Milo took Channel Road down toward the coastline.“There’s time till the class at the PlayHouse. How about we grab a couple ofbeers at a place I know.”
“Coronas?”
“Good brand.”
“As long as Brad Dowd’s not offering.”
“Never fraternize with the citizenry. What’d you think of our grown-upsurfer dude?”
“You saw the knots, too.”
“And the board.”
“He’s the family guardian1, takes well to the job.”
He reached PCH, stopped at the long red light that can keep you there forwhat seems to be hours. The ocean’s always changing. Tonight the water was flatand gray and infinite. Slow, easy tide, steady and metallic2 as a drum machine.
“Maybe I’m making too big a deal out of this, Alex, but Brad’s parting wordsseemed off: asking me to keep both Nora and Billy out of the investigation3.We’d been focused on Nora, why bring in Billy?”
“Could be force of habit,” I said. “He lumps the two of them togetherbecause they both need protection.”
“Maybe that’s it.”
“Billy interests you?”
“Adult male with immature4 social skills who needs to be supervisedcovertly?” As we waited, he ran a DMV check on William Dowd III, hung up beforethe light changed. “Wanna guess how many vehicles are registered to Billy?”
“None.”
“And just like Peaty, never had a license5.”
“Tagging along with Brother Brad,” I said. “When Brad drops in at thePlayHouse, Billy’s right there with him. All those good-lookingstarlets-in-training.”
“Getting an eyeful of girls like Michaela and Tori Giacomo, could beoverstimulating.”
“Billy seemed gentle,” I said. “But crank up the id and who knows?”
“What if the real reason Brad didn’t want to talk to us in front of Billywas because he was afraid Billy would give something away? And here’s somethingelse: Billy lives in an apartment in Beverly Hills. Reeves Drive, just off Olympic.”
“Couple of miles from Michaela’s place.”
“A guy with no wheels could walk it.”
“Same problem as Peaty,” I said. “How to transport a body. And I don’t seeBilly getting away with an unregistered ride. Not with Brad that protective.”
That turned him silent until we reached Santa Monica’s gold coast. Beachsidemansions, once private enclaves, were now exposed to the clamor and the realityof the public sand that fronted them. The clapboard monster William Hearst hadbuilt for Marion Davies was ready to crumble7 after years of Santa Monica city council dithering. A momentlater, the exoskeleton of the pier8 came into view, lit up like Christmas. TheFerris wheel rotated, slow as bureaucracy.
Milo drove the ramp9 up to Ocean Front, continued onto Pacific Avenue, crossed into Venice. “So now I’ve gottwo strange guys with access to the PlayHouse.”
I thought about that. “Billy stopped living with Brad two years ago, rightbefore Tori’s disappearance10.”
“Why would Brad get Billy out of his house at this point in their lives?These guys are middle-aged11, all of a sudden it’s time for a change?”
“Brad wanted to keep his distance from Billy? But if he suspected something,he’d tighten12 the leash13.”
“So what’s the answer?”
“Don’t know.”
“For all we know,” he said, “Brad did try to clamp down and Billy’s a lotmore difficult than he seems. Hell, maybe Billy insisted on breaking away. Bradpays some nice lady to ‘look after him,’ because he knows Billy bears watching.Meanwhile, if something does happen, he’s across town in Santa Monica Canyon14.”
“Less liability,” I said.
“He thinks in those terms—foundations, tax breaks, keeping things organized.That rung of the social ladder, it’s a whole different world.”
He looked at his watch. “Let’s see how Nora reacts when I push her a bit.How long it takes for her to cry to Brother Brad.”
Over the years I’ve accompanied Milo tolots of taverns15 and beer joints16 and cocktail17 lounges. A couple of gay bars aswell. It’s an illuminating18 experience watching him function in that sphere.
This was a new dive, a narrow, dark tunnel of a place called Jody Z’s, atthe southern edge of Pacific, just above the Marina. Arena19 rock on the jukebox, silentfootball rerun on TV, tired men at the urethane bar, rough paneling andfishnets and glass globes.
Plastic sawdust on the floor. What was the point of that?
A short drive to Robin’s house on Rennie. In another time and place, Milo might have mentioned that. The set of his jaw20 saidthe only things on his mind were the murders of two young women.
Once we’d finished a couple of beers and rehashed what we knew, there waslittle to talk about and he started to blend in with the dispirited clientele.
Phoning Michaela’s landlord in La Jolla, heconfirmed the appointment tomorrow morning. Ground his teeth. “Bastard’s doingme a big, freaking favor.”
He looked over at the blackboard. Three specials, including the promise offresh clam6 chowder. He chanced it.
“Not too bad,” he said, spooning.
“‘Not too bad’ and ‘seafood’ shouldn’t be uttered in the same sentence,” Isaid.
“If I die, you get the first eulogy21. I wonder if Nora really gave in whenBrad asked her to cool it with Meserve. Brad did raise one good point:Meserve’s nowhere to be found.”
“He seemed eager to steer22 you to Meserve as a suspect,” I said. “That’s inhis best interest if he’s covering for Billy, but it doesn’t mean he’s wrong.Michaela told me she hated Meserve and Mrs. Winograd heard them fighting morethan once.”
“Any theory about Dylan’s motive23? For Michaela and Tori.”
“Maybe he’s just a bad guy who picks off girls at acting24 class. He playeddeath games with Michaela up in Latigo and if Michaela was being at alltruthful, he planned a calculated hoax25. Toss in Brad’s suspicions about golddigging and it doesn’t add up to a character reference.”
“Michaela tell you why she went from being naked in the hills with him toseeing him as the enemy?”
“At the time, I assumed she was dumping the blame on him as trial strategy.”
“Lawyer games.”
“Guess who her lawyer was. Lauritz Montez.”
“That guy from the Malley case? Thought you two had friction26.”
“We did but I’m the biggest, baddest, smartest shrink in the whole wildworld. Gee27 willikers.”
“He schmeared you and you bought it?”
“The case interested me.”
“That’s a good reason.”
“As good as any.”
“Mind talking to Montez again, see if Michaela had more to say about herpartner in crime?”
“Don’t mind at all,” I said. I’d been thinking of doing it, anyway.
He pushed aside a half bowl of chowder. Waved for another beer, then alteredit to a Coke.
The sixty-five-year-old barmaid laughed. “When did you ever haveself-control?”
Milo said, “Don’t be cruel,” and shelaughed some more and left.
I realized all the patrons were men. Wondered about that as Milo ticked an index finger. “Meserve, Peaty, BrotherBilly. Investigation 101 teaches you to narrow the suspect pool. I seem to bedoing just the opposite.”
“The search for truth,” I said.
“Ah, the agony.”
收听单词发音 |
1
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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immature
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| adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的 | |
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license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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clam
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| n.蛤，蛤肉 | |
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crumble
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| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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ramp
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| n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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leash
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| n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住 | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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taverns
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| n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 ) | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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cocktail
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| n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物 | |
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illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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