she is?”
The dark Hagopian shook his head. “No, and I’m not surprised her husband doesn’t.” He took a sip from the chill bottle, swished the ale once from cheek to cheek before swallowing it, then shook his head again. “A lovely girl, but wacky as a fruitbar.” He sipped once more. “Sooner or later they all come here, John. To the wackiness center of the universe, like pilgrims drawn to Mecca. And a goodly lot of them find their way to poor lovable Hagopian. I’m sort of a lodestone for wacky broads.”
Back in the rocker, rocking slightly, Easy said, “So you know Joanna Benning.”
Hagopian laughed. “Her name then, among others, was Joanna Feyer. I rarely fool around with them after they marry and pretend to settle down. A normal everyday wacky relationship is plenty enough of a strain, without adding a crazed husband.”
Easy stopped rocking. “What do you mean about her name? Was she using other names when you knew her?”
“This was four years ago.” Hagopian leaned back against the carved headrest. “I met her at a cocktail party up at the TV Look offices, around Christmas. She introduced herself as Judy … Judy Fain. Then when she found out I was a writer for the mag, she gave me her rightful name. Joanna was figuring to expand out of modeling into television acting. Would you care to guess how many girl models have that ambition?”
“102%,” said Easy. “Why’d she use a fake name with you?”
Hagopian set his bottle of ale down and clapped his hands on his bare knees. “She’s a very guarded girl, John. I got the feeling sometimes when she was over at my place that I was harboring a fugitive.”
“From what?”
“Life in general.” New rings danced under his eyes. “I don’t know exactly what they did to her when she was a kid, but it fucked her up pretty good. She’s, you know, a mixture of very open and very secret. Naturally I’m drawn to a broad like that. Armenians make good uncles to lost souls. Joanna could be mean as hell, but you always felt she was vulnerable. That somebody had to pay attention to her, take care of her … and you were that person. I only dated her for about three months and then she went off on a new tangent.”
“She ever use the name Joan St. John when you knew her?”
“No,” answered the writer. “The thing with names … she told me it was an added protection, so she wouldn’t get too involved with anybody. I remember her telling me she used to go to rotten rundown bars around LA—and you can find some exceptionally good rotten rundown bars in these parts—and get some schlunk to pick her up. The fun was in giving him a fake name and a fake bio.” He sighed. “So she’s still hiding?”
“Benning hasn’t seen her in six days,” said Easy. “Apparently she’s been wandering off during most of their marriage. Never for this long before.”
Hagopian nodded. “Guys put up with a lot from Joanna, because, she’s always pleasant when she comes back to you. She can be very loving and contrite. But, boy, to ride that merry-go-round full-time … Benning’s got more patience than I had.” He reached the ale off the floor and drank again. “You didn’t know I knew her. What did you want out of the famous Hagopian morgue?” He stood, walking in between two rows of green metal cabinets.
“You’ve already given me some of it. I want background on Joanna Benning, anything which might tell me where she’d be likely to go,” said Easy. “I’ll be checking out a lot of people, but I like to have as much extra background stuff as I can get first.”
“Maybe she’s in Mexico.”
“Why Mexico?”
The dark writer grinned. “A private joke, John. Joanna was always suggesting she and I go away, run away, and live a quiet and untroubled life in Mexico.”
“Did she name a specific place?”
“You can build a castle in the air without buying a lot first.” He stopped halfway down the aisle, reached up to pull out a
The dark Hagopian shook his head. “No, and I’m not surprised her husband doesn’t.” He took a sip from the chill bottle, swished the ale once from cheek to cheek before swallowing it, then shook his head again. “A lovely girl, but wacky as a fruitbar.” He sipped once more. “Sooner or later they all come here, John. To the wackiness center of the universe, like pilgrims drawn to Mecca. And a goodly lot of them find their way to poor lovable Hagopian. I’m sort of a lodestone for wacky broads.”
Back in the rocker, rocking slightly, Easy said, “So you know Joanna Benning.”
Hagopian laughed. “Her name then, among others, was Joanna Feyer. I rarely fool around with them after they marry and pretend to settle down. A normal everyday wacky relationship is plenty enough of a strain, without adding a crazed husband.”
Easy stopped rocking. “What do you mean about her name? Was she using other names when you knew her?”
“This was four years ago.” Hagopian leaned back against the carved headrest. “I met her at a cocktail party up at the TV Look offices, around Christmas. She introduced herself as Judy … Judy Fain. Then when she found out I was a writer for the mag, she gave me her rightful name. Joanna was figuring to expand out of modeling into television acting. Would you care to guess how many girl models have that ambition?”
“102%,” said Easy. “Why’d she use a fake name with you?”
Hagopian set his bottle of ale down and clapped his hands on his bare knees. “She’s a very guarded girl, John. I got the feeling sometimes when she was over at my place that I was harboring a fugitive.”
“From what?”
“Life in general.” New rings danced under his eyes. “I don’t know exactly what they did to her when she was a kid, but it fucked her up pretty good. She’s, you know, a mixture of very open and very secret. Naturally I’m drawn to a broad like that. Armenians make good uncles to lost souls. Joanna could be mean as hell, but you always felt she was vulnerable. That somebody had to pay attention to her, take care of her … and you were that person. I only dated her for about three months and then she went off on a new tangent.”
“She ever use the name Joan St. John when you knew her?”
“No,” answered the writer. “The thing with names … she told me it was an added protection, so she wouldn’t get too involved with anybody. I remember her telling me she used to go to rotten rundown bars around LA—and you can find some exceptionally good rotten rundown bars in these parts—and get some schlunk to pick her up. The fun was in giving him a fake name and a fake bio.” He sighed. “So she’s still hiding?”
“Benning hasn’t seen her in six days,” said Easy. “Apparently she’s been wandering off during most of their marriage. Never for this long before.”
Hagopian nodded. “Guys put up with a lot from Joanna, because, she’s always pleasant when she comes back to you. She can be very loving and contrite. But, boy, to ride that merry-go-round full-time … Benning’s got more patience than I had.” He reached the ale off the floor and drank again. “You didn’t know I knew her. What did you want out of the famous Hagopian morgue?” He stood, walking in between two rows of green metal cabinets.
“You’ve already given me some of it. I want background on Joanna Benning, anything which might tell me where she’d be likely to go,” said Easy. “I’ll be checking out a lot of people, but I like to have as much extra background stuff as I can get first.”
“Maybe she’s in Mexico.”
“Why Mexico?”
The dark writer grinned. “A private joke, John. Joanna was always suggesting she and I go away, run away, and live a quiet and untroubled life in Mexico.”
“Did she name a specific place?”
“You can build a castle in the air without buying a lot first.” He stopped halfway down the aisle, reached up to pull out a
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