Billy Straight

43

Stu let her comfort him, then, abrupt as a power failure, he broke the embrace. It was the first time they'd ever touched.

“Back to work,” he said.

Back at their desks, he told her, “I heard from one of my studio sources.”

Scott Wembley had called last night. He gave her the basics, leaving out the whining in the A.D.'s voice: “It's no big deal, Detective, but you said call for anything.”

“What do you have, Scott?”

“A few of us were sitting around schmoozing and Ramsey came up and someone said they thought his show sometimes shot in Griffith Park. Mountain areas, the horse trails- it's just across the freeway from Burbank.”

“Recent shoot?”

“I don't know. That's all I know.”

“Who brought it up?”

“Another A.D., and don't ask me where she heard it from, 'cause I didn't pump her- you said be subtle, right?”

“Did she know this for a fact, or was she guessing?”

“She said she thought so. Thought she'd heard it somewhere. It was like… casual talk. People giving their opinions.”

“What kinds of opinions?”

“One, really: Ramsey's the white man's answer to O.J.”

“Okay, Scott. Thanks.”

“Thank me by leaving me alone.”

Petra said, “So maybe Ramsey knows Griffith.”

“But then why wouldn't he pick a more secluded area of the park?”

“Because then he'd have to drag Lisa along on foot. Using the parking lot meant he could drive in, get out of the car, ostensibly to talk, then stab her by surprise.”

“You think he pla

“I think at some time during their time together he pla

“The perfect L.A. couple… good point. I like that.” He put his hands on the steering wheel. He'd shaved carelessly, missing a tiny waffle of blond hair below his right ear. “Be interesting to know if any Adjustor episodes match the murder.”

“Life imitating bad TV?” said Petra.

“These people have no imagination. Getting the actual scripts would take time, but I can scan a few years' worth of TV Guides, see what comes up in the plot summaries.”

“Fine,” said Petra. More busywork. He looked grateful to do it.

Fournier entered the squad room, picked up a stack of message slips, and came over. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” said Stu. Nothing on his face to indicate this wasn't just another day.

Fournier waved the stack. “Took the liberty of burglarizing your desktop, Barbie.”

“I'll pay you later,” she said. “Anything new?”

“Still nothing on the kid from shelters, do-gooders, or Juvey, but he didn't just blow into town. I've got one nice lead- Korean guy runs the Oki-Rama on Western, says the kid bought food from him once in a while over a three-, four-month period. Always at night, he noticed, because the kid looked young to be alone at that hour, never talked except to order, never made eye contact, real careful about counting his change, every pe

“There you go,” said Petra, thinking about the boy on his own for three months. Managing his finances. Where'd he get the money? Where did he come from? “Let's check the national runaway lines.”

“Already faxed the picture,” said Fournier. “They've got tons of files, it'll take time. Meanwhile, the Korean wants the reward.” He laughed. “Along with everyone else. Along with the greedy types are a few just plain wackos. I got an alleged clairvoyant from Chula Vista claiming some satanic cult murdered Lisa for her thymus gland. Seems there's a new rage for thymus glands among the horned crowd.”

“Lisa's thymus was intact at the time of autopsy,” said Petra.

“I told the lady she hadn't won the jackpot. Didn't know clairvoyants could cuss like that. One last thing: Schoelkopf blew in. They're leaning on him from the top, and we are instructed to inform him immediately about anything remotely resembling a lead. Do we have one?”

Stu told him the rumor about Ramsey's show filming in Griffith.

Fournier thought. “Nah, he can't take that to the press.”

“He actually made it to the squad room?” said Petra. “Among the great unwashed?”

“For a whole five minutes, Barb. Turn up the heat and the grease spatters.”

44

A witness.

How was it possible?

He'd awoken this morning feeling pretty good about things. Stretched, yawned, made coffee, poured some juice. Opened the paper.

And there it was.

His bowels started churning.

A kid?

The article said maybe he'd been there; the police were developing other leads.

Meaning the police didn't know a damn thing or they were double bluffing, trying to draw him out.

He didn't do well with uncertainty.

A kid? In the park at that hour?

Maybe it was a bogus clue, a plant to flush someone out.

No, not with a reward. If a false clue got some i

So probably a real lead… but how would anyone know about the kid if he hadn't come forward?

Unless… some sort of physical evidence… had he left something behind?

Fu

He allowed himself a moment of bliss: the look on Lisa's face. Even in the darkness, he'd seen it. Or maybe he'd just imagined it.

He'd convinced himself that he'd imagined the scraping. Had stopped, stood still, heard nothing, returned his attention to Lisa.

So nice and inert.

He had blood on his shirt but was careful to keep his shoes clean, because shoe prints could cause problems. Asphalt was good for that, too. Stay off the dirt. Before returning to the car, he took the shoes off.

So careful, and yet… a kid up there that late… it made no sense. He stared at the picture again. White, looked to be eleven or twelve. Could be any of a thousand kids. If he existed.

Even if they found him, what could he have seen in the darkness?

No way his face had been visible in the darkness.

Right?

What about the car? A flash of license plate… there were some lights on the edge of the lot. Had he passed under them?

He hadn't worried about it, had assumed no one was there.

If the kid did exist, why hadn't he come forward? So maybe it was bogus…

On the other hand, this could be a problem. Not a huge one- certainly nothing compared to Estrella, the evil-eyed bitch.

Throwaway people; L.A. was full of them.

A kid… consciously, he didn't feel worried, but, Christ, his heart was hammering away like a bastard!

He ripped the page out of the paper, squeezed it into a tight sweaty ball. Thought better of it and unfolded the picture. Tried to drink coffee, but it wouldn't go down.

Tried to cheer himself up by thinking of Lisa on the ground.

True love never dies, but she had.

So easily.

The best part had been her surprise.

Bygones be bygones, let's hug. Then wham!

Something quite different from a hug.

“Quite different,” he said aloud, in a cultured British accent. David Niven voice- one of a thousand parts he'd never gotten to play.

No one appreciated his talent.