'Maybe.'
'You figure DeSpain know that and tell you there's no record on Sampson so you won't follow it up?'
'Maybe. Or maybe he just went to Triple I and it wasn't there, so he didn't go further.'
'Like he don't know that there can be clerical errors,' Hawk said.
'You know DeSpain, you think he that sloppy in a homicide?'
'No.'
'And they toss Sampson's room,' Hawk said.
'And they don't find the nude pictures under the bed that a fucking girl scout would find in ten minutes.'
'I know,' I said.
'That's been bothering me too.'
Vinnie took one tape out of his Walkman and put in another.
He evinced no interest in our conversation.
'So you got a theory?' Hawk said.
'About the pictures, yeah. I figure Port City didn't really search Sampson's room. They just went in and emptied a few drawers and made a mess so that it would look like they searched it. Probably took them five minutes.'
'Which explains why they made such a mess,' Hawk said.
'Un huh. Of course DeSpain could have sent a couple guys over and they didn't want to bother,' I said.
'And DeSpain didn't know they fucking off on him,' Hawk said.
'Yeah.'
'You think DeSpain's people fuck off on him and he don't know it?'
'No and no,' I said.
'So?'
'DeSpain's covering up,' I said.
'And one of the things he covering up is Wu's connection to Sampson.'
'Yes.'
'You know why?'
'No.'
'You see any connection with the stalker?'
'No, but I think I've got that one figured out.'
I told him about Jocelyn and the phone calls.
'She is neurotic,' Hawk said.
'Be obsessed with you, when I on the scene?'
'Before me she was obsessed with Christopholous,' I said.
'If we're right.'
Hawk shook his head.
'Must be a honkie thing,' he said.
'You figure Lonnie had Sampson killed?'
'Possibility,' I said.
'Found out he was taking nude pictures of Rikki's flower and sent somebody to pop him on stage so Rikki'd be sure to notice.'
'So,' Hawk said.
'You got a pretty good idea about the stalker.
You got a pretty good idea on who killed Sampson. Why don't we declare everything solved and get the hell out of there?'
'I don't think so,' I said.
'
'Cause you like hanging around with me and Vinnie every day.'
I shrugged.
'It's all theory,' I said.
'We got no case against Lonnie. Even if we turn what I know over to DeSpain, is he going to follow it up?'
'Not likely,' Hawk said.
