LORELEI, at the casino, several days later
Since my night with Patrick, Red John has been driving me crazy trying to show me as good a time in bed as Patrick did. I attempted to talk him through it but he's a lot better with a knife than he is with his hands. And he just doesn't have Patrick's mouth. Really, who has that mouth? So Red John comes to the game with a handicap. And I didn't exactly have my wits about me when I was in bed with Patrick so I haven't been much of a coach.
I can't fake it with Red John either. He can tell. After a few hours, it was clear there was no way he was going to make me "regroup" more than once or twice. When we called it quits for the night, he was fuming and I was sore.
A few days later, I was doing laps in the pool when Red John came home. I saw his silhouette standing at the edge of the deep end. I came up for air, took one look at him and almost drowned. His hair was dyed golden blond and he'd gotten a perm! I hauled myself out choking. He looked nervous. "Whattya think?" Pathetic, I thought. "Sexy," I said. He nodded as if I'd confirmed his own opinion.
He sat in the gazebo and dumped a pile of books out of a Barnes and Noble bag. "Expert Card Technique." "The Tarbell Course in Magic." "The Royal Road to Card Magic." All sleight of hand manuals. He spent the rest of the afternoon practicing coin tricks and card moves. I guess he thinks Patrick's carny dexterity translates to his prowess in bed. I knew I was in for another long night.
Which brings me to this mezzanine booth at this crummy casino. I'm waiting for Patrick. I can't believe he called and wanted to hear more about Red John's offer. Red John was over the moon when he heard that Patrick was interested. He kissed me like a thousand times and had his guy at Buccellati send over a serious bracelet.
I see Patrick enter the casino and head my way. I study my iPhone so I can commit Red John's questions to memory. They have to sound like they're things I want to know; not things Red John wants to know. Question one: Is the way you touched me directly related to a particular sleight of hand technique such as the Double Lift, Finger-flinging or the Halo Shuffle?
If I don't bring back usable info about Patrick's love-making techniques, even Teresa Lisbon's dead body won't keep me in good standing with Red John.