LA Requiem

'CRAIS IS A TERRIFIC WRITER.' —SUE GRAFTON

'As the complicated plot unfolds, there are surprises and setbacks for all the characters, as well as many moving moments as the friendship between Joe and Elvis is put to the ultimate test. And behind it all stands the city of Los Angeles, populated with the best and worst humanity has to offer and served and protected by a police force that also mirrors the best and worst in human nature.'

—The Denver Post

'Robert Crais . . . should be mentioned in the same breath as Robert B. Parker, Tony Hillerman, Sue Grafton, and James Lee Burke.'

—Houston Chronicle

'[A] blockbuster . . . The best in the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series to date ... Its plot moves through serial killers, ice- cold revenge, doppelgangers, lingering effects of childhood violence, sexism on the force, fatal attractions, and lethal media feeding frenzies. You just can't take your eyes away. And Crais can still turn a phrase with the best of them.' —New Orleans Times-Picayune

'Streamlined plotting, smiling charm, slick action . . . A taut, suspenseful case that opens up scars that easygoing Elvis never looked into before.' —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

'A SINISTER AND SUSPENSEFUL

THRILLER.'

—Bookpage

'A hip, tightly crafted novel full of consistently drawn characters and more than a handful of surprises. There's nothing predictable here. . . . The story is complex and realistic. . . . Crais is a pro, never missing a detail, never crossing himself up with clues, never offering more than he needs to keep the reader mesmerized.'

—The Denver Gazette

'Truly outstanding . . . Powerful ... It is an astonishing story, full of twists and turns, which holds one riveted right to the end. ... A major breakthrough novel for this talented writer.' —Publishing News

'[A] page-turner . . . Since James Ellroy stopped writing about Los Angeles crime, Crais has emerged as one of the most authentic Southern California 'noir' mystery authors. He knows the territory, and, in Elvis Cole, has created an appealing private eye.' —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

'Recommended . . . Elvis Cole fans will love this latest page-turner featuring the fast-talking private eye and his taciturn tattooed partner.' —Library Journal

By Robert Crais:

THE MONKEY'S RAINCOAT* STALKING THE ANGEL* LULLABY TOWN* <-> FREE FALL* VOODOO RIVER SUNSET EXPRESS ^ L.A. REQUIEM** ^

*Published by Bantam Books **Published by Ballantine Books

Books published by The Ballantine Publishing Group are available at quantity discounts on bulk purchases for premium, educational, fund-raising, and special sales use. For details, please call 1-800-733-3000.

L.A. REQUIEM

Robert Crais

BALLANTINE BOOKS • NEW YORK

Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as 'unsold or destroyed' and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.

A Ballantine Book

Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group

Copyright© 1999 by Robert Crais

Excerpt from Demolition Angel copyright © 2000 by Robert Crais

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

All of the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Household Crow for permission to reprint an excerpt from 'Killer Inside Me' by Mark Griffin, copyright © 1991 by Household Crow. Used by permission of Household Crow. All rights reserved.

Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.randomhouse.com/BB/

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-91176

ISBN 0-345-43447-1

This book published by arrangement with Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America First Ballantine Books Edition: February 2000 10 9 8 7 6 5 4

For Ed Waters and Sid Ellis, who taught more than words.

'Anddats da'name o'dat tune'

Acknowledgments

Many people contributed to the writing of this novel, and to its moment of publication. They include: Detective- Three John Petievich, LAPD (Fugitive Section); Detective-Three Paul Bishop, LAPD (West Los Angeles Sex Crimes); Bruce Kelton JD, CFE (Director, Forensic Investigative Services, De-loitte & Touche); Patricia Crais; Lauren Crais; Carol Topping (for nights out with the girls); Wayne Topping (for putting up with it); William Gleason, Ph.D.; Andrea Malcolm; Jeffrey Gleason; April Smith; Robert Miller; Brian DeFiore; Lisa Kitei; Samantha Miller; Kim Dower; Gerald Petievich; Judy Chavez (for the language lessons); Dr. Halina Alter (for keeping me in the game); Steve Volpe; and Norman Kurland.

Special contributions were made by the following, without whom this book would not exist in its present form: Aaron Priest, Steve Rubin, Linda Grey, Shawn Coyne, and George Lucas. Thank you.

Help, encouragement, and inspiration were given by many who requested anonymity. These secret creatures include TC, MG, TD, LC, and Cookie. Good to go on night patrol whenever, wherever.

This book is not solely mine; it also belongs to Leslie Wells.

Do you know what love is? (I would bleed out for you.) —Tattooed Beach Sluts

I've got the whole town under my thumb and all I've gotta do is keep acting dumb.

We say goodbye so very politely Now say hello to the killer inside me. —MC900 Ft. Jesus

Mama, Mama, can't you see What the Marine Corps has done to me? Made me lean and made me strong Made me where I can do no wrong. —USMC marching cadence

The Islander Palms Motel

Uniformed LAPD Officer Joe Pike could hear the banda music even with the engine idling, the a.c. jacked to meat locker, and the two-way crackling callout codes to other units.

The covey ofLatina street kids clumped outside the arcade giggled at him, whispering things to each other that made them flush. Squat brown men come up through the fence from Zacatecas milled on the sidewalk, shielding their eyes from the sun as veteranos told them about Sawtelle over on the Westside where they could find day labor jobs, thirty dollars cash, no papers required. Here in Rampart Division south of Sunset, Guatemalans and Nicaraguans simmered with Sal-vadorans and Mexican nationals in a sidewalk