Strip Search by William Bernhardt

a pirate’s mate would look like than the rest of the pretty boys in the cast, not that this film had anything to do with reality. Or it was possible Gina had some…inside information. And her choice of this lug had focused more on the need for an impressive stunt member.
    “There will…I’m sure you understand…” She was stumbling for words, and she didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been through this a hundred times before. Something about him…
    Suddenly she was wishing Gina was still around. “Anyway, you’re going to have to audition for the part. For…both parts. If you know what I mean.”
    Even though she didn’t really want to, she took a step closer, hand extended. “I don’t think we’ve worked together before, have we? I’m Danielle. And you’re…”
    The man smiled, a crooked lipless sneer that was truly chilling to behold. “Tucker. Everyone just calls me Tucker.”
     
     
     

11
     
     
    I IMMEDIATELY FELT a surge of sympathy for Mrs. Asparagita Amir. Just one look at the shabby apartment where she lived and raised four children was sufficient to accomplish that goal. Her three daughters were in school at the moment, but her son, barely eleven months old, was in a cradle on the floor, sleeping soundly. She rocked the cradle as I asked my questions.
    “Do you have any idea why anyone might want to hurt your husband?” I asked as gently as possible.
    “My former husband.” She looked at me, her brown eyes small but direct. “No. As I told the detectives, I cannot imagine any reason for anyone to do him harm.”
    A natural response. I wasn’t surprised. “Did he have a life insurance policy?”
    “I do not think so. If he did, it is unlikely that I would be the beneficiary.”
    “But your children—”
    “He did not have contact with the children, after our marriage was discontinued.”
    I frowned. “His choice, or yours?”
    She glanced down at the infant in the cradle. She was a petite woman, fragile-looking, and each movement sent a tremor through her entire body. “It is the way of our people. Once a marriage is over, it is over.”
    “But you’re not in New Delhi anymore. You’re in Las Vegas. The United States of America. We have laws about parental responsibility.”
    “You must understand…” She paused, her eyes moving downward to the cradle and the silent figure sleeping within. “My husband has been through a very difficult period. Back in our country, he was a civil engineer, an important man with responsibilities. Engaged in important work. But he sought even greater challenges, so he came to the United States to pursue them.”
    “It didn’t work out?”
    “No. The prejudice against our people was too strong. Even though we have never been enemies to the United States and have never associated with those who were. The tragedy of 9/11 occurred almost immediately after we arrived in the States. The job that my husband thought he had secured here in Las Vegas disappeared. No one ever said why, but we knew. It was too…how you say?…
controversial
to have someone from the East in a position of power and prestige while politicians were on television every night, demonizing the third world. He worked very hard to find work in his field, but none was offered to him. Eventually, he was willing to take any job just to support his family, but even that was difficult. Finally he found work at that restaurant.”
    So one of the top engineers in India ended up as an assistant manager at a burger joint. Pathetic. “I imagine that put quite a stress on your marriage.”
    “Yes,” she said simply. “But I was his wife and I remained loyal to him. Such is my duty.” I noticed that, although she was conservatively dressed, she was not in the traditional garb of women from her country. A plain dress, no robe, no headdress.
    “He must’ve been very frustrated. Wracked with guilt.”
    “True. But such shame as this can be borne by any marriage with a