The month is April, known as the cruelest, and the murder police show up at Wendt’s front door while he is shuffling through the files of his late girlfriend, Val Richards aka Valentina Fox. On the way to the precinct for further questioning, the detectives take a detour to Ocean Beach.  There, buffeted by a stiff ocean breeze, Wendt is questioned in connection with the murder of his old nemesis, Reginald Meyer, and learns that he is not a suspect though everyone thinks he should be. On his walk back to his Balboa St. residence, Wendt recalls the real reason Reg Meyer was pissed at him, and also considers the options for his Poetry Month columns in the weekly.  Later, having dinner with Charlie Reyes and family, Wendt outlines his taxonomy of poets much to the horror of Clarissa and the twins.  Following an encounter with Michel Brezon at the Caffe Trieste, Brezon reveals that the word on the street is that Wendt off’ed Reg Meyer.