Milo said, “Keep your eyes open and trust your instincts.”
Her eyes shifted to the entrance of the physics building. “Is inside Bergson Hall considered a public place?”
“For the time being, yes.”
She stood, began collecting the food and depositing it in a bag.
He said, “Have you found your mother’s gun?”
She stopped moving. “Do I need to learn how to use it?”
“I’d like to have it for a few days to run some tests.”
“You think it was used to do something criminal?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t but let’s verify that. Do you know where it is?”
She nodded. “Should I bring it to your office?”
“How about I pick it up? When will you be home?”
“Today?”
“Sooner is better than later.”
“Let’s see…around five, five thirty. Six to be safe, if I end up doing some studying after work.” Checking her watch. “I’m due at the library right now.”
“Go ahead, see you at six,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” she said. “And thank you for taking the time to help me. I really appreciate it.”
This time she held out a hand. Pumped Milo’s mitt then gave me a quick hug. “I know I’ve made things complicated…I feel safe with you on my side. Say hello to Dr. Silverman, Lieutenant. Mommy
When she was gone, Milo said, “You lie to her, too?”
“You bet.”
“Good man.”
CHAPTER 17
“One thing
“Probably,” I said. “All that gravitas you project. What did you learn from Kyle?”
“Uncle Lester was persona non grata, no one in the family had much contact with him. Last time Kyle remembers seeing him was after his parents divorced-shortly after the old man died. His mom and dad had been separated for a while and Kyle flew down from Atherton with her so she could get some art objects she considered hers. While she was scrounging, Jordan dropped by and Kyle answered the door. Jordan tried to make conversation, Mom saw who it was and told Kyle to go inside.”
“Kyle have any idea why Jordan dropped by?”
“Nope. But seeing as Jordan was an addict and she was supporting him, my bet would be he was hitting on her for extra cash. What did you lie to Tanya about?”
“I suggested Patty might have been helping Jordan with his addiction but said nothing about her feeding his habit.”
“All that medical-quality dope within reach and a junkie with a rich family. Yeah, it fits nicely, doesn’t it?”
I said, “Patty stayed there six years, got paid by the family to keep the black sheep out of their lives. The old man turned ill and his needs took priority over Jordan’s. When the colonel died, it was time for her to move on.”
“Moving her around like a chess piece.”
“Kyle’s mother has definite ideas about social class.” I told him about the daily purse inspection.
He said, “The wretched refuse. Still, if we’re right about Patty being helpful with Jordan, why not send her back to Cherokee after the old man was gone?”
“Jordan was Mrs. Bedard’s kin. I can see Mister not being thrilled about letting him live rent-free. Once he split from his wife, no more indulgence.”
“Good riddance to you and your loser brother,” he said. “Who just happened to be a pal of Lowball Leland Armbruster who just happened to get shot by a.22 while Patty was living a few blocks from the murder scene and just happened to own a.22. We handed Tanya a whole load of emotionally supportive bullshit, Alex. She was right to make the connection. Jordan survives twenty years shooting dope, we chat with him about Patty, and all of a sudden he’s sitting dead on his toilet. If ballistics matches Patty’s gun to the slug in Armbruster, we’re talking major-league complications. The kind that could lead to eliminating witnesses.”
“Jordan saw Patty shoot Armbruster? Who’d be threatened by that?”
“I’m saying Jordan knew something about the shooting that was worth killing for.” His cell chirped some kind of Hawaiian music. “Sturgis…hey, how’s it going…
He hung up, still grinning.
I said, “Sean?”
“Petra. Jordan’s john was wiped clean and so was the inner sill of the open window. But the techies got a partial palm print from the ledge outside. Palms are finally being cataloged on AFIS and there’s a hit. Some naughty boy busted for assault last year. Ain’t it nice when the bad guys don’t learn?”
We sat with Petra in an empty interview room at Hollywood Division. Raul Biro was out recanvassing Lester Jordan’s building and its neighbors on Cherokee.
The room was windowless and hot and smelled of witch hazel. Petra had removed her black jacket. Underneath was a sleeveless gray silk shell. Her arms were white, smooth, sinewy, her nail polish a deep brown that fell just short of black. Lipstick of the same hue, a half tone lighter. She slid an arrest form across the table. Clipped to the top were full-face and profile mug shots.
“Gentlemen,” she said, “meet Robert Bertram Fisk.”
Fisk’s picture screamed the virtues of cliche: bony off-center countenance, head shaved clean, close-set eyes devoid of feeling and dark with menace. A skimpy mouth was further reduced by a heavy black mustache, right- angled down to his chin like a croquet wicket.
Basic Bad Guy.
The taut, corded, tattoo-brocaded neck substantially wider than Fisk’s jaws was overkill. But this was L.A., where subtlety could be a shuttle to obscurity.
Milo said, “You gotta be kidding. I’d take him for a social worker feeding the homeless.” He ran his finger down to the stats.
Male Caucasian, twenty-eight, five seven, one forty. A gallery of skin art.
“Little guy,” said Milo.
Petra said, “Didn’t stop him from taking on a big guy-the assault victim was six one, two ninety. It happened last year, in a downtown club. Fisk was working as some kind of bodyguard, got into an argument with another hunk of hired muscle named Bassett Bowland.”
She clawed her fingers. “First Fisk whipped off a few martial arts moves, then he pulled a one-handed move, got Bowland by the Adam’s apple and started squeezing. He came pretty close to crushing the guy’s neck before people pulled him off. Bowland lived but he suffered permanent vocal damage.”
“Fisk does this a year ago and he’s out?”
“It got pled down to misdemeanor battery, time served. The two weeks Fisk spent at County waiting to be arraigned was his entire sentence. According to the case file, Bowland didn’t want to cooperate and witnesses disappeared.”
“Any pressure for them to disappear?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me, but the main obstacle was Bowland. Humiliated by having his butt kicked by a guy half his weight, he absolutely refused to talk.”
