figured coyotes ate the body.
Robbie lived scared for a while. He moved out of his father’s apartment and moved in with his mother. Bob Beckett Sr. gave the van to Robbie’s brother David. Time dragged by. Bob Beckett Sr. married a woman named Cathy. Cathy had two daughters. Bob Beckett Sr. started molesting her 12-year-old.
Robbie told a few friends what happened. They thought he was bullshitting. Robbie was a boozer and a brawler and a sometime fruit hustler. His friends didn’t feature him as a murder-victim procurer.
Bob Beckett Sr. moved to Aspen. He got a job with his old karate buddy Paul Hamway. Robbie moved to Aspen and settled in near his father.
Gary White bought most of the story. Robbie threw in a little teaser. He said his father did a contract hit in Florida. He knew the details—but refused to divulge them.
Gary White called Sheriff’s Homicide. He ran Robbie’s story by Charlie Guenther.
Guenther consulted the Missing Persons Unit. Cissy Kienest said “Lee” might be Tracy Lea Stewart. Guenther sent a
White called Charlie Guenther and told him he hit paydirt. Guenther and Cissy Kienest flew to Aspen.
Bob Beckett Sr. visited Robbie in prison. Robbie told him he snitched him off for the dead girl. Bob Beckett Sr. convinced him to retract his story. He laid on threats and recriminations and stressed plain old father-son loyalty. Robbie kowtowed to his dad like he always did.
Charlie Guenther and Cissy Kienest tried to interview Robbie. Robbie pissed backwards. He said the story he told White was bullshit. He wouldn’t issue a formal statement confirming it. He wouldn’t testify against his father.
Robbie wouldn’t budge. They couldn’t arrest him or Bob Beckett Sr. without a sworn statement and some kind of formal arrangement with the L.A. DA’s Office.
White laid a side trip on Guenther. Daddy Beckett’s stepdaughter just accused him of fondling her. She told a social services counselor. It wasn’t a criminal matter yet.
Guenther decided to fuck with Bob Beckett Sr. He found him and goosed him with his stepdaughter’s story. Beckett flexed his muscles and stayed frosty. Guenther wanted to rumble. Bob Beckett Sr. probably sensed it.
That was 18 months ago.
Stoner read the Stewart file a half-dozen times. The case was as workable as the
Charlie got him hooked on Tracy Stewart. Bob Grimm got him hooked on
They had to make some people talk.
They knew ex-wives were good talkers. They knew Bill Mentzer had an ex-wife named Deedee Mentzer Santangelo. Her father was a heavyweight Teamster. They contacted him. They told him they were checking out Deedee’s lowlife ex.
The old man hated Mentzer. He called Deedee and told her to cooperate. Stoner and Guenther met with her. She examined the photo that Carlos Avila found. She ID’d the two men standing with Mentzer.
One man was named Alex Marti. He was from Argentina. He was a scary, violent guy. Deedee saw him provoke a couple of fights. She was afraid of him.
The other man was an ex-cop named Bill Rider. He used to be tight with Larry Flynt, the porno king. He was married to Flynt’s sister. He used to be Flynt’s security boss. Rider was back in Ohio now. He was engaged in litigation against Flynt.
Stoner got Rider’s number and called him. He told Rider he needed to know the exact spot where that photo was taken. It pertained to an active homicide investigation. Rider said he’d think about it and call Stoner back.
He called back the next day. He was pissed. He’d talked to Deedee Mentzer Santangelo. He knew the cops were after Bill Mentzer. Stoner should have leveled with him.
Stoner acted apologetic. Rider said he’d fly out if the Sheriff’s Department paid for his airfare and lodging. Bob Grimm okayed the expenditure. Rider flew out and talked to Stoner and Guenther. He dropped little tidbits on the Mincher killing and the Radin job straight off.
He took Stoner and Guenther out to Caswell Canyon. He said Mentzer and Marti bragged about the Radin hit. Bob Lowe did the job with them. Marti was a psycho punk with Nazi tendencies. He was selling dope out of a pad in Beverly Hills now.
Rider shot his mouth off and started acting regretful. He said he was afraid of Mentzer and Marti. He had a family. Mentzer and Marti knew it. Stoner said he could supply protection. Stoner told Rider the catch.
Rider had to make Mentzer and Lowe talk. They had to talk in a closed-in, buggable venue. Rider said he’d go home and think about it.
Gary White called Charlie Guenther and broke some good news.
Robbie Beckett got out of prison. He got popped for another assault and was looking at a solid dime. Robbie called White. Robbie said he’d make a formal signed statement. Robbie made that statement. Robbie gave up Daddy Beckett for Tracy Stewart and a lot more.
Robbie Beckett was suicidally talkative. He laid himself out as his father’s full-time slave and onetime murder accomplice. The best deal he could get for handing up Bob Beckett Sr. was murder two and 20 to life. His second assault conviction would have cost him five years net. Robbie torched his whole life to fuck Daddy Beckett.
Robbie put his story in writing. He tacked on the story of Bob Beckett Sr. and the Susan Hamway hit.
Bob Beckett Sr. worked for Paul Hamway. Susan Hamway was Paul’s estranged wife. Paul and Susan were fighting a divorce war. Susan was living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She had custody of their 18-month-old daughter.
Paul hated Susan. He asked Bob Beckett Sr. if he knew any professional killers. Bob Beckett Sr. said he’d set it
