Big Sick Heart: A Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery by Mike Markel Page B
Authors: Mike Markel
Ads: Link
anyone in the debate
party since Hagerty had been iced. “Jealous? May I ask you a question,
Detective Seagate?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Have you lived in Montana your whole life?” The
smile was gone, but her eyebrow was raised theatrically.
“Ms. Hagerty,” I said, deciding not to respond to
that question, “could you tell us a little about the relationship between you,
Connie, and Mr. Hagerty?”
“Certainly. Mr. Hagerty and I married six years
ago. Ours was his third marriage, my fourth. Neither of you is quite at the
stage of life Mr. Hagerty and I were in at that time, but I need you to trust
me when I say that, for us, at any rate, sex was not part of our relationship.
I will not elaborate on this point except to note that I entered our marriage
fully aware that Arlen still had sexual appetites, although I can say that our
several less-than-successful attempts revealed his performance could not keep
pace with his desires.
“When I discovered he often found willing partners
from among the young girls who presented themselves at our gates, I was
somewhat concerned. For one thing, if his relationships with these girls became
known, the publicity could have a serious negative impact on the operations and
revenues of Soul Savers.
“For another, these girls are not, by and large,
blushing virgins. The danger of a serious disease cannot be overlooked.
Consequently, when I saw that he had taken a liking to Connie, I did what I had
done with the previous girls.”
“What was that?” I said. As I finished my
question, I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. I made a mental note to
check it when the interview was over.
“I had her tested thoroughly for every manner of
sexual disease. She turned out to be free of any disease that can hurt male
partners. She has HPV, which could affect other females, but that is, of
course, none of my concern.”
“And about Connie traveling with the debate?”
“It dawned on me, perhaps a year or fifteen months
ago, that having Connie travel with us would be practical. She is a very
efficient worker, and with her along, Arlen would not have to go to the
trouble, the expense, and the risk of retaining an escort on the road. Connie
understood the arrangement, and she is apparently content with it.”
“Apparently, yes,” I said. “And what is Connie’s
relationship with Jonathan Ahern?”
“Connie assured me she is not intimate with Jon,
and therefore there was no danger she would contract a disease that would
infect Arlen. In fact, Connie agreed to my demand that she commit to
celibacy—except for her relationship with Arlen, of course—and I have no reason
to believe she has reneged on the agreement.”
“Did you know Jonathan and Connie are in love with
each other?”
“No, I didn’t,” she said, uncrossing her legs and
re-crossing them in the other direction, “but I’m pleased to learn that. Love
is a beautiful experience when you’re young.”
That’s one of the perks of this job: you get to
meet really interesting people. But Margaret was right, of course: love is for
the young. The young don’t understand Newton’s first law of marriage: if you
can fall in love, you can fall out of love. If you married the guy because you
believed your love was special—he wouldn’t get bored, wouldn’t drift away,
wouldn’t turn into someone so different that you not only didn’t love him
anymore but couldn’t even imagine why you once did love him—well, that just
shows you were too young to get married. Margaret’s way was a whole lot
smarter: get your own money, form a partnership with another person who’s got
his own money, and let him bring his mistress along so he won’t get the clap
and have to cancel a gig because he’s pissing razor blades.
I looked over to Ryan, giving him a chance to ask
Margaret any questions. He shook his head, the gesture appearing to capture his
mood at that point. “All right, then, Ms. Hagerty, thank you very
party since Hagerty had been iced. “Jealous? May I ask you a question,
Detective Seagate?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Have you lived in Montana your whole life?” The
smile was gone, but her eyebrow was raised theatrically.
“Ms. Hagerty,” I said, deciding not to respond to
that question, “could you tell us a little about the relationship between you,
Connie, and Mr. Hagerty?”
“Certainly. Mr. Hagerty and I married six years
ago. Ours was his third marriage, my fourth. Neither of you is quite at the
stage of life Mr. Hagerty and I were in at that time, but I need you to trust
me when I say that, for us, at any rate, sex was not part of our relationship.
I will not elaborate on this point except to note that I entered our marriage
fully aware that Arlen still had sexual appetites, although I can say that our
several less-than-successful attempts revealed his performance could not keep
pace with his desires.
“When I discovered he often found willing partners
from among the young girls who presented themselves at our gates, I was
somewhat concerned. For one thing, if his relationships with these girls became
known, the publicity could have a serious negative impact on the operations and
revenues of Soul Savers.
“For another, these girls are not, by and large,
blushing virgins. The danger of a serious disease cannot be overlooked.
Consequently, when I saw that he had taken a liking to Connie, I did what I had
done with the previous girls.”
“What was that?” I said. As I finished my
question, I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. I made a mental note to
check it when the interview was over.
“I had her tested thoroughly for every manner of
sexual disease. She turned out to be free of any disease that can hurt male
partners. She has HPV, which could affect other females, but that is, of
course, none of my concern.”
“And about Connie traveling with the debate?”
“It dawned on me, perhaps a year or fifteen months
ago, that having Connie travel with us would be practical. She is a very
efficient worker, and with her along, Arlen would not have to go to the
trouble, the expense, and the risk of retaining an escort on the road. Connie
understood the arrangement, and she is apparently content with it.”
“Apparently, yes,” I said. “And what is Connie’s
relationship with Jonathan Ahern?”
“Connie assured me she is not intimate with Jon,
and therefore there was no danger she would contract a disease that would
infect Arlen. In fact, Connie agreed to my demand that she commit to
celibacy—except for her relationship with Arlen, of course—and I have no reason
to believe she has reneged on the agreement.”
“Did you know Jonathan and Connie are in love with
each other?”
“No, I didn’t,” she said, uncrossing her legs and
re-crossing them in the other direction, “but I’m pleased to learn that. Love
is a beautiful experience when you’re young.”
That’s one of the perks of this job: you get to
meet really interesting people. But Margaret was right, of course: love is for
the young. The young don’t understand Newton’s first law of marriage: if you
can fall in love, you can fall out of love. If you married the guy because you
believed your love was special—he wouldn’t get bored, wouldn’t drift away,
wouldn’t turn into someone so different that you not only didn’t love him
anymore but couldn’t even imagine why you once did love him—well, that just
shows you were too young to get married. Margaret’s way was a whole lot
smarter: get your own money, form a partnership with another person who’s got
his own money, and let him bring his mistress along so he won’t get the clap
and have to cancel a gig because he’s pissing razor blades.
I looked over to Ryan, giving him a chance to ask
Margaret any questions. He shook his head, the gesture appearing to capture his
mood at that point. “All right, then, Ms. Hagerty, thank you very
Similar Books
