Milo toed the curb1 and watched as theCorvette sped off.
I said, “You wanted Brad to take Peaty more seriously.”
He reached behind and slapped his rear. “C.Y.A. time. If it turns outsomething bad happened to Nora, he’ll be looking for someone to blame.”
“You didn’t tell him Nora left Friday night.”
“There are limits to my honesty. First of all, Beamish never saw who was inthe car. Second, there’s no law keeping her inside her house. She coulda beengoing out for drinks. Or she did have travel plans. Or she got abducted3 byaliens.”
“If Meserve snatched her, why would he leave his wheels at her school andbroadcast the fact? And if the snow globe’s some kind of trophy4, he’d take itwith him.”
“If?” he said. “What else could it be?”
“Maybe a defiant5 message to Brad from Dylan and Nora: ‘We’re stilltogether.’ That also fits with planting the Toyota in one of Brother’s Treasured Spaces.Is there some reason you don’t trust Brad?”
“Because I didn’t tell him everything? No, I just don’t know enough to besharing. Why, does he bug7 you?”
“No, but I think his value as a source of data is limited. He clearlyoverestimates his authority with Nora.”
“Not so take-charge sib.”
“He assumed the caretaker role because Billy and Nora aren’t competent. Thatallowed them to remain adult children. Nora’s more of a perpetualadolescent—self-centered, casually9 sexual, smokes up. And what do rebelliousteens do when they’re cornered? They resist passively or fight back. When Bradinsisted she break off with Meserve, Nora chose passive.”
“Tooling off in her Range Rover and leaving lover boy’s heap behind so theycan travel in style? Yeah, could be. So what do we have, just a road trip?Bonnie and Clyde in fancy wheels cutting townbecause they’ve been doing bad things.”
“Don’t know,” I said. “People who attend Nora’s school keep disappearing,but now that we know Peaty’s got wheels he’s got to remain center focus.”
“A van. Your basic psycho meat wagon10. And soon he’s gonna be unemployed11. IfSean’s yanked off surveillance and that bastard12 sneaks13 away, I’m further backthan when I started.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I screwed up by telling Brad aboutPeaty’s van.”
“Peaty cleans lots of buildings,” I said. “It was the right thing to do,morally.”
“Weren’t you listening? I was covering my own ass8.”
“Sorry, can’t hear you.”
While we waited for the LAPD tow truck to arrive, Milotried phoning Binchy. Again no connection. He said something about the“high-tech big lie” and paced up and down the block.
The truck appeared, moving slowly as the driver searched for the address. Milo’s wave went unheeded. Finally, the rig pulled up anda sleepy-looking driver around nineteen got out.
“In there, the Toyota,” Milotold him. “Consider it a crime scene and take it directly to the forensicsgarage.”
The driver rubbed his eyes and shuffled14 paper. “Them wasn’t my orders.”
“Them is now.” Milo handed him gloves. Thedriver slipped them on and slouched toward the little car’s driver’s door.
Milo said, “There’s a snow globe on theseat. It’s evidence.”
“A wha?”
“One of those doohickeys that snows when you turn it upside down.”
The driver looked baffled. Opened the door and drew out the globe. Upendingthe toy, he watched plastic flakes15 flutter. Peered at the writing at the baseand wrinkled his brow.
Milo gloved up, snatched it away, anddropped it in an evidence bag. His face was flushed.
The driver said, “I’m supposed to take that in?”
“No, Professor, I keep it.”
“Snow,” said the driver. “Hollywoodand Vine? Never seen no snow there.”
As I drove back to the station, Milo said,“Do me a favor and contact that lawyer—Montez—soon as you can. Find out ifMichaela told him anything about Meserve and Nora that she didn’t tell you. Anyidea who Meserve’s P.D. was?”
“Marjani Coolidge.”
“Don’t know her.”
“Me neither, but I can try.”
“Try is great.”
