"It's hazy to me, Sonia," he told her. "All I remember is a cold night and warm vodka. Or was it a warm night and cold vodka?"
Sonia dabbed her lips, as if checking her lipstick to make sure she wasn't smudged. "I bet you remember more than that."
"No comment."
"You became a cop. I see you in the papers all the time. You know what they say. Cops carry big guns."
Stride ignored that. "You're working for Lauren. I'm surprised."
"What, the rich bitch and the slut?"
"I didn't say that."
"Never mind, you were thinking it. This place is just a tax write-off for Lauren. I run the store."
"How's Delmar?" Stride asked. "I understand the man is a whiz with a catheter."
Sonia giggled. "You always were fucking funny."
"Is that the way you talk to your customers? Do mothers of the bride like a girl who swears a blue streak and has a temper like a cannon?"
Sonia swept her long mane of red hair out of her eyes. "I control myself with customers, thank you very much. Except for the young girls. These new brides, they pretend to be sweet little girls for their mommies, but you should hear the stories they tell me."
"Do you have kids?"
"Two. Boys, thank God. They're both away in college."
Stride looked around at the dresses hung on the white plastic bodies of the mannequins. Sonia herself wore a glittering lilac dress that clung to her long, slender lines and would have looked stylish at a symphony ball. Her makeup minimized the tracks near her eyes and lips. In her heels, she was nearly as tall as Stride. Sonia noted his eyes and spread her arms, inviting his gaze. The dress fell low across her pale, small chest, and Stride realized he could remember vividly, even so many years later, how her breasts felt in the calloused grip of his teenage hands. Her skin didn't have the taut freshness of youth anymore, but she was still attractive, and she had smoothed some of her rough edges.
"I clean up nicely, don't I?" she asked, guessing where his mind was going. "Not bad for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks."
"I can't picture you in a place like this, Sonia."
"You mean because all my prom dresses wound up with grass stains?"
"No comment again."
"You're here, so let me give you the tour." Sonia slung an arm through Stride's elbow and steered him around the shop, which was lushly carpeted in a royal blue and had track lighting illuminating the racks. One sparkling chandelier was hung in the center of the ceiling. Sonia rattled off the names of Italian designers whom Stride had never heard of and had him run his fingers along fabrics that slid off his skin like skates on fresh ice. His hands came away with glitter.
Silk was located on Superior Street in the heart of the brick-lined streets of downtown. Nearby, there were funky gift shops and coffeehouses offering tarot card readings designed to lure tourists out of Canal Park and New Age students from the university. For the lawyers and suits at the courthouse and in the banks, there were also jewelers and investment brokers. An upscale dress shop in downtown Duluth relied mostly on proms and weddings for its business. It was also the only place in town where the women of Duluth 's small upper crust, and trendy young singles with money, could find name fashions that didn't come with a zip-out hood.
"Does Lauren plan to keep the shop after she and Dan move to Washington?" he asked.
Sonia shook her head. "I'm trying to get Delmar to buy it for me."
"Good for you."
"Yeah, except Lauren is trying to screw me on the price. The woman is fucking cold-blooded, you know?"
"You don't have to tell me," Stride said.
"Oh, yeah, I saw the papers last year. She had her knives out for you. It's lucky you're still alive."
Stride smiled and didn't reply.
"I guess you're not here just to remember the good old days," Sonia said.
Stride shook his head. "Tanjy."
"Sure. I still haven't heard from her."
"Tell me about her," Stride said.
"You probably know her better than me. I mean, because of all that craziness with the fake rape in November."
"I don't feel like I know her at all," Stride admitted. "Were you the one to hire her?"
"Yeah, she was perfect for the store. She has those amazing mulatto features and a great eye for fashion."
"Did you know anything about her sex life?"
"Why, because sex is my specialty?" Sonia grinned in a way that led Stride to think she was still competing with Delmar for access to the private parts of Duluth males. "There's nothing wrong with a little sin from time to time, Jon. Maybe you should take a walk on the wild side."
Have you two ever done anything… strange?
"Meaning what?" he asked.
"Meaning not everyone is satisfied with once a week in the missionary position, you know? I may be past forty, but I'm as horny as I ever was."
"That's a scary thought."
"Why don't we have dinner, and I can tell you what I mean."
"Pass," he said.
"Well, you can't blame a girl for trying."
"Let's get back to Tanjy," Stride said. "Did you know about her rape fantasies?"
"No, around me, she's very conservative, very Christian. Maybe she has a multiple personality thing going on, who knows. Not that I'm judging what she does in bed. I sure wouldn't want to see my sex life in the papers."
"Men seem to fall for her hard."
"Oh, God, yeah. It made me a little jealous. Look, I've been with a lot of men, and I never get any complaints, you know? But no one's offered to bronze my pussy."
"Nice," Stride said.
"I'm just saying, Tanjy was in a whole other league."
"I talked to Mitchell Brandt today," Stride said. "Mitch is a friend of yours, right?"
"You could say that," Sonia said with a tiny smile.
"You introduced Tanjy and Mitch?"
"It was more like Mitch saw Tanjy in the store, and I led him over to her by his cock."
"Did he tell you about the rape stuff while they were dating?"
"Not the gory details. He just said she was an animal in bed. I was pretty surprised."
"Mitch says she dumped him for another guy."
Sonia smiled. "Poor Mitch. He's never alone for long."
"Do you know who Tanjy was seeing?"
"No, it was pretty obvious she was having a big romance, but she kept it quiet. I asked her about it a few times and got nothing."
"Any idea why?"
"I figure he was married."
"Was this before or after the rape charge?" Stride asked.
"Before."
"What happened after she admitted the story was a fake?"
Sonia caressed her chin with her fingertips as she thought about it. "I think the rape thing killed the romance. There weren't any more secret lunches. I guess the guy figured he was dating a nutcase, and he was probably worried the affair would come out."
"So she wasn't dating anyone lately?"
"Not that I know of."
Stride was surprised.
"You never saw her with anyone in the store?"
Sonia shook her head. "We don't get many men in here. Just husbands who sit and read Esquire while their wives try on dresses. Most of them aren't the type to catch the eye of a girl like Tanjy."
"She never talked about being stalked or followed?"
"Not to me."
"Did you know Eric Sorenson?"
Sonia's eyes narrowed into slits. "Sure. Why?"
"Did you ever see him with Tanjy?"
"No."
"Could he have been Tanjy's mystery man? The one she dumped Mitch Brandt for?"
"No." Sonia tugged on one strap of her dress and played with her hair.
"You sound pretty sure."
"I would have known if it were him, that's all."
"Why?"
Sonia shrugged and didn't reply.
"How do you know Eric?" Stride asked.
"Socially."
"Were you having an affair with him?"
"That's none of your business." Her red hair fell across her cheek. "What are you, a cop or a goddamn gossip columnist?"
"You think I like asking these questions?"