“neese” stuff. Apparently, however, Shelly had been comparing herself
with Rebecca and had begun to feel that she came off second-best. That
was what had generated the antagonism.
Like Rebecca, Shelly Parker was a good-looking blonde. But there the
resemblance ended. Rebecca’s exquisitely shaped and harmoniously
related features bespoke sensitivity, refinement, breeding. Shelly, on
the other hand, was a parody of seductiveness. Her hair had been
elaborately cut and styled to achieve a carefree, abandoned look. She
had flat wide cheekbones, a short upper lip, a pouting mouth. She wore
too much makeup.
Her eyes were blue, although slightly muddy,-dreamy; they were not as
forthright as Rebecca’s eyes. Her figure was too well developed; she
was rather like a wonderful French pastry made with far too much butter,
too many eggs, mounds of whipped cream and sugar; too rich, soft. But
in tight black slacks and a purple sweater, she was definitely an
eye-catcher.
She was wearing a lot of jewelry: an expensive watch; two bracelets; two
rings; two small pendants on gold chains, one with a diamond, the other
with what seemed to be an emerald the size of a large pea. She was only
twenty-two, and although she had not been gently used, it would be quite
a few years before men stopped buying jewelry for her.
Jack thought he knew why she had taken an instant disliking to Rebecca.
Shelly was the kind of woman a lot of men wanted, fantasized about.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was the kind of woman men wanted, fantasized
about, and married.
He could imagine spending a torrid week in the Bahamas with Shelly
Parker; oh, yes. But only a week.
At the end of a week, in spite of her sexual energy and undoubted sexual
proficiency, he would most certainly be bored with her. At the end of a
week, conversation with Shelly would probably be less rewarding than
conversation with a stone wall. Rebecca, however, would never be
boring; she was a woman of infinite layers and endless revelations.
After twenty years of marriage, he would still find Rebecca intriguing.
Marriage? Twenty years?
God, just listen to me! he thought, astonished. Have I been bitten, or
have I been bitten?
To Shelly, he said, “So what do you know about Baba Lavelle?”
She sighed. “I’m not telling you anything about the Carramazzas.”
“We’re not asking for anything about them. Just Lavelle.”
“And then forget about me. I walk out of here. No phony detention as a
material witness.”
“You weren’t a witness to the killings. Just tell us what you know
about Lavelle, and you can go.”
“All right. He came from nowhere a couple months ago and started
dealing coke and smack. I don’t mean penny ante stuff, either. In a
month, he’d organized about twenty street dealers, supplied them, and
made it clear he expected to expand. At least that’s what Vince told me.
I don’t know first-hand ’cause I’ve never been involved with drugs.”
“Of course not.”
“Now” nobody but nobody deals in this city without an arrangement with
Vince’s uncle. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”
“That’s what I’ve heard, too,” Jack said dryly.
“So some of Carramazza’s people passed word to Lavelle to stop dealing
until he’d made arrangements with the family. Friendly advice.”
“Like Dear Abby,” Jack said.
“Yeah,” Shelly said. She didn’t even smile. “But he didn’t stop like
he was told. Instead, the crazy nigger sent word to Carramazza,
offering to split the New York business down the middle, half for each
of them, even though Carramazza already has all of it.”
“Rather audacious of Mr. Lavelle,” Rebecca said.
“No, it was smartass is what it was,” Shelly said. “I mean, Lavelle is
a nobody. Who ever heard of him before this? According to Vince, old
man Carramazza figured Lavelle just hadn’t understood the first message,
so he sent a couple of guys around to make it plainer.”
“They were going to break Lavelle’s legs?” Jack asked.
“Or worse,” Shelly said.
“There’s always worse.”
“But something happened to the messengers,” Shelly said.
“Dead?”
“I’m not sure. Vince seemed to think they just never came back again.”
“That’s dead,” Jack said.
“Probably. Anyway, Lavelle warned Carramazza that he was some sort of