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heard.”
    “Bingo!”
    “And you would like me to call him after not having talked to him in five years to see if he knows anything about the bar fires.”
    I wasn’t quite sure it was a good idea, but at the same time, I was a little embarrassed for not having thought of it myself.
    “I’d hang up on you,” Chris said.
    “You have,” I noted. “Many times. But let’s not rattle the skeletons just now.”
    He slowly brought up his fist until it was about six inches in front of my face and slowly unfurled the middle finger. I just as slowly brought my right hand forward from my side, fingers spread wide, grabbed his crotch, and squeezed.
    Chris yelped and dropped his fist.
    “Bastard,” he said with a grin.
    “Are they friends, Daddy?” Ramón asked Bob.
    “I think so,” Bob said, then addressed himself to me. “I’d really appreciate it,” he said. “I’d have called him myself, but I don’t really know him all that well, and I wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position. As I remember, he was pretty closeted.”
    “Only at work, and I certainly wouldn’t call him there. But you’re right. I imagine if there’s anything to know, he just might be the one to know it.”
    Chris, leaning against the half-open door, lowered his chin to his chest and made a “come on, come on” gesture with one hand.
    “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” I said as he closed his eyes and made a loud snoring sound. “I’ll give Tom a call tomorrow,” I told Bob. “Thanks for the drink, guys.”
    Chris grabbed me by the sleeve and pulled me out into the hall as Bob and Ramón waved goodnight.
    *
    After having spent a week slaving in the cotton fields for ol’ Massah C.C., and anticipating the week to come, I would have preferred just to have spent Sunday vegetating. However, since I’d told Bob I’d call Tom, I felt obligated to do it, although I put it off until after noon.
    Tom was a good guy, actually, but we’d more or less lost contact after I met Chris. We probably could have gone on to be friends, but Chris and I are both Scorpios, and Scorpios are notorious for waging a continuous—and generally losing—battle with jealousy. Starting a new relationship is hard enough under the best of circumstances, and I didn’t want to give Chris any unnecessary cause for concern. So, Tom and I just sort of closed the door between us.
    He had met someone almost immediately after, I’d heard, and had moved out to the suburbs. I really felt a little guilty at not having maintained contact with him, and I hoped, as I put out my umpteenth cigarette of the day and reached for the phone book, that he wouldn’t think it too odd for me to call now.
    Fortunately, he was listed, and with some trepidation, I dialed his number. The phone was answered on the second ring by a rich masculine voice I recognized immediately.
    “Tom? This is a voice from your far-distant past—too far, I’m ashamed to say. Dick Hardesty.”
    “Dick! My God, what a surprise! It’s good to hear from you.” He sounded as though he meant it, and I was glad. “How have you been? Are you still with Chuck?”
    “Chris, and yes, we’re still at it. How about you?”
    “Single again, I’m sad to say. Kent—I don’t think you ever met him, did you?—was just too…well, too open about who he was. He could never understand why I had to be so ‘uptight,’ as he called it. I hate having to walk a tightrope all the time, but I have too much invested in my job to risk throwing it all away.”
    “You’re still with the department, then?”
    He sighed. “Yeah. There just aren’t too many openings in the private sector for an arson investigator.”
    “As a matter of fact, Tom, I was kind of hoping to talk with you about something having to do with the department, if it wouldn’t be improper for you to do it.”
    “Ah, so this isn’t just a social call?” Fortunately, I recognized the teasing tone in his voice, but I still felt