LUCY AND MARINO connect by cell phone.
"Where's she staying?" she asks from her parked black Lincoln Navigator SUV.
She and Rudy figured out that the best way to be inconspicuous was to pull into the Radisson parking lot and sit with the engine and lights off.
"The coroner. I'm glad she ain't by herself in no hotel."
"None of us need to be in a hotel," Lucy says. "Damn, could you drive a louder truck?"
"If I had one."
"How does he check out? What's his name?"
"Sam Lanier. His background's clean as a whistle. When he called to check out the Doc, I got the impression he's an okay guy."
"Well, if he isn't, she'll be all right. Because he's about to have three other houseguests," Lucy says.