The second call to Binchy connected. Milotold him, “Check out your phone, Sean. You still on him? Nah, don’t worry aboutit, he’s probably working. I’ll figure something out for nights. What you cando for me is start calling health spas from Santa Barbara County down tomid-Baja and see if Nora Dowd or Dylan Meserve have checked in…spas—like inmassages and health food. What?…no, it’s fine, Sean.”
He jammed the phone in his pocket.
“Stuck on robbery detail?” I said.
“Seems to be.” He beat a fast cha-cha rhythm on the dashboard. I could feelthe vibrations17 through the steering18 wheel.
“Better get over to Peaty’s place myself tonight. The unregistered van’sgrounds to arrest him. Maybe we can chat in his apartment so I get a look atthe dump. Meanwhile, I make those spa calls myself—hello, ear cancer.”
“I can do that. Leave the big-strong-guy detective work to you.”
“Such as?”
“Finding out if Nora used her passport. Is it really tougher postNine-Eleven? I’d think there’d be more interagency communication.”
“What a sage,” he said. “Yeah, I fibbed to Bradley, figuring he’d bemotivated to get into Nora’s house, let me know if anything’s off. Technically,nothing’s changed, you still need a search warrant to access passenger lists.And the airlines, being busy figuring out ways to torment19 their passengers,still take their sweet time complying. But there is more buddy-buddy stuff.Remember that granny shooting I closed last year?”
“Sweet old lady subbing for her son at the liquor store.”
“Alma Napier. Eighty-two years old, perfect health, some meth addleddungball unloads a shotgun on her. The search of said dungball’s dump turns upa carton of video cameras from Indonesiahollowed out inside with pistol-shaped compartments20. I thought the Federal AirMarshals might want to hear about that, got to know one of the supervisorsthere.”
He retrieved21 the phone, asked for Commander Budowski.
“Bud? Milo Sturgis…fine. You? Terrific.Listen, I need a favor.”
Fifteen minutes after we got to his office, a civilian22 clerk brought in thefax. We’d split the task of locating and phoning spas, were coming up empty.
Milo read Budowski’s report, handed it tome, got back on the phone.
Nora Dowd hadn’t used her passport for foreign travel since the previousApril. Three-week trip to France,just as Brad had said.
Dylan Meserve had never applied23 for a passport.
Neither Nora nor Dylan’s name appeared on any domestic flights out of LAX, Long Beach, Burbank, JohnWayne, Lindbergh, or Santa Barbara.
Budowski had left a handwritten note at the bottom. If Nora had sprung for aprivate jet, that fact might never emerge. Some air-charter companies were lessthan meticulous24 checking I.D.s.
Milo said, “There’s everyone. Then there’sthe rich.”
He made a few more calls to resorts, broke for coffee at two p.m. Instead ofcontinuing, he leafed through his notepad, found a number, and phoned.
“Mrs. Stadlbraun? Detective Sturgis, I was by last week to talk about…he is?How so? I see. No, that’s not very polite…yes, it is. Has there been anythingbeyond that…no, there’s nothing new but I was figuring to stop by and talk tohim. If you could call me when he gets in, I’d appreciate it. Still have mycard? I’ll hold…yes, that’s perfect, ma’am, either of those numbers. Thanks…no,ma’am, there’s nothing to worry about, just routine follow-up.”
He clicked off, rotated the phone receiver, twisting the cord and letting itrecoil.
“Ol’ Ertha says Peaty’s been acting25 ‘even weirder26.’ He used to just keep hishead down, pretended not to hear. Now he looks her in the eye with what sheclaims is ‘nastiness.’ What do you make of that?”
“Maybe he spotted27 Sean watching him and is getting nervous,” I said.
“I suppose, but one thing Sean’s an ace6 at is not getting made.” He wheeledhis chair the few inches the cramped28 space permitted. “Would ‘nervous’ makePeaty more dangerous?”
“It could.”
“Think I should caution Stadlbraun?”
“I don’t know what you could say that wouldn’t cause panic. No doubt Bradwill evict29 Peaty in addition to firing him.”
