reports?”
“I was hoping.”
“Any detectives show up?”
“Just uniforms. Hendricks and Minette. He-and-she team.”
He phoned Pacific Division, asked to speak to the watch commander, explained the situation, listened, hung up smiling. “In the official police record, you are treated as a victim. Hauser was booked for creating a disturbance in a public place and released. What kind of car does he drive?”
“Don’t waste time cruising by.”
“A shrink, let’s see…I’m guessing Volvo, maybe some kind of Volkswagen.”
“Audi Quattro.”
“Right continent,” he said. “Yeah, I’ll cruise by, you’re welcome.”
“It’s unlikely he’ll persist, Milo. When he sobers up he’ll realize another disturbance will mess him up in civil court. If he doesn’t, his lawyer will educate him.”
“If he was that smart, Alex, he’d never have stalked you in the first place.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’m okay and you’ve got a full plate.”
“Interesting,” he said.
“What is?”
He loosened his belt and suppressed a belch. “Your choice of gastronomic imagery.”
CHAPTER 27
No sign of Hauser’s Audi when I got home at two a.m. The bed was made up and Robin was gone. I called her six hours later.
“I heard you leave,” she said. “Went outside but you were driving away. What kind of ugly are we talking about?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I do. The new me.”
“The old you was fine.”
“The ostrich’s head has been lifted. What happened, Alex?”
“Someone got shot. An extremely bad guy. You could’ve stayed.”
“I got antsy,” she said. “It’s a big house.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Last night was good, Alex.”
“Except for the chop-socky interlude.”
“Are you worried Hauser’s going to cause more trouble?”
“Maybe he’s smarter when he’s sober. The police wrote it up in my favor. About what I asked you- ”
“Have a change of heart?”
“Of course not.”
“It wasn’t just the moment, Alex?”
Maybe it had been. “No.”
Couple of beats. “Would you be upset if I said I needed some time to think?”
“It’s a big step,” I said.
“It is. Which is kind of strange, given how much of our lives we’ve shared.”
I didn’t answer.
She said, “I won’t take too long.”
I left a message with Erica Weiss’s secretary, saying I wanted to talk about Patrick Hauser. Just as I hung up, Milo clicked in.
He sounded exhausted. Probably up all night on Peaty. Maybe that’s why he didn’t bother with niceties.
“Wendell A. Chong, the guy whose van Peaty ripped off, is a software consultant who used to rent office space in a building owned by the Dowds. The van was boosted from his reserved tenant slot at night, while Chong was working late. Chong collected insurance, bought himself a new car, has no interest in reclaiming it.”
“Peaty watched and seized the opportunity,” I said. “Chong have any impressions of Peaty?”
“Never saw him. Who he does remember is Billy Dowd. He’d always wondered if Billy had something to do with the theft.”
“Why?”
“Because Billy used to hang around aimlessly when Brad came by to collect rent. One time he drifted into Chong’s office and just stood there, like he owned the place. Chong asked him what he wanted, Billy got a spaced- out look in his eyes and left without a word. Chong followed Billy out into the hall, saw him walking up and down, like he was patrolling. A couple of women stepped out of an office and Billy checked them out. Pretty intensely, according to Chong. Then Brad showed up, ushered Billy away. But he kept bringing Billy along, so Chong started locking his door. Interesting, huh?”
“Billy and Peaty?” I said.
“Weirdos finding common ground. It happens, right? Brad protects Billy but he can’t be everywhere. And like you said, he overestimates his power. Maybe he takes Billy along with him when he checks out the garage at the PlayHouse. Or the PlayHouse itself. I don’t see Billy getting laid on his own.”
“Billy seemed gentle.”
“Maybe he is,” he said. “Except when he’s not. In any event, I just got permission from Vasquez’s D.P.D. to interview his client, on my way over to the jail. I’m betting on a quick plea, maybe involuntary manslaughter. Kinda nice to have one that closes easy.”
“You could name Peaty as the bad guy on Michaela and close that,” I said.
“Yet I wonder aloud about Billy,” he said. “Why? Because I’m a self-destructive fool, no sleep in two days, I’m
“Two bad guys could explain how the Gaidelases’ car ended up twenty-five miles from Kanan Dume. Billy doesn’t seem street-smart, but Peaty could’ve helped him there. Still, it’s hard to imagine him getting away for any length of time. He and Brad seem to be together most of the day and at night there’s a neighbor watching him.”
“The ‘nice lady.’ Wonder how hard she looks. I was supposed to check that out but with all that’s happened…do you think it’s interesting that the bad stuff we know about started after Billy got his own place?”
“If the bad stuff was the product of a sick relationship,” I said, “with Peaty gone, Billy might not act out again.”
“There’s comfort for you.”
“I can drop by and talk to the neighbor.”
“That would be great, I’m tied up with Vasquez all day.” He read off Billy’s address on Reeves Drive. “Any more problems from that asshole Hauser?”
“Not a one.”
“Good.”
“I’m still wondering about something,” I said.
“Am I going to want to hear this?”
“Dylan Meserve picked Latigo for the hoax because he hiked up there. What led the Gaidelases to the same spot?”
“Aha,” he said. “Already been there and back. Maybe Peaty overheard Dylan talking about hiking up there. While the Gaidelases were waiting for their audition, they mentioned wanting to hike and Peaty overheard again and gave them advice.”
“That’s a lot of overhearing.”
