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"Namely you?"
"Well, yes, me," I said. "Donovan could have mentioned it. Same with Max Outhwaite. The name pops up again years later-why didn't he tell someone?"
"Maybe Katzenbach never told him there was a letter and that Outhwaite was the name of the sender."
"Oh. I see what you're saying. I guess it's possible," I said. "It still a
"Forget it. There's no way."
"What makes you say that? It has to be around here somewhere. Someone typed both those letters on the same machine."
"So what? If I were writing poison-pen notes, I'd hardly sit at my desk and use my own IBM. I'm too paranoid for that. I'd use one of the rental typewriters at the public library. Or maybe find a place selling typewriters and use one of theirs."
"This machine isn't new. The typeface has an old-fashioned look to it and a lot of the letters are clogged. It's probably got a fabric ribbon instead of carbon film."
"Those typewriters at the library aren't exactly hot off the assembly line."
"Pick me up some samples and we'll do a comparison. There are a couple of typeface defects that should help us pin it down. I'm sure a document expert could find others. I've only eyeballed it."
"The clogged letters don't mean much. Go after 'em with cleaning fluid and poof, those are gone."
"Sure, but don't you think the majority of people who write anonymous letters assume they're safe from discovery?"
"They might assume they're safe, but they're not," Dietz said. "The FBI maintains extensive files of anonymous letters. Plus, they have samples of type from most known machines. Post Office does, too, and so does the Treasury Department. They can determine the make and model of almost any machine. That's how they nail cranks, especially people who send threatening letters to public officials. The only way to play it safe is to dismantle the machine."
"Yeah, but who's going to trash a typewriter? If you thought you were safe enough to use your own machine, you wouldn't turn around and toss it in the garbage afterward. And in this case, why bother? Those letters were a nuisance, but hardly actionable."
Dietz smiled. "What, you picture it sitting out on someone's desk?"
"Maybe. It's possible."
"Keep an eye out."
"I know you're just saying that to humor me," I said.
"What else did Donovan have to say about the Maddisons?"
"Not much. He claims they're all gone, but I don't think we should take his word for it."
"It's worth pursuing," Dietz said. "As stories go, it's not bad."
"What do you mean, 'it's not bad'? I think it's fabulous. I mean, talk about a motive for murder. It's the best lead we've had-"
"The only lead," he pointed out.
I ignored the obvious. "On top of that, we have Outhwaite, who seems to tie right back to them:"
"Shouldn't be too hard to track down the name Maddison with two d's. Even if they're not local, they had to come from somewhere."
"Donovan says the father died around Thanksgiving of 1967 and Patty followed, probably in May or June of 1968. The mother died five years later, but that's as much as I know. You may not find Claire at all. He says she moved back to the East Coast and married. He does remember reading about her death in the local paper, so there must have been a notice in the Dispatch. Maybe she kept her maiden name?"
"I'll get on it first thing."
"You will? I can't believe you're volunteering. I thought you hated doing this stuff."
"Good practice. It's nice to keep a hand in. This way I know I haven't lost my touch," he said. "We might try the newspaper morgue if we can get Katzenbach's cooperation. They might have old clips on the Maddisons along with the obits."
"That's a sexy suggestion."
"I'm a sexy guy," he said.
When we got home, I changed into my sweats in preparation for jogging. I had slept through my usual six A.m. run and I was feeling the effects. I left Dietz in the living room with his leg propped up, icing his bum knee while he flipped from cha
There was scarcely any breeze coming off the ocean. The late-afternoon sun had begun to fade, but the daylong baked beach was still throwing off heat saturated by the smell of kelp and brine. The fronds of the palm trees looked like construction paper cutouts, flat dark shapes against the flat blue sky. I lengthened my stride, ru
Dietz and I had di
"What are you thinking? You look odd," he said.
"Nothing. Retirement."
"I'd rather eat my gun."
At bedtime, Dietz offered to hobble up the spiral stairs. "My knee's killing me again so I'm probably not much good except for company," he said.
"You're better off downstairs. My bed's not big enough, especially with that knee of yours. I'd just lie there worrying I'd bump you wrong."
I left him below opening up the sofa bed while I ambled up the stairs, talking to him over the rail.
"Last chance," he said, smiling up at me.
"I'm not sure it's smart getting used to you."
"You should take advantage while you can."
I paused, looking down. "That's the difference between us in a nutshell, Dietz."
"Because I live in the moment?"
"Because for you that's enough."
First thing Friday morning, Dietz took his car and headed over to the Santa Teresa Dispatch offices while I drove to Paul Trasatti's house. Hopper Road was located midway between the Maleks' and the country club. The neighborhood was small, the street lined with elm trees and dappled with shade. The house was built in the style of an English country cottage, the sort you'd see pictured on a deck of playing cards; gray stone with a thatched roof that undulated like an ocean wave where the gables appeared. The windows were small paned, leaded glass, the wood trim and the shutters painted white. Two narrow stone chimneys bracketed the house like a pair of matching bookends. The yard was enclosed with a white picket fence, pink and red hollyhocks planted along the front. The small yard was immaculate, thick grass bordered in dark ivy with small flowerbeds along the brick walk leading to the door. Birds twittered in the young oak growing at the corner of the property.