'It say on the truck. Emilio's Plumbing. I remember 'cause my husband, his name is Emilio. That's why I remember the truck. I smile when I see the name, an' I tell my husband that night, but he no look like'my
Emilio. He black. He have things on his face like bumps.' I called out to the construction workers. 'Where's Cauley? Can someone get Cauley?' Then I turned back to Mrs. Luna.
'The man who went down the hill was black?'
'No. The man in the truck, he black. The man on the hill, he Anglo.'
'Two men?'
The buzzing in my head grew more frantic, like riding a caffeine rush. The electrician came around the end of the truck with Mr. Cauley.
He said, 'You guys have any luck?'
'Have you had a plumber or plumbing contractor working here named Emilio or Emilio's Plumbing, anything like that?'
Cauley shook his head.
'Nope, never. I use the same sub over and over, all my jobs, a man named Donnelly.'
Mrs. Luna said, 'The truck, it say Emilio's Plumbing.' The electrician said, 'Hey, I've seen that truck.'
The buzz in my head suddenly vanished and my body stopped aching. Blood tingled under my skin. I felt light
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and alive with a clarity that was perfect. It was the same feeling I had when we were hidden along a VC trail and I heard the VC approaching and waited for Rod to fire and knew either I would have them or they would have me, but either way the whole bloody thing was about to go down.
I said, 'I need you to come with me, Mrs. Luna. I need you to talk to the police right now. They're just around the curve.'
Marisol Luna got into my car without complaint or objection. I didn't take the time to turn around. We drove to Starkey in reverse.
time missing: 43 hours, 5o minutes
The sun glared angrily from low in the southern sky, heating the great bowl of air in the canyon until it came to a boil. Rising air pulled a soft breeze up from the city that smelled of sulfur. Starkey held her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
'Okay, Mrs. Luna, tell me what you saw.'
Marisol Luna, Starkey, and I stood in the street at the top of the curve. Mrs. Luna pointed back toward the construction site, telling us how she remembered it.
'We come aroun' the curve there, and the plumber truck is right here.'
She indicated that the plumber's van had been pretty much where we were standing, not on the shoulder but in the street. It could not have been seen from the construction site or the surrounding houses.
'My truck is big, you know? Very wide. I say to Ram6n, look at this, this guy is taking up all of the street.'
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I said, 'Ramon is one of the guys who works for her.' 'Let her tell it, Cole.' Mrs. Luna continued.
'I have to stop because I cannot get around the van unless he move. Then I see the name, and it make me smile like I tell Mr. Cole. I tell my husband that night, I say, hey, I saw you today.'
Starkey said, 'When did this happen?'
'That would be three days. I see it three days ago.'
The day before Ben was stolen. Starkey took out her notebook.
Mrs. Luna described the van as white and dirty, but she couldn't recall anything else except that the name on its side was Emilio's Plumbing. As Starkey continued questioning her, I called Information on my cell phone and asked if they had a listing for Emilio's Plumbing. No such listing existed either in Los Angeles or in the Valley. I had them check the Santa Monica and Beverly Hills listings as well, under plumbing, plumbers, plumbing supplies, and plumbing contractors, but by then I didn't expect anything--these guys could have stolen the van in Arizona or painted the name themselves.
Mrs. Luna said, 'It say Emilio's. I am sure.'
Starkey said, 'So tell me about the two men. You came around the curve here and their van was blocking the road. Which way was it facing?'
'This way, facing me. I see in the windshield, you know? The black man was driving. The Anglo man was on the other side, standing there. They were talking through the window.'
Mrs. Luna stepped onto the shoulder and turned, showing us their positions.
'They look when they see us, you know? The black
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man, he have these things on his face. I think he sick. They look like sores.'
She touched her cheeks, and wrinkled her nose. 'He big, too. He a really big man.' Starkey said, 'Did he get out of the van?' 'No, he inside driving.'
'Then how do you know he was big?'
