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“No, not really, but I doubt he’d enjoy having the police hanging around either.”
Catherine entered the hall first, but she went to check on the pencil supply before joining the line and let Luke get ahead of her. The police visit had left her feeling vaguely unnerved, as did the prospect of those coming to Lost Angel being under surveillance.
In mid-afternoon, Catherine was sharpening colored pencils with a small battery-operated sharpener she’d brought from home, when Tina Stassy slumped into the chair opposite hers. She set her canvas bag on the floor, and her cat bounded out and made a dash for the door.
“Charlie has to go pee,” Tina explained. “He’ll be back in a minute.
“He seems very attached to you,” Catherine observed, although she thought the attachment mutual.
Tina shrugged, then yanked her overall strap back up on her shoulder. “He’s loyal ’cause he’s well-fed. I should have thanked you again for the money for cat food. That was real nice of you.”
“You’re welcome.” Catherine watched Tina pick up her bag and hug it to her chest as though the cat were still snuggled inside. She doubted Tina really wanted to discuss cat food and continued sharpening pencils. The soft whirring sound broke the silence while she waited to hear what was really on the girl’s mind.
“I met the Candyman once,” Tina whispered. “You won’t tell Luke, will you?”
Catherine laid the newly sharpened pencil aside and waited to pick up another. “No, not if you’d rather I didn’t.”
“I like Luke an awful lot, but he’d never understand.” Tina sent an anxious glance toward the door and was clearly relieved when she saw her cat wandering back her way.
“Understand what?” Catherine asked.
“Let’s just say the Candyman, and he did pass out candy like it was Halloween, he said, well…” She dipped her head to hide a brightening blush. “He was looking for virgins.”
Catherine was appalled. “Just like that? Any virgins in the crowd?” she inquired softly.
“Sort of, except he talked like a hillbilly. He said, ‘you all’, and stuff like that.”
“He was a Southerner?”
“Yeah, but no Southern gentleman. The guy creeped me out. He offered $2,000, though, and swore no one would have to sleep with him unless they wanted to.”
Catherine was glad she’d eaten only half a tuna melt for lunch and swallowed hard to keep from losing it right there. “Apparently that wasn’t enough for you.”
Tina raised her hands to smother her laughter. “Oh, I would have grabbed for it, but I haven’t been a virgin since I turned twelve.” She welcomed her tattered cat onto her lap, slipped the bag around him and stood. “Thanks again for the cat food.”
Catherine tried to continue sharpening pencils, but she felt more like breaking them all in half. Finally, she grew so angry she had to leave the hall to find Luke. Pam was on the telephone and waved her on in.
She knocked lightly before peering in Luke’s door. “Do you have another minute?” she asked.
He checked his watch. “I have a couple. Come on in and sit down.”
Too restless to sit, Catherine moved to the window instead. “I just heard from a reliable source that the Candyman was paying $2,000 a head for virgins. What kind of a miserable human being would stoop that low? These kids are little more than children, and all they have to sell is themselves.”
“Catherine,” Luke murmured. He left his chair and came up behind her. “That’s not even the worst of it. There’s plenty of porn on the Internet, and I’ve heard the horny teen sluts are real popular.”
“Yeah, I know. I only check my email about once a week, and there’s always several of those ads even more disgusting th
an the previous week’s crop.”
Luke slid his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him, but she remained as tense as a broom handle. “Maybe we ought to post explicit warnings in the hall, but I do all that I can to discourage the kids from taking money for sex or porn.”
“I’m sure you do.” She tried to draw on his strength, but failed. “I don’t want the blonde blamed for another’s crimes, but what if I bought a black satin dress and a long red wig? Could you point me toward a pimp who deserves to die?”
“Catherine!” Luke scolded. “You might have the makings of a spectacular slasher movie, but I can’t see you stabbing anyone.”
“Maybe not, but I could sure swing a baseball bat with deadly force and smash heads like spoiled melons.”
Alarmed, he tightened his embrace. “Go on home and take the nice, long bubble bath we never got around to the other night.”
