“He turned to avoid an impact of some kind, then overcorrected. He then panicked and did what most people do. He hit the brakes.”
“Got it.”
“The wheels locked up and he went into a skid. There was nothing he could do at that point. He had no control because the instinct is to press harder on the brakes, to push that pedal through the floor.”
“And the brakes were what was taking away control.”
“Exactly. He went over the side. The question is why. Why did he jerk the wheel in the first place? What preceded the event?”
“Another car?”
Clewiston nodded.
“Could be. But no one stopped. No one called it in.”
“Maybe…”
Fairbanks spread his hands. He was drawing a blank.
“Take a look here,” Clewiston said.
He walked Fairbanks over to the side of the road. He put the light on the pathway into the brush. He used the light to draw the sergeant’s eyes back across Mulholland to the pathway on the opposite side. Fairbanks looked at him and then back at the path.
“What are you thinking?” Fairbanks asked.
“This is a coyote path,” Clewiston said. “They come up through Fryman Canyon and cross Mulholland here. It takes them to the dog park. They probably wait in heavy brush for the dogs that stray out of the park.”
“So your thinking is that our guy came around the curve and there was a coyote crossing the road.”
Clewiston nodded.
“That’s what I’m thinking. He jerks the wheel to avoid the animal, then overcompensates, loses control. You have a slalom followed by a braking skid. He goes over the side.”
“An accident plain and simple.”
Fairbanks shook his head disappointedly.
“Why couldn’t it have been a DUI, something clear-cut like that?” he asked. “Nobody’s going to believe us on this one.”
“That’s not our problem. All the facts point to it being a driving mishap. An accident.”
Fairbanks looked at the skid marks and nodded.
“Then, that’s it, I guess.”
“You’ll get a second opinion from the insurance company, anyway,” Clewiston said. “They’ll probably pull the brakes off the car and test them. An accident means double indemnity. But if they can shift the calculations and prove he was speeding or being reckless, it softens the impact. The payout becomes negotiable. But my guess is they’ll see it the same way we do.”
“I’ll make sure forensics photographs everything. We’ll document everything six ways from Sunday and the insurance people can take their best shot. When will I get a report from you?”
“I’ll go down to Valley Traffic right now and write something up.”
“Good. Get it to me. What else?”
Clewiston looked around to see if he was forgetting anything. He shook his head.
“That’s it. I need to take a few more measurements and some photos, then I’ll head down to write it up.”
“Then, I’ll get out of your way.”
Clewiston left him then and headed back up the road to get his camera. He had a small smile on his face that nobody saw.
Clewiston headed west on Mulholland from the crash site. He planned to take Coldwater Canyon down into the Valley and over to the Traffic Division office. He waited until the flashing blue and red lights were small in his rearview mirror before flipping open his phone. He hoped he could get a signal on the cheap throwaway. Mulholland Drive wasn’t always cooperative with cellular service.
He had a signal. He pulled to the side while he attached the digital recorder. He then turned it on and made the call. She answered after one ring, as he was pulling back onto the road and up to speed.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“The apartment.”
“They’re looking for you. You’re sure his attorney knows where you are?”
“He knows. Why? What’s going on?”
“They want to tell you he’s dead.”
He heard her voice catch. He took the phone away from his ear so he could hold the wheel with two hands on one of the deep curves. He then brought it back.
“You there?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m here. I just can’t believe it, that’s all. I’m speechless. I didn’t think it would really happen.”
You may be speechless but you’re talking, Clewiston thought. Keep it up.
“You wanted it to happen, so it happened,” he said. “I told you I would take care of it.”
“What happened?”
“He went off the road on Mulholland. It’s an accident and you’re a rich lady now.”
She said nothing.
“What else do you want to know?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t know anything. It will be better when they come here.”
“You’re an actress. You can handle it.”
“Okay.”
He waited for her to say more. He glanced down at the recorder on the center console and saw the red light glowing. He was good.
“Was he in pain?” she asked.
“Hard to say. He was probably dead when they pried him out. From what I hear, it will be a closed casket. Why do you care?”
“I guess I don’t. It’s just sort of surreal that this is happening. Sometimes I wish you never came to me with the whole idea.”
“You rather go back to being trailer-park trash while he lives up on the hill?”
“No, it wouldn’t be like that. My attorney said the prenup has holes in it.”
Clewiston shook his head. Second-guessers. They hire his services and then can’t live with the consequences.
“What’s done is done,” he said. “This will be the last time we talk. When you get the chance, throw the phone you’re talking on away like I told you.”
“There won’t be any records?”
“It’s a throwaway. Like all the drug dealers use. Open it up, smash the chip, and throw it all away the next time you go to McDonald’s.”
“I don’t go to McDonald’s.”
“Then throw it away at the Ivy. I don’t give a shit. Just not at your house. Let things run their course. Soon you’ll have all his money. And you double-dip on the insurance because of the accident. You can thank me for that.”
He was coming up to the hairpin turn that offered the best view of the Valley.
“How do we know that they think it was an accident?”
“Because I made them think that. I told you, I have Mulholland wired. That’s what you paid for. Nobody is going to second-guess a goddamn thing. His insurance company will come in and sniff around but they won’t be able to change things. Just sit tight and stay cool. Say nothing. Offer nothing. Just like I told you.”
The lights of the Valley spread out in front of him before the turn. He saw a car pulled off at the unofficial overlook. On any other night he’d stop and roust them—probably teenagers getting it on in the backseat. But not tonight. He had to get down to the traffic office and write up his report.
“This is the last time we talk,” he repeated.
He looked down at the recorder. He knew it would be the last time they talked until he needed more money
