Bad Love

'Like who?'

'A relative, a friend. Did she have a boyfriend?'

'You're saying she broke confidentiality?'

'She was a beginner, and we already know she wasn't that careful.'

'Don't know about any boyfriend,' he said. 'But why would she not tell Jeffers, then go and gab to a layperson?'

'Because telling Jeffers would have meant getting pulled off Hewitt's case. And she could have talked without feeling she was breaching confidentiality. Leaving out names. But she might have said something to someone that can give us a lead.'

'The only member of her family I ever met was her mother, and that was just once, to listen to her cry.'

'A mother can be a confidante.'

He looked at me. 'After that picnic with Paprock's husband, you'd be willing to do another exhumation?'

'What else do we have going?'

He pushed food around his plate. 'She was a nice person- the mother. What approach would you take with her?'

'Straight and narrow. Hewitt had a friend who may be involved in other killings. Someone whose name starts with G. Did Becky ever talk about him?'

He caught the waitress's eye and waved her over. She smiled and held up a finger, finished reciting the specials to a couple across the room.

'She lives near Park LaBrea,' he said. 'Near the art museum. Ramona or Rowena, something like that. I think she's in the book. Though she may have unlisted it after the murder. If she did, call me at Sally's and I'll get it for you.'

He looked at our untouched plates, took a toothpick from a can on the table, and poked at his incisors.

'Got your message about the sheriff,' I said. 'When does he plan to get to the tape?'

'Next couple of days, unless some emergency comes up. Don't know what it'll accomplish, but at least we'll feel scientific.'

'Speaking of science,' I said, 'any estimates yet about when Katarina was killed?'

'Coroner's initial guess is anywhere from eight to twenty hours before you found her.'

'Eight's more likely. The coffee dregs were still moist. If I'd gotten there a little earlier I might have-'

'Gotten hurt yourself.' He leaned forward. 'Forget the rescue fantasies, Alex.'

My head hurt and so did my eyes. I rubbed them and drank water.

The waitress came over and looked at our uneaten meals.

'Is something wrong?'

'No,' said Milo. 'Something just came up and we've gotta run.'

'I can doggy-bag it for you.'

'No, that's okay.' He handed her the cash.

She frowned. 'Oka-ay, I'll be back with your change, sir.'

'Keep it.'

Her smile was as wide as the beach. 'Thank you, sir- we're offering a complimentary custard dessert, today.'

Milo patted his gut. 'Maybe another time.'

'You're sure, sir? They're real good.' She touched his arm, briefly. 'Really.'

'Okay,' he said, 'you twisted my arm. Pack a couple to go.'

'Right away, sir.'

She ran off and came back seconds later with a paper bag printed with the face of a happy-looking hound and the words FOR BOWSER. Milo carried it and we left the restaurant and headed for the Seville. As I got in the car, I realized he wasn't with me and I turned back to see him standing over a skinny, bare-chested kid of around eighteen. The kid was sitting on the breezeway in front of the motel and holding a shirt-cardboard sign that said, WILL WORK FOR FOOD. His tan was intense, his cheeks were sunken, and his hair was a greasy umbrella.

Milo gave him the bag. The kid said something. Milo looked angry, but he reached into his wallet and handed the kid something green.

Then he got in the passenger seat and growled: 'Take me to work.'

23

The scene in the garage stayed with me during the drive back to L.A. Bad traffic just past Thousand Oaks had me sitting still, Katarina's mangled body filling my head. I listened to the Seville idle, thought about pain and vengeance and Robin all alone up on Benedict Canyon. Mr. Silk, whoever he was, had won a partial victory.

Things finally got moving again. I escaped 101, made it to 405 and had a clear sail to Sunset. I was heading up Benedict shortly after nine-thirty when I noticed two red dots floating ahead of me.

Brake lights. A car stopped.

It seemed to be paused right in front of the narrow road that led to my adopted home, though from this distance, I couldn't be sure. I put on speed, but before I got there, the lights dimmed and the car was gone, traveling too fast for me to catch up.

Probably nothing, but I was stumbling along the thin line between paranoia and caution and my heart was pounding. I waited. Everything stayed silent. I drove up to the white gate, slipped the cardkey in the slot, and raced up the cypress-lined driveway.

The house was lit from within, the garage shut. I approached the front door, wet with sweat, turned the key, and stepped inside, chest bursting.

Robin was stretched out on a sofa reading a design magazine. The bulldog was wedged between her legs, head nestled in her lap, trapdoor mouth open and snoring.

'Beauty and the Beast,' I said, but my voice was weak.

She looked up, smiled, and held out her hand. The dog opened one eye, then let the lid drop.

'Been shopping all afternoon?' I said, taking off my jacket. 'I tried calling a bunch of times.'

'Uh-huh,' she said. 'Lots of errands… What's the matter, Alex?'

I told her what I'd found on Shoreline Drive.

'Oh, no!' She propped herself on her elbows. The dog grumbled awake, but he stayed down. 'You came so close to walking in on it.'

I sat down. As she squeezed my hand, I recounted what I'd found and what I'd learned from Bert Harrison and Condon Bancroft. She listened with her fingers at her mouth.

'Whoever's behind this is relentless,' I said. 'I want you to move somewhere else temporarily.'

She sat up completely. 'What?'

'Just for a while. I'm not safe to be around.'

'We moved so you would be, Alex. How could anyone know you're here?'

Thinking of the brake lights, I said, 'I'm sure no one does, but I just want to be careful. I spoke to Milo. You can move into his place. Just till things ease up.'

'It's not necessary, Alex.'

The dog was completely awake now, shifting his glance from Robin to me, his brow wrinkles deeper. The confusion and fear of a kid watching his parents fight.

'Just temporarily,' I said.

'Temporarily? If this person's done everything you think he has, he waits years! So what kind of temporary are we talking about here?'

I had no answer.

She said, 'No. No way, Alex, I won't leave you. To hell with him- he can't do that to us.'

'Robin, she was pregnant. I saw what he did to her.'

'No,' she said, eyes brimming. 'Please. I don't want to hear about it.'

'Okay,' I said.