Starkey wasn't exactly in his top ten 'Must Do' list, but she wasn't a hog. He once asked if she wanted to go for a ride in his Porsche, but Starkey said only if she could drive. Like that would ever happen.
John was having second thoughts. Maybe letting her drive wouldn't be so bad.
Chen was giving it serious consideration when
Starkey shouted for him to haul his ass up right away. 'Hurry,' she shouted. 'C'mon, John, get up here!' Bitch. Always in the driver's seat.
When Chen reached them, he found Starkey and Cole hovering over a clump of weeds like a couple of kids over buried treasure. A short squat Latina who had to be pushing retirement was with them. Chen immediately dismissed her. Hog.
'What are you screaming about? I got a lot to do.'
I93
Starkey said, 'Stop with the tone and look at this.' Cole squatted to show him something in the weeds. 'Starkey found a cigar wrapper. We think it's his.' Chen took off his glasses for a closer inspection. Humiliating, but necessary: Chen looked like a world class geek with his nose only inches from the ground, but he wanted to see the wrapper clearly. It appeared to have been folded twice, and still contained a red and gold cigar band. The plastic evidenced slight weathering, but the band had not yet lost its brilliance, indicating that it had been here no more than a few days; red dyes faded fast. The plastic appeared to be smudged under a light layer of dust. As Chen considered the smudges, Starkey related that Mrs. Luna had seen the suspect manipulate a cigar, though she had not seen him remove the wrapper or toss it away. Chen pretended to listen, but mostly he fumed at how Starkey kept smiling at Cole and punching him on the shoulder. Chen grumbled in his best sullen voice. 'Okay, I'll log it. Lemme get the kit.' 'Log it, yeah, but we're bringing this straight to Glendale. I want you to check it for prints.' Chen wondered if she was drinking again. 'Now?' 'Yeah, right now.' 'Bronstein's on her way.' 'I don't want to wait for fuckin' Bronstein. We've got something here, John. Let's run it to Glendale and fish for a hit I' Chen glanced at Cole for help, but Cole had the frayed eyes of a psychokiller. Maybe both of them were drunk. 'You know we can't leave the scene. C'mon, I94
Starkey--if we leave, we break the chain of custody with all the evidence down below. It won't be good in court.' 'I'll take that chance.' 'It's not worth taking. I mean, if she saw the guy drop a wrapper that might be one thing, but we don't even know this is his. It could belong to anyone.' Starkey pulled Chen aside so that Mrs. Luna couldn't hear. Cole tagged along like Starkey's lapdog. They were probably already doing each other. Starkey lowered her voice. 'We won't know that until we run the prints.' 'We might not find prints. All I see are smudges. Smudges aren't the same as prints.' Chen hated that he sounded so whiny, but she wouldn't let it go. Leaving the scene unattended was a direct violation of SID and LAPD policy. She said, 'Nothing down that hill even comes close to this. It might not be his, John; maybe it isn't. But even if all you find is a few prints, we might be able to name him, and that puts us closer to finding the boy.' 'It puts me closer to getting fired, is what it does.' Chen was worried. Starkey had done her damnedest to destroy herself and her career after she was blown up in the trailer park; she had been dumped by the Bomb Squad and then by CCS, so now she was stuck in a dead-end Juvenile desk. Maybe she was trying to kill herself again. Maybe she wanted to be fired. Chen edged closer to sniff her breath. Starkey pushed him back. 'Goddamnit, I'm not drinking.' Cole said, 'John.' Chen scowled--here it came: Cole would probably threaten to kick his ass, him and his partner, Pike. Chen was certain that Cole was fucking her. Pike was probably fucking her, too. Chen said, 'I'm not doing it.'
Cole said, 'If the wrapper helps us, we'll tell them that you found it.'
Starkey glanced at Cole, then nodded.
'Sure, if John wants the credit, it's his. This could be the breakthrough moment, man; guaranteed face-time on the evening news.'
Chen thought about it. He had done pretty well with tips from Pike and Cole in the past. He had gotten a promotion and the 'tangmobile out of it, and had almost gotten laid. Almost. Chen glanced at Mrs. Luna to see if she could hear any of this, but she was safely away.
He said, 'You cool with losing the evidence down below?'
Starkey's pager buzzed, but she ignored it.
'All I care about is finding this boy. Nothing down there matters if it helps us too late.'
Cole stared at her for the longest time, then turned back to Chen.
He said, 'Help us, John.'
Chen thought it through: Yeah, it was a long shot, but nothing under the oak tree would or could give them an immediate ID on the perp, and this might. The odds weren't likely, but hope lived in possibilities. John, for instance, hoped to make the evening news. Helping to find the kid wouldn't be so bad, either.
Starkey's pager buzzed again. She turned it off. Chen made up his mind. 'I'll get my stuff.'
Starkey smiled wider than Chen had ever seen, then put her hand on Cole's shoulder. She left it. Chen hurried down the hill for his evidence kit, thinking that if Starkey drooled on Cole any more, she'd drown him with spit.
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CHAPTER 15
Witness to an Incident
When they brought Ben inside after they caught him on the side of the house the night before, Mike took a cell phone from a green duffel bag, then went into another part of the house. Eric and Mazi made Ben sit on the floor in the living room. When Mike came back, he held the phone a few inches from Ben's mouth. Ben sensed that someone was probably on the other end of the line, listening.
Mike said, 'Say your name and address.' Ben shouted as loud as he could. 'HELP! HELP ME--!'
Eric clamped a hand over his mouth. Ben was terrified that they would hurt him because he had called for help,
but Mike only turned off the phone and laughed.
'Man, that was perfect.'
