27 case of lies

. and she had let dark eyebrow grow in thick . she looked a little like judge milne ,in fact .
"let's  go inside ." they passed through a tall entry with saltillo tiles undrfoot and a lot of pplants into a high ceilinged living room with a flagstone fireplace next to a bar at the far end .
a little old man stood behind the bar , pouring from a bottle of volka ." heh ," he said .
"that's hecytor , mu husband . he doesn't talk too well these days , but he loves company . what would you like to drink ? here , set down ."
nina chose aeather chair near the fire ," tea ?"
"tea ?" hector growled almost incoherently , obviously peeved .
"tea ," nina saidfirmly .he mea
he took s flowered teapot from below the bar and licked the lever of a spigot over the sink . steaming water filled the pot . he  measured quantities of tea from a silver tin , dunked a big silver tea ball into the pot , and set a timer . he saisd something nina couldn't catch .
"four minutes ," betty jo translated .
they chatted while they waited and nina looked around . picture windows , french doors , whitewashed beams , a lot of expensive furniture . precisely four minutes later , hector removed the tea ball , poure liquid into a mug for nina , and shuffled over to  her .
"thanks ." close up , she saw he wore a silk ascot . his teeth were blindingly white and perfectly regular . the tea sloshed dangerously as he handed it to her ,\
"heh ." back behind the bar he behan sippping something of his own . betty jo sat on the long white leather couch opposite nina's chair , picked up a beer  mug from the noguchi coffee table ,andsaid ," salud !"
"heh!"
"salud ."