“His family has always been very supportive,” the lawyer said stiffly.
“Right.” She looked back at Brandon. “And when did you last see Candy?”
He looked over at his lawyer, back at her, and rolled his eyes. “You really don’t listen, do you?”
“I’m waiting,” she said.
“Somewhere around the same time.”
“And about what time was that?”
“I would say maybe about three or four o’clock this morning,” Brandon said. “I can’t believe Paula is dead. What a son of a bitch.”
“Son of a bitch?”
“Yeah. Paula.”
“Okay, that turn of phrase usually refers to men. And Paula’s mother had been clear that Paula was a female.”
“Paula was a transvestite. That’s why it was fun to have him around. He made me look good, but, when I really needed to fuck somebody, it would be Candy. Sometimes.” Then he smirked again, topped off by a laugh. “If you could only see the look on your face, Detective. You didn’t know, did you?”
“The autopsy isn’t back yet.” She stared at him. “So how would I? Was he transitioning to a she, or was she transferring to a he? Or are you making up the whole thing?”
“I don’t think he was transitioning at all.” He laughed, enjoying this whole tale. “I think he just liked to play the part.”
“So, he was a cross-dresser then? Do you think that had anything to do with him getting killed?”
“A lot of guys expect to see something under the hood, and, when you present them with something completely different, I don’t imagine it makes them very happy.”
“And yet that was part of the relationship between her and Candy?”
“Yeah, but Candy really didn’t like multiples at the same time. I told her that it was no big deal and that she should just take it and swallow it, like a good girl. Other than that, she would cry every once in a while, which got really damn irritating.”
“Really? So tell me about the case on campus here of someone you guys threw down the stairs?”
He glared at her. “That’s just bullshit. I had a talk with that girl, and she changed her tune pretty damn fast.”
“Threatening a witness is a crime in and of itself,” she said.
“I didn’t have to threaten her. She saw me coming and just bawled her eyes out.”
“Maybe that’s because you had already helped her down the stairs in the first place.”
“I didn’t help her at all. We just laughed and kept on going. It’s not our fault she went tumbling down the stairs, ass over teakettle. She was the clumsy idiot. We didn’t even have to help her.”
The lawyer studied the cocky young man, as if he were something beyond recognition, but, when he caught Kate looking at him, his poker face immediately returned.
“There have been a couple other complaints about you and your little posse on campus.”
“Whatever.” He shrugged. “This is a boring place to put my time in, until we get out in the real world.”
“What is it you plan on doing when you get out in that real world?” she asked.
“I’ll be a lawyer,” he said casually. “Everybody in my family becomes a lawyer.”
“Great, so they’re all here to help you stay out of jail, huh?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled smugly.