Her mouth dropped open. “My my my my.” Moisture collected in the corners of her eyes. Water flowing onto water. “You’re right again. They screwed me. It’s totally on them.” Another bout of laughter. “That mean you’re going to let me free?”
Milo said, “You really don’t expect an answer to that, Tiana.”
“Well,” she said, “I would if it was the right answer. How about you, Boss? Think you can tell them whose fault it was and maybe shave off some time? Don’t answer that, just foolin’.”
I said, “What did Lynne Gutierrez do to you?”
“Nothing,” she said. “I liked her even though she was retarded and talked funny. I showed her how to do sit-ups. I walked with her. For like the first block. To keep her company but also because I thought she might get into trouble out by herself. Even though they told me she was okay by herself. But I went the extra mile for her.”
“So what happened?” said Milo.
“What happened? What happened was one day she said she was tired so I drove her and then she said it’s here, I parked across the street and she got out. As I’m about to leave,shecomes out from the side of the house. Older, scrawnier, totally had-out, a real scrag. But I recognized her right off because when someone does you like that, you don’t forget. So now I knew whose kid Lynne was. Which made sense. Instead of taking care of her, the cold bitch had stuck her in a place. And then I saw how she treated Lynne and it fit. No hugs, no kisses, she turns and walks ahead and Lynne follows.”
“Did Martha see you?”
“Uh-uh,” said Tiana Crown.
“So you weren’t worried about Lynne telling her mother about you.”
“Lynne was retarded, she had no clue about anything.”
I said, “Finding Martha when you weren’t looking for her felt like karma. That was the trigger for killing her.”
“That and everything,” she said. “The way she treated Lynne. Sticking her in a place and then when she shows up not a hug, not a kiss,nothing.”
Milo said, “Then why was Lynne—”
“You don’t get it, do you? How about you, Boss? Do you get it?”
I shook my head.
Tiana Crown leaned in and spoke in a suddenly soft, pliant voice.
“Her mother was gone. Who was going to pay for that place? How would she deal with being all alone? That’s a tough thing for anyone.”
Blinking.
“But when you’re retarded and talk funny,” she said. “Phew.”
Slow spreading smile.
“I put her out of her misery.”
Milo said, “Like a cat or a dog.”
“Exactly. It’s kind. I made sure it didn’t hurt. Couple of good booms.” Fingering the back of her own skull.
“Then you dumped her in the trash.”
“Big deal,” said Tiana Crown. “When you’re gone, you’re gone. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. About any of it.”
“Okay,” said Milo.
That surprised her. “That’s all you want?”
“Unless there’s something else you feel like telling us.”
“You know,” she said, “there is. You think you got me so you’re feeling real good about yourselves. But I’m going to a place where I’m going to be taken care of. Bed, meals, no forms to fill out just to get money to live on. So screw you. I won.”
