Billy Straight

She was ready to leave at seven when the phone blared again.

A young woman said, “Hold please for Lawrence Schick.” Ten seconds of bad music, then a sleepy male voice said, “To which detective do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

“Detective Co

“Evening, Detective Co

Meaningful pause. She was supposed to know who he was. And she did. Six-hundred-bucks-an-hour lawyer, criminal defense, mostly celebrity drunk drivers, actors' kids playing with guns, other delicate felonies. She'd seen him doing sound bites but had never met him. Her typical perp couldn't even afford a Western Avenue hack.

“Evening, Mr. Schick.”

“How're things on the Ramsey case?”

Finally, the wall goes up. “Are you asking as a concerned citizen, sir?”

Schick laughed. “I'm always concerned, but, no, Detective Co

Offices, plural. Look, Ma, I'm important!

“Communications,” said Petra.

“Anything pertaining to the case,” said Schick.

“Are you saying we can't talk to Mr. Ramsey without clearing it with you first, Mr. Schick?”

“At this point in time,” said the lawyer, “that would be advisable, Detective. Good night.”

“Same to you,” Petra said to a dead phone. Yesterday, she'd chatted with Ramsey in the kitchen. Now this. From Ramsey's point of view, two things had transpired: the reinterview and the talk with Balch. Had she raised something with either of them that worried him?

Grabbing her notepad, she reviewed her notes. The talk with Ramsey had covered nothing earth-shattering… he had mentioned being a suspect- scratch that. One new topic: Estrella Flores.

She flipped to the Balch interview. His and Ramsey's Hollywood “discovery,” Lisa's temperament, the DV episode. Estrella Flores.

Was the maid the hot button?

What had Flores seen that night?

Or did it have something to do with the boy in the paper? Ramsey thinking he'd pulled off the perfect crime, only to encounter every bad guy's worst nightmare- a mystery witness.

She would have loved to stare into those baby blues right now, probing for fear.

So, of course, she couldn't.

But no one, not even an overpaid B.H. lawyer, could stop her from just happening to be in Ramsey's neighborhood and dropping in.

Stopping for a roast beef sandwich at an Arby's on Sunset, she ate in the car, chewing on meat and suspicion, watching night creatures emerge from the dark, knowing years ago she'd have been scared to get this close. At 7:40 she set out for Calabasas. Post-rush hour, she sailed, arriving at the RanchHaven guardhouse by 8:33.

The guard on duty was a young man, weak-chi

He came out, looked at her, opened the gate. She drove up to him.

“How's it going?” No ma'am. Easy tone coming into play because she was driving a Honda, not a Porsche, not one of the locals.

Petra showed him her badge.

“Oh,” he said, stepping back and hitching his trousers. “It's about time, Detective.”

“For what?”

“I was on shift the night Lisa Ramsey was killed. Kept wondering when you were go

Petra's turn to smile. “Well, here I am, Officer Simkins.”

She parked, got out, entered the guardhouse without asking permission. He followed. The booth was a glass closet, barely enough room for both of them. Simkins leaned against a counter, looking her up and down, no shame.

Not much inside: small cabinet for supplies, a single wheeled chair that Simkins offered her. She stayed on her feet.

She extricated her pad while checking out the security hardware. Multiline telephone, two-way radio setup, handheld walkie-talkie. Two closed-circuit TV screens suspended above the counter, one highlighting the mouth of the main road, the other so dark she could barely tell it was switched on. Next to the phone, a greasy paper bag and a copy of Rolling Stone. Some rock star instant-emperor on the cover, pierced eyebrows, a silver stud through the tongue.

Simkins said, “So what can I do for a fellow officer?”

Petra dredged up another smile. “So you were on all that night, Officer Simkins?”

“Doug. Yes, I was. It was real quiet, but I don't know, I had a feeling, like it was too quiet. Like something could happen.”

“Did anything happen?”

Simkins shook his head. “But you know, I just felt it was a weird night. Then the next morning when I heard what happened I said, Oh man. Like one of them psychic things.”

Lord, deliver me from dunderheads. “This place seems like it must be pretty quiet in general.”

“You'd be surprised,” he said, suddenly defensive. “You get stuff. Like fires. With fires, we call a first-stage alert.”

“Which is?”

“Letting people know we might have to evacuate.”

“Scary,” said Petra.

“That's why we're here.” Touching his own badge. Stainless replica of LAPD's- could the department sue?

“So, Doug, what time were you on duty that night?”

“Seven to three's my regular shift, then the morning guy called in sick, so I did double duty.”

“Till when?”

“Eleven, when day watch starts.”

“Day watch being Officer… Dilbeck.” Retrieving the old guard's name from her memory banks.

“Yeah, Oliver,” said Simkins, frowning. Probably miffed that Dilbeck had already been interviewed.

Petra said, “Did anyone from the Ramsey house come in or out during that time?”

“He did. Mr. Ramsey. He and his friend, a blond guy I always see him with. They came in that night.”

“What time?”

“Nine or so.”

Or so. They didn't log entries and exits?

“Do you have a written record of that?”

“No, we don't hassle with that.” Defensive again.

“Who drove, Doug?”

“The friend.”

“Did either Mr. Ramsey or his friend go out again that night?”

“Nope,” said Simkins decisively, smugly. Delivering the punch line: “No one from the entire development left after that, though a few more people came home. Like I said, it was a quiet night.”

“What about Mr. Ramsey's maid?”

“Nope. Never left. It's real quiet around here. Too quiet. I like action.”

Petra suppressed laughter. “Know what you mean, Doug. Anything else you can tell me about the Ramseys?”

“Well,” Simkins said, pondering, “I've only been working here three weeks, just see him going in and out. Same for that friend of his. You think he did it?”

“Don't think much of anything yet, Doug.” Three weeks on duty. He'd never known Lisa. Even with a brain, the guy would've been useless to her. “Is Mr. Ramsey home right now?”

“Hasn't come in or out on my shift.”

“Are there any other ways in and out of RanchHaven?”

“Nope.”

“What about that second screen there?”

Simkins's eyes flashed to the console. “Oh, that. That's just a fire road, way back at the rear of the property, but no one uses it. Even when we were on evac alert, the plan was to get everyone out through the front.”

“The screen looks pretty dark.”

“It's dark back there.”

Petra bent close to the monitor. “No officer there?”

“Nope, just one of them card-key doohickeys. The residents get issued cards. But no one uses it, no reason to.”

“I'd like to go over there myself, Doug. Just to take a look.”