Tina (Two of Five)

I ain't saying women's intuition exists. I ain't saying it don't. All I know, dames are real good at reading people. Only thing keeping them from being good personal investigators, they care too much. Want to see their clients happy, start believing they are their clients. If they could separate themselves, they'd be a lot better than the normal slob PIs like me.

I asked her if she normally got suspicions like this, and she shook her head. I asked her what happened when she got suspicious in the past, and she said she was right more often than not. I told her she wouldn'ta come here otherwise. All I was gonna do was give her piece of mind one way or the other [Trace means peace of mind, though he doesn't normally hesitate to give you a piece of his mind. -Dara]. For a fee, but I didn't mention that.

She kept clucking her tongue, but gave me a retainer, a whole mess of bills wadded in a ball. Her Tahiti fund. Tina said they could always go to Tahiti when I didn't find him with another woman. I hefted the money ball. Felt like a lead weight, some change in the middle. It'd be worth at least a day or two of investigation.

She told me Zeke worked at the cannery, sorting fish on the line. Gave me a polaroid of the two of them, kinda faded. He had a handlebar mustache, big nose, red cheeks. They looked happy. Of course they looked happy, who keeps sad pics of their spouse? I haven't [Trace is playing with me. This mythical wife of his probably inked that cornflower tattoo herself. I may have to pore through microfiche at the library to locate some information, any information. -Dara].

Tina told me he'd come home from the Cat's Cradle smelling of beer and what mighta been lavender perfume under the fish smell every once and a while. Zeke said it was just the waitress flirting to get tips. I mentioned he'd have to get real close to her if the fish smell didn't drown out the lavender. Tina tapped the side of her nose.