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about her and with that in mind, there was no way in hell that Kitty was going to forget about her now either.
    But it wasn’t going to be easy to succeed where the police had failed.
    It was going to be dangerous whatever path she took. After what Ronny…or Piggy…had said to her in the dressing room, it seemed pretty obvious that they…or he…or it …knew who she was.
    Back in Dayton, Kitty had accomplished everything she’d ever set out to do via sweat and hard work. Even as a little girl there was no quarter, no fear, no backing down from the most insurmountable odds. In a month, she was starting a new job in a new city far from the Midwest and before she opened a new chapter in her life, she planned on closing an old one. She deserved that and certainly Gloria’s memory demanded it.
    So here was another challenge. One with rules right out of the Twilight Zone.
    But Kitty decided she would not back down.
    Not yet.

8
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The Bamboo Lounge.
    Ten minutes to midnight.
    “Now I ain’t saying you’re stupid, Ronny,” Piggy said to the audience. “But when they emptied the gene pool, you were what was caught in the drain.”
    The drunks out there in that smoky, boozy haze were loving it. Laughing and slapping the tables. And the more they laughed, the faster the liquor flowed and the management liked that just fine.
    “Night after night, Piggy, I sit up here and you insult me. When will it ever end, I wonder?” Ronny said, shaking his head sadly. “You know, if I had a real job, I wouldn’t need you.”
    Piggy laughed. “Sure, and if your dick worked, your wife wouldn’t need me either.”
    The place broke up and Piggy grinned under the spotlight, feeding on it, packing away all the energy like a bear swallowing raw meat and storing it as fat. Ronny could feel him thrumming on his knee, sucking it up like a sponge, growing stronger, more daring…and he did not like it.
    “What’s with all these jokes about my wife, Piggy?”
    The dummy kept grinning, wood that was aware. Wood filled with potential. “I’m just saying you gotta pay more attention to her, Ronny, that’s all. Christ, she told me the other night she feels like Santa Claus.”
    “Santa Claus?”
    “Sure, she only comes once a year.”
    “Now, Piggy…”
    “I’m just kidding you, Ronny,” Piggy said. “Your wife comes all year long. It’s her way. Only the Big Bad Wolf has swallowed more pork than that lady. Hell, more men have been lost in her bush than in the Upper Amazon.”
    More laughter. Some drunken blonde in the front row, breasts spilling from her blouse, was clapping her hands and giggling in a high, piercing tone that cut through the guffaws like a straight razor. Piggy noticed her as did Ronny.
    “Hey, honey, you like that?” Piggy said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong here about Ronny…he’s a good guy. But his wife has needs and all. She told me Ronny’s pecker is so small, she has to blow pepper at it.”
    The woman giggled. “Pepper? Why pepper?” she called out.
    Piggy said, “Well, she has to get the little bastard to sneeze just to find it.”
    The blonde could barely contain herself and some parts of her anatomy. In fact, she was too drunk to even bother.
    “Sure, his wife tells me she feels neglected,” Piggy said. “The only way she can get his dick hard is by sticking it in the freezer.”
    Applause now. A few whistles. It was hard to say whether Ronny was enjoying any of it or whether it was even part of the act or just random ad-libbing by Piggy…or Ronny.
    “Tell me, sweetheart,” Piggy said. “Are you a real blonde?”
    Ronny sighed. “That’s enough, Piggy. A gentleman doesn’t ask such a thing of a lady.”
    Piggy held his hands up. “Listen, she’s got blonde hair and I’m just wondering if the carpet matches the drapes.”
    “What’s your name, honey?”
    The blonde giggled and jiggled. “Mona,” she said.
    Piggy slapped a hand to the side of his head and