'The beginning of the job was when we took the kid out of the hospital, the beginning of the cuttings - '
'Which kid are you referring to?'
'The Cadmus kid. The one who was locked up.'
'James Cadmus.'
'Right.'
'Let's start with him,' said Milo.
'Yo. I drove out to the hospital - '
'When?' asked Whitehead.
'I don't know, when was it - about four, five weeks ago?'
'What day of the week was it?' asked Cash.
'Thursday.'
'How do you know that?' demanded Whitehead.
'All of them happened on Thursdays.'
'Why's that?'
'That was the orders. Go out on a Thursday and off a faggot.'
'You didn't ask why?' asked Whitehead sceptically.
Antrim shook his head.
'Why not?' pressed the sheriffs investigator.
Antrim narrowed his eyes and grinned.
'Just doing my job, chief.'
Whitehead looked as if he'd just swallowed sour milk. Folding his arms across his chest, he stared down at Antrim and snorted derisively.
'What's the matter?' said Antrim, looking injured. 'I
been giving you what you want, and you still keep getting on my case.'
Whitehead leaned over him.
'You're shit, Tully. I may have to hang around you, but I don't have to like the smell.'
Antrim's lower jaw shot out. One hand balled into a fist. He clamped the other over it, as if subduing a rabid animal. His face went rigid, eyes flashing poisonously.
'C'mon,' urged Whitehead, bobbing his head. 'Make my day.'
Cash and Milo stared at him.
'Scum,' said Whitehead.
Antrim spat on the ground and turned his back on all three detectives.
'Take me back,' he said.
No one answered.
'Come on, Tully,' said Milo after a while.
'Take me the fuck back, man. I don't wanna talk no more.'
'Was it something I said?' mocked Whitehead.
The screen went black for a second. When it came back on again, Milo was alone with Antrim, who sat hunched over the table, spooning something out of a bowl. He slurped, wiped his mouth, and put the spoon down. The ashtray overflowed with butts. Next to it stood a can of Pepsi.
Milo reiterated his speech, had Antrim repeat his refusal to consult an attorney, then asked: .
'Ready, Tully?'
'Yo. Just keep that stupid fuck out of here, man. He comes in, I dummy up.'
'Okay, Tully. It'll just be you and me, okay?'
'Stupid fuck's got an attitude. Someone's gonna clean his fucking clock one day.'
'More soup?' asked Milo.
'No, thanks. Go ahead.'
'We were talking about the murders of Richard Emmet Ford and Ivar Digby Chancellor. You were telling me how you drove to the hospital to get James Cadmus out of the hospital. Which hospital was that?'
'The nut farm where he was. Out in Agoura.'
'Remember the name?'
'Canyon Oaks.'
'Go on.'
'I drove out there around two.'
'A.M. or P.M.?'
'A.M. I got there late. The freeway was jammed up, some kind of crash. I got a scanner in the van, so I heard about it, got off in Canoga Park, and took surface streets. Took a while to find a safe place to park, but I found one. Then I waited. The plan was for Skull to dose the kid up with something that would zone out his head but still let him walk. That way she could lead him out and bring him straight to the van. When she went in the room, he looked like he was sleeping, so she took the straps off' before giving him the needle. But as soon as she stuck him, he freaked out and yanked it out. Hit her upside the head and knocked her cold. Just for a minute, but by the time she woke up he was gone. She went looking for him and found him, in one of the conference rooms, talking on the phone to the shrink.'
'Which shrink?'
'Delaware.'
'How do you know it was Dr. Delaware?'
'She heard him call him by name. Sounded like he was trying to get help. So she got up behind him, got an arm around his neck, and gave him the needle again. Hard, but there must have been too much stuff in it or something 'cause he went out completely, and she had to drag him out of there. I seen her coming, jumped out, and threw him over my back. He was dead weight - skinny but heavy, know what I mean? Took a while to get him in the van and all gagged and tied, but I finally did it. Got the hell out of there.'
'You and Skull?'
'No. Just me. She met me later. Near Chancellor's house.'
'When was this?'
'When she met me?'
'When you left Canyon Oaks.'
'Maybe around three-thirty.'
'And when did she meet you?'
'Maybe around four-thirty.'
'How did Skull manage to drag him out without someone noticing?'
'No one was around. The bitch in charge had been paid off to make that happen. Ten grand - five and five. I know, 'cause I brought the bread to her place.'
'Which bitch is that?'
'Vann. A real cunt. She treated Skull like shit.' He closed his eyes for a second, smiled dreamily. 'We had plans for her.'
' Where'd you go after you left the hospital grounds?'
'Back toward L.A.'
'Anywhere in particular?'
'Boystown.'
'Do you remember your route?
'Yeah. The freeway was still jammed up, so I took side streets to Reseda, got back on and got off at Laurel. Drove to Santa Monica and turned left.'
'East.'
'Yeah.'
'Goon.'
'I trawled Santa Monica and picked up the whore -Ford.'
'Where'd you find him?'
'Street corner near Western.'
'What you do with him?'
