“I’m his probation officer.”

“He isn’t any of my business, so I don’t want to talk about him, okay?”

“I think you want to,” Kathy said, “but the idea makes you nervous.” She said, “Anything you tell me, Hector, would be in confidence. I’m not a cop.”

He said, “No? Well, you sound like one,” and motioned for her to follow: the rest of the way along the hall and through the gold-wallpapered den to glass doors open on the patio. “There he is,” Hector said, stepping aside.

“In the flesh,” Kathy said, looking at the man lying naked, the anklet on his right leg, tanned a deep brown all over and Gary was right, what he’d said last night, the guy’s member was darker than any part of him. A cop’s observation, something to keep in mind for possible identification though not conclusive; there could be others that dark, weird, almost black.

“You going to check his equipment,” Hector said.

“You kidding? I wouldn’t touch it with a stick.”

“I’m talking about that thing on his ankle.”

Sure he was, acting innocent.

“I wouldn’t touch that either,” Kathy said, turning from sunlight to the semi-dark room with its glittery walls. She sat down in the sofa, sinking into it. Hector remained in the doorway, in light. She had to turn her head to see him.

“You worried about the doctor?”

No answer.

“What’s he on?”

Hector looked over now. “I’m not stupid.”

“And I’m not a narc,” Kathy said. “Come and sit down, talk to me. You have a convicted murderer living in your house, the doctor doesn’t seem to care and you don’t know what to do about it. Am I close?”

Hector came over, taking his time. “You think you know everything.”

“No, I need you to tell me.”

“Why? There’s nothing you can do.”

“How do you know that? Please, sit down with me. I can be your friend if you want.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Will you tell me one thing? Why the doctor lets Elvin use his car and gives him a key to the front door.”

Hector was staring at her now.

“Talk to me,” Kathy said, “and I won’t look for dope. I imagine Earlene brought a few rocks Sunday night, but they’re gone, uh? Listen, I won’t look for guns either.”

Hector kept staring at her. Now he glanced toward the patio. Now she watched him sink to his knees in front of her-a slow, fluid motion in the robe, a priest in vestments-and sit back on his heels. He said in his delicate manner, “You’re making serious accusations.”

“Of course I am,” Kathy said. “I’m putting you on the spot. You know I can search the house if I want. Look for Earlene’s G-string she left here?… What do you think of her?”

“Nothing. She’s a whore.”

“She turn the doctor on?”

“He doesn’t need someone like that.”

“Elvin brings her?”

“He did once.”

“I told her I’d pick up her G-string.”

“Well, that was presumptuous of you.”

“Why do you say that?”

He had sounded offended; now he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

This was a weird guy. Kathy watched him. She said, “You want me to tell you something I know?”

“You’re going to anyway.”

“Maybe I should whisper it,” Kathy said, paused and said, “Elvin and Dr. Tommy are going to kill a judge.”

It hooked him good. He said, “No. Oh, no,” shaking his head, but too late to hide that look of panic in his eyes, there and gone.

Kathy eased toward him, laying her arms on her knees. “They change their mind?”

“It’s crazy what you’re saying.”

“The police know it.”

“You’re making that up. There’s nothing for them to know.”

“You want to protect the doctor. Of course you would. But if I know it, you think the police don’t? Come on.”

“Believe me, please, he isn’t doing anything.”

“The doctor, but what about Elvin?”

“I don’t speak for him.”

“You want to tell me something without saying it,” Kathy said. “That’s hard to do.”

“I don’t want to tell you anything. Look at him,” Hector said, getting a plea in his voice, his eyes. “You said yourself he doesn’t care about Elvin, what he does.” His gaze moved, came back and he lowered his voice saying, “There was a story in the paper, somebody trying to kill the judge with an alligator. You think that was Dr. Tommy?”

Kathy hunched in closer. “I think it gave Dr. Tommy the idea.” She saw Hector shaking his head again and said, “But the doctor was putting Elvin on. ‘Look at this, someone’s trying to kill that judge we both know intimately. Not a bad idea, uh?’ Having some fun with Elvin. Was it like that?”

“Exactly,” Hector said, going for it, “and Elvin thought he was serious. The doctor has even forgotten it. Ask him-he’ll say, ‘What judge?’”

“Stay high, you don’t have to think,” Kathy said. “He can absolve himself of responsibility.” She shrugged. “It might work. But you have clear eyes, Hector, you know what Elvin’s doing. You don’t want to say anything because you’re afraid of him. Listen, I am too. But I know a guy who isn’t afraid. The detective that was here yesterday, Gary, a good guy. He’s coming back. When he does, why not talk to him? What do you say?”

Nothing. Not a word.

“Tell him what you’ve told me.”

“Or you will? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Gary knows all this,” Kathy said, “what we’ve talked about. But it doesn’t do him any good unless you tell him, yes, it’s true. Hector, you’re the key witness. You don’t want Elvin here, you can get him put away, sent back to prison.”

Hector was frowning now. “But what’s he done? Nothing yet. You going to wait for him to do it?”

There it was again, Gary’s objection.

“He’s conspired to commit murder,” Kathy said. She saw Hector on the edge, wanting to believe her. All she had to do was push him over.

“Hector, I’ve told you things no cop ever would. I could even be accused of blowing their investigation by confiding in you, revealing what they know. But I don’t care. You know why? Dr. Tommy’s one of my cases and I don’t want to see him get in trouble, have to go to prison. Hector?…”

He was looking past her. Scrambling to his feet now. Kathy straightened and turned enough to see Dr. Tommy coming in from the patio, still naked, scratching his groin.

He said to Hector, “You have my robe on.”

Hector shook his head. “This is my robe.”

“Are you sure?”

“You left your robe by the swimming pool.”

Dr. Tommy said, “Oh.” As he turned to go back he noticed Kathy in the sofa. He gave her a nod, said, “How are you today?” and kept going. Still scratching himself.

Kathy watched him walk out into the sunlight, the doctor’s rear end somewhat lighter than the rest of him, the doctor holding a straight course but all the way gone, stoned out of his skull. She turned to Hector.

“What’re you doing?”

He had his back to her and was bent over, taking something off inside his robe. He turned to her and extended a G-string hanging from one finger. Black with silver sequins.

Kathy said, “Thank you,” and got out of there.

Bob Gibbs had skipped his after-work stop at the Helen Wilkes and come straight home to put on a clean sport shirt and be ready for an interview this evening. A little girl from somewhere like the Port St. Lucie Shopping News wanted to talk to him about judging people’s character. She’d stopped in his chambers to set it up, a little wide-eyed cutie with country ways about her. He liked country girls, they learned early about nature and how animals did it. This one-he couldn’t think of her name-was brand-new at her profession, not yet cynical or slick at telling lies. The kind would write down everything he said and laugh at his wit.

In the kitchen he poured himself a Jim Beam thinking about character and how to judge it. The best way, you look at their priors. He saw offenders standing before him in their state-blue outfits and began thinking about auras-strange-not his own, other people’s, wondering what it would be like to see colors glowing off their bodies. It was something he had never given a thought to without Leanne bringing it up. He could tell the little girl from Port St. Lucie that’s what he did, checked their auras. She’d say, Really? Tell her you can do it once you have the gift. If you’re perceptive. First, of course, you have to be able to clear your mind of-what was the word, prejudicial or preconceived ideas? Something like that. You had to open your mind and heart, get rid of negative thoughts.