“I’m not taking the fall, Joy, not for you.”
“You never did have any balls, Victor.”
Doreen laughed. “My, my, a lovers’ quarrel. The last time I saw you the bed was-”
“Oh shut up, you old bitch!”
“I’m taking both you and Dragon in,” Brogan said.
Dr. Joy turned to her husband. “Karl, are you going to let them do this to me?”
“It seems to me you did it to yourself.” He looked up. “Wheel me out of here, Josh.”
27: Watchful Waiting
Deedee insisted Mandy and Jamie stay with them as long as they wished. Unwinding from the excitement, discussing the case, getting the pair fed and tucked in kept her occupied until quite late. But she was not so busy that she failed to notice the blinking light on the answering machine when they came home. Or, Walter listening to it surreptitiously, then quickly erasing it.
Walter went upstairs a little ahead of her and was fast asleep when she got in bed. She lay awake awhile worrying about the mysterious message, but soon fell asleep herself.
The next morning she waited till he shut off his electric razor, then asked, “So what was the message on the machine last night? A telemarketer offering low-cost, do-it-yourself divorces?”
He looked at her and grinned. “That’s good, honey. Actually he was selling a book on ancient Aztec love practices, including 87 positions never before known to European man-or woman.”
“Just what we need, dear, I hope you bought it.” She kissed his smooth cheek. ”What was the message?”
“I didn’t want you lying awake worrying.”
“A dentist drilling my teeth couldn’t have kept me awake. Was it Phil Van Zant?”
“The lab tests are in, he wants to talk to me.”
“Sounds ominous.”
He looked at her sharply. “Why say that?”
“If the tests were negative, he’d have said so. This way he gets to practice his bedside manner.”
“You don’t know that. He may want to tell me-”
“Not you, darling, us. I’m tagging along-whether you want me or not.”
Lupe now loathed the tanned face she once thought so handsome. Victor Dragon was an evil man, a murderer and kidnapper. Worse, Victor Dragon knew the law and how to reduce his sentence, if not escape entirely.
“I’ll happily tell you what happened in Gould’s office, Detective Hernandez-in exchange for immunity.”
It had been going on most of the night. She had slept little and felt tired, her nerves raw. “We already have you for kidnapping. Two women and a little boy will say-”
“It was all a misunderstanding, detective. No one was harmed, no ransom demanded. You’ll never get a kidnapping charge to stick.”
“You employed Harry Gould to entice Amanda Sykes out here to Santa Barbara. She saw you and Gould together. Witnesses heard you phone Gould at the gym and saw him leave for his office to meet you.”
He sighed. “One more time, I did not kill Harry Gould.”
“Oh yes, Joy Fielding did. Very clever, you blame her, she blames you. But it doesn’t matter. You are both accomplices, both guilty.”
“Only if you prove it, detective. You can’t without evidence from me.”
“Oh yes I can. Even as we speak, experts are digging into Harry Gould’s PC and resurrecting his files you erased.” It wasn’t true, but it could happen. “Those files will prove how you used him, your motive for killing him.”
He blinked, hesitated, then recovered. “They will prove I tried to help out a young lawyer by throwing a little business his way.”
“God, you’re despicable, worse than some gang-banger or doper. You know right from wrong. You just don’t give a damn. You know the law, but use it to escape punishment.”
He laughed. “You’re just jealous, detective.”
She left the interrogation room and returned to her desk. “Nothing’s changed, Sgt. Brogan. He wants immunity. How is it with Fielding?” They had switched interrogations.
“She doesn’t know nothin’ about nothin’.” He shook his head. “Why do these rich bitches figure they can get away with anything?”
“Have we found Dirk, the muscle man?”
“Not yet.”
“I should’ve kept my eye on him. He could tell us a lot about the murder.”
“He won’t get far.”
A strange voice interrupted them. “Don’t tell me you’re Detective Lupe Hernandez, of whom I’ve heard so much?”
She looked up and saw lots of teeth, bright brown eyes, two arms outstretched toward her. She recoiled. “Yes, but-”
“?Si hubiera sabido que eras tan hermosisima, me hubiera acercado mucho mas antes a ti!”
His spate of Spanish only made his leering grin worse. She shook herself loose from his hands on her shoulders. “I’m afraid I don’t speak Spanish.”
“You certainly look like you do. I said if I’d known you were so gorgeous, I’d have rushed over to meet you sooner.” He laughed now. “I’m Carlos Light.”
She stared at him. A Latino named Light? Then she knew. “Carlos as in C. K. Light, the deputy DA? We’ve talked on the phone?”
“The very same. And you really are beautiful. Bellisima. Eres tan preciosa.”
He was a bit on the short side and stocky, even burly, with dark curly hair. He was not really handsome, no Jimmy Smits or Benjamin Bratt, but he sure thought he was the original Latin lover, grinning and strutting and coming on to her. Who needed him? The type disgusted her.
“Tell me, guapa, how you can look Latina and not know Spanish?’
She shoved the question aside. She didn’t want to hear it.
“I’ll bet I know. Your father was Hispanic, but your mother was Anglo and spoke only English. It is the exact opposite with me. My father is Anglo, my mother Latina. I have the best of both worlds.” He laughed. “And now I have met you, guapa.”
Buster Brogan had taken all he could. “Look, you two can engage in courtship rituals on your own time. We’re in the middle of a police investigation. We need charges, Light.”
She was glad of the interruption. Carlos Light’s ego was a threat to law enforcement. “We’re at an impasse, Mr. Light. Joy Fielding isn’t saying a word, and Victor Dragon won’t talk without immunity.”
His grin faded. His whole demeanor changed. “Tell me what you have.”
She and Buster both reported their evidence. She had to admit Carlos Light listened attentively and asked good questions. He was apparently something more than a foolish fop and sexual predator.
“Let’s go talk to him,” he said.
Inside the interrogation room, Carlos Light turned inquisitor. His voice took on an edge. “The good sergeant and the adorable Miss Hernandez have you cold-cocked, Dragon. There’ll be no immunity, my friend. Nothing I like better than bringing down a hotshot lawyer. If you don’t believe it, try me. Even if I lose the case, you’re ruined.”
Despite his tan, Victor Dragon’s face blanched.
“I lied, Dragon. There is one thing I like more-bringing down a holier-than-thou advice columnist. You help me do that and maybe I’ll consider a plea.”
She watched Light. There was a slight smile on his face, an expectant look in his eyes. When no answer came, he closed his briefcase, stood up and headed for the door. “See you in court, counselor.”
