and scraped a hand across her eyes. “This is hard for me.”
Jane took a couple of tissues out of her pocket and handed them over.
Sabrina blew her nose and tried again. “Obviously,” she said, sniffing, “I’m not gay. Elvio thought I was. I guess everyone did. I could pass for a man, but not a straight man. He’d come talk to me after his shift was done. He’d amble up to the bar, have a beer or two. Over time, we got friendly. One night, right as I was leaving, he waylaid me in the back hall and told me he loved me. He was so desperate. I understand how it feels to live a lie. I wouldn’t let him touch me, but … I touched him. I didn’t realize DeAndre hadn’t left. He came looking for me and found me … with Elvio.”
“And Elvio freaked.”
“Big-time. I had no idea he’d go after my brother like that. He was terrified his family would learn the truth. I talked to Elvio after he went to jail, the morning before I flew out to Utah to take out Ken Crowder.”
“He’s dead?”
“I already told the cops. It’s no secret anymore. Anyway, Elvio told me the whole thing was an impulse, something that came from his need to protect himself—and his family—from the truth. He was at a sink washing a knife. DeAndre ran through the kitchen. Elvio shoved the knife under his apron and followed him outside. You know the rest.” Wiping at her eyes, she continued, “My mom completely failed DeAndre as a mother. I understood why, but I hated her for it. I was gonna be different. I was gonna take care of him. Some sister,” she said, her voice going flat. “I deserve to be put away.” Rising from her chair, she moved over to the door. Before she knocked on it to let the guard know she was ready to go, she turned back to Jane. “Will you take good care of Gimlet? She’s all I’ve got left.”
“Very good care,” said Jane, fighting back her own tears.
“If they don’t put me on death row, would you send me pictures of her? You know, as she grows up?”
“Count on it.”
“And tell her I love her?”
“She already knows that.” Jane rose from her chair and stood behind it as the female guard reappeared and escorted Sabrina out.
How did a person get her mind around so much pain? Sabrina was a multiple murderer. She deserved to be punished, and yet, as Jane stood staring the closed door, all she felt was an overwhelming sadness for everything that had been lost. One stupid, drunken act had ruined so many lives. Nothing about any of this was fair. Nobody won. Everybody lost.
Welcome to the world of private investigation, thought Jane, tucking in her emotions and walking out of the room to go meet Avi.
Cast of Characters
Jane Lawless:
Owner of the Lyme House Restaurant and the Xanadu Club in Minneapolis. Private investigator.
Cordelia Thorn:
Artistic director at the Allen Grimby Repertory Theater in St. Paul. Jane’s best friend.
DeAndre Moore:
A. J. Nolan’s nephew.
A. J. Nolan:
Retired homicide investigator. Jane’s partner at Nolan & Lawless Investigations.
Vince Bessetti:
Owner of GaudyLights in downtown Minneapolis.
Emmett Washington:
Pilot for AirNorth. Roddy’s father. Member of the Gillford Wildcats.
Roddy Washington:
High school student. Emmett’s son.
Royal Rudmann:
Member of the Gillford Wildcats.
Avi Greenberg:
Bartender at GaudyLights.
Shanice Williams:
Executive chef at GaudyLights/Café Bacchus.
Diamond Brown:
Manager at GaudyLights.
Georgia Dietrich:
Exotic dancer. Law school student.
Elvio Ramos:
Dishwasher at GaudyLights.
Luis Ramos:
Elvio’s brother. Dishwasher at the Xanadu Club.
Jason Dorsey:
Bartender at GaudyLights.
Octavia Thorn Lester:
Cordelia’s sister. Hattie’s mother.
Bolger Aspenwall III:
Hattie’s nanny.
Burt Tatum:
Schoolteacher in St. Louis. Member of the Gillford Wildcats.
Ken Crowder:
Businessman in Utah. Member of the Gillford Wildcats.
ALSO BY ELLEN HART
The Lost Women of Lost Lake
The Cruel Ever After
The Mirror and the Mask
Sweet Poison
The Mortal Groove
Night Vision
The Iron Girl
An Intimate Ghost
Immaculate Midnight
No Reservations Required
Death on a Silver Platter
The Merchant of Venus
Slice and Dice
Hunting the Witch
Wicked Games
Murder in the Air
Robber’s Wine
The Oldest Sin
Faint Praise
A Small Sacrifice
For Every Evil
This Little Piggy Went to Murder
A Killing Cure
Stage Fright
Vital Lies
Hallowed Murder
About the Author
ELLEN HART, “a top novelist in the cultishly popular gay mystery genre” (Entertainment Weekly), is also a Lambda and Minnesota Book Award winner. The author of nineteen previous mysteries featuring Jane Lawless, she lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
REST FOR THE WICKED. Copyright © 2012 by Ellen Hart. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Hart, Ellen.
Rest for the wicked / Ellen Hart.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-250-00186-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-01807-6 (e-book)
1. Lawless, Jane (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Women private investigators—Fiction. 3. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 4. Minneapolis (Minn.)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3558.A6775R47 2012
813'.54—dc23
2012026736
e-ISBN 9781250018076
First Edition: October 2012