Obsession

“Remember the make and model?”

“Sure do. White Corvette, red interior. Dad called it the Bimbo-mobile.”

Petra said, “Tell us about the disappearance and why you suspect Pete.”

“Right before I took the SATs I was up in my room and got distracted by loud music. The way my bedroom’s situated, I have an angled view of Mrs. Whitbread’s yard. The girls were out there sunbathing and blasting a tape deck-dance music. I was about to close the window but got even more distracted by what was going on. They were rubbing lotion on each other, giggling, playing with each other’s hair, slapping each other’s butts.” Stark tightened his tie. “Totally naked, it was kind of hard not to notice.”

Milo said, “Good-looking girls.”

“Of that type,” said Stark. “Long blond hair, long legs, sunlamp tan, big chests. They looked alike, for all I know they were sisters.”

“Roxy and Brandy,” said Milo. “What year Corvette?”

“Sorry, I’m not a car guy.”

“Who’d they hang out with?”

“I never saw them hang with anyone, but that doesn’t mean much. Except for that week of SAT prep, I barely saw them during the day. What I can tell you is that Pete Whitbread was aware of them. Midway through the week, when I was cramming advanced vocab, really trying to concentrate, the music started blasting again. Same deal, naked girls, lots of merriment. But good little grind that I was, I actually intended to ignore it. Then I noticed Pete sidling down the driveway and sneaking around toward the back. I say sneak because his head was darting all around, obviously furtive. And he’d pressed himself against the wall, found himself a vantage spot where the girls wouldn’t notice him. He stood there watching them for a while, then he unzipped his fly and did the predictable. But not normally-he was yanking at himself so hard I thought he’d rip it off. With a bizarre smile on his face.”

I said, “Bizarre in what way?”

“Teeth bared, like a…coyote. Pleasuring himself but he looked angry. Enraged. Or maybe it was just sexual intensity. Whatever it was, it grossed me out and I moved away from the window and never went back. Even when the music blasted the next day and the next.”

“The girls had no idea they were being watched?”

“Were they putting on a show for him? I’ve wondered about that.”

“Did you ever see Pete with them?”

“No, but as I said, I wouldn’t have. What you should be concerned about is a few weeks later, they were gone. Just like that.” Snapping his fingers. “No moving van, no truck being loaded. And when they moved in, they did use a van, had tons of stuff. I knew they weren’t sleeping in because (A) it wasn’t the weekend, (B) the lights never went on for two consecutive days, and (C) on the second day my mother took a walk by and the door to the upstairs apartment was open and a cleaning crew was working full-guns. Plus, the Corvette was still there. Parked in back next to the garage, the girls always parked in the driveway. It sat there for an entire week, then one night I heard it start up and looked out. Someone was easing it out the driveway. Driving extremely slowly, with the headlights off. I told my father and that’s when he called the police.”

Milo said, “Two days of dark windows.”

Byron Stark said, “If you want to believe they just moved to Kansas, be my guest. But maybe you should reserve judgment until I tell you the rest. The night after the car was moved, my father was walking the dog over on Fourth, I’m talking one in the morning.”

“Kind of late for a dog-walk.”

Stark smiled. “I could tell you the dog had a bladder problem but sure, Dad was curious, we all were. And it paid off. A van was pulled up to Mrs. Whitbread’s building and two guys were loading stuff. When Dad got closer he could see it was Pete and his friend and what they were hauling were garbage bags. Lots of them. When they saw Dad, they jumped in the van and slammed the door shut. Didn’t drive away, just sat there. Dad kept walking, circled the block again, stood at the corner. The van was still there but a second later it took off full-speed.”

“Did the dog react?” I said.

“Are you asking if he smelled something? Chester wasn’t a bloodhound. He was a fourteen-year-old mostly blind, deaf, senile chow mix. It was all Dad could do to get him to exercise. Anyway, Dad came home, told my mom about the van, the two of them decided something horrible had taken place, they had to persist with the police. Frankly, Galen and I thought they were overreacting. But a few weeks later, when Pete’s friend showed up dead, we started to believe them. Unfortunately, you guys didn’t.”

Petra said, “Let’s back up a bit, Dr. Stark. Who was Pete’s friend and how did he die?”

“An older guy, thirty or so. Tall, thin, long hair, unruly beard, kind of bummy. He drove a motorcycle but not a chopper. A Honda, not huge. I had a 350 in grad school and this one was definitely smaller. Noisy little contraption. He’d pick Pete up on it and they’d zoom off. My parents said his name was Roger but I can’t tell you where they got that and they never mentioned a last name. More like ‘that bum Roger.’ Or ‘Here’s Roger again on that stupid rattletrap.’ Their theory was he and Pete were selling dope around the neighborhood, doing the break-ins, as well. It wouldn’t surprise me, Roger looked like a doper. Emaciated, spacy, unsteady walk.”

Stark ruffled his crew cut. “I know it sounds as if Mom and Dad were obsessed but they weren’t. Granted, both of them are huge murder mystery fans and they’re into puzzles, but they’re also insightful and completely sane. My mother taught in the inner city for twenty years, so she’s not naive. And on top of his counseling background, my father was a military policeman in Vietnam and served as a reserve officer in Bakersfield before we moved to L.A. That made it especially irritating when the police here shined him on.”

Milo said, “Exactly what did he report?”

“You’d have to talk to him but my recollection is he reported the disappearance as well as the car being moved a week later, plus the van and the garbage bags.”

“Not the part about Pete masturbating near the girls?”

Stark colored. “No, I never mentioned that to anyone but my brother. Are you trying to say that would’ve made a difference? I can tell you it wouldn’t. The police were unresponsive.”

“What did the police tell your father?” said Petra.

“That Roger’s death was an overdose, case closed.”

“Please tell us about the death, Doctor.”

“From what I understand, the body was found in the gutter, right on Fourth, not far from Pete’s building. It happened in the middle of the night and by the time I was awake, the scene was clear.”

“How’d you find out?”

“My father heard from a neighbor who didn’t know whose corpse it was. Dad called the police for details and of course they didn’t want to give any out. Finally, he pried out the fact that it was Roger. That got him to try again to stir up interest in the girls. But whoever he talked to kept insisting there was no evidence of any crime, the girls were adults, a missing person case hadn’t been filed, and Roger’s death was ruled accidental.”

Petra hid her frown behind one hand as she wrote with the other. “After that, did Pete cause any other problems?”

“Not that I heard. But by December I had a girlfriend, wasn’t interested in anything at home. Then I went to China as a volunteer with Operation Smile, then to Cornell. This is the first time I’ve been back in ten years.”

“Have you seen Pete recently?”

“No. What’s he done?”

She stood. “When we can tell you we will, Dr. Stark. Thanks for your time.” Flashing a smile. “Maybe you can call your parents and tell them we’re paying attention.”

“That might not help. They’re strong-willed people.”

I said, “Despite their suspicions, they didn’t move from the neighborhood.”

“No way,” said Stark. “They finally owned their own home.”

“Hard to beat that,” said Milo.

“You bet, Detective. It’s all about equity.”

CHAPTER 36