“So we’ve got ourselves a homeless, jobless, angry guy with illegal wheels.Time to grovel30 and ask the captain for help with surveillance.”
He disappeared, came back, shaking his head. “At a meeting downtown.”
I was on the line with the Wellness Inn of Big Sur, enduring a voice mailmessage about seaweed wrap and Ayurvedic massage16 and waiting for a human voice.
By three thirty, we were both finished. Nora Dowd hadn’t checked into anyposh retreat we could find under her name or Dylan Meserve’s.
I tried Lauritz Montez at the Beverly Hills Public Defender’s office.
In court, expected back in half an hour.
Too much sitting around. I got up and told Milowhere I was going. His reply was a finger wave. I didn’t bother to reciprocate31.
--- oOo ---
I reached the Beverly Hillscourt building by five to four. Closing time for most sessions. The hallwayswere filled with attorneys, cops, defendants32, and witnesses.
Montez was in the middle of it, pushing a black leather case on wheels. Thinand sallow as ever, gray hair drawn33 back in a ponytail. Giant drooping34 mustacheand wispy35 chin-beard whitening around the edges. The lenses of his glasses werehexagonal and cobalt blue.
Walking alongside him was a pallid36 young woman in a filmy pink granny dress.Long black hair, beautiful face, old woman’s stoop. She kept talking to Montez.If he cared about what she had to say, he wasn’t showing it.
I blended with the crowd, managed to get behind the two of them.
Every time I’d seen Montez he’d gone for foppery. Today’s costume was afitted, black velvet37 suit with an Edwardian cut, wide, peaked lapels trimmedwith satin. The pink of his shirt brought painful memories of childhoodsunburns. His peacock-blue bowtie was glossy38 silk.
The pallid girl said something that made him stop. The two of them veered39 tothe right and stepped behind an open courtroom door. I edged closer to theother side and pretended to study a wall directory. The crowd had thinned, andI could make out their conversation through the jamb.
“What the continuance means, Jessica, is I bought some time for you to getclean and stay clean. You can also find yourself a job and try to con2 the judgeinto thinking you want to be a solid citizen.”
“What kinda job?”
“Anything, Jessica. Flip40 burgers at McDonalds.”
“What about Johnny Rockets? It’s, like, close by.”
“If you can get a job at Johnny Rockets, that would be great.”
“I never flipped41 burgers.”
“What have you done?”
“I danced.”
“Ballet?”
“Topless.”
“I’m sure you were great on the pole, Jessica, but that’s not going to helpyou.”
He walked away. The girl didn’t.
I moved from behind the door and said, “Afternoon.”
Montez turned. The girl had her back to the wall, as if pressed there by anunseen hand. “Go look for a job, Jessica.”
She flinched42 and left.
I said, “Did Michaela say anything about Dylan and Nora Dowd having arelationship?”
“You stalking me, Doc? Or is this happy coincidence?”
“We need to talk—”
“I need to go home and forget about work. That includes you.” He took holdof his luggage rack.
“Meserve’s missing,” I said. “Given the fact that your client was murderedlast week, you might reconsider being a glib43 wiseass.”
His jaw44 tightened45. “It sucks, okay? Now leave me alone.”
“Meserve could be in danger or he could be a bad guy. Did Michaela tell youanything that would clarify the situation?”
“She blamed him for the hoax46.”
I waited.
“Yeah, he was fucking Dowd. Okay?”
“How’d Michaela feel about that?”
“She thought Meserve had lost it,” said Montez. “Going for a senior citizen.I believe her precise phrase was ‘tired meat.’”
“Jealous?”
“No, she had no feelings for Meserve, just thought it was gross.”
“Was there any indication Nora was in on the hoax?”
“Michaela never said so but I wondered. Because she was fucking Meserve andhe didn’t get kicked out of her school. You think he killed Michaela?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Would you look at that,” he said. “Finally I get a shrink to be direct.”
“Is Marjani Coolidge back from her trip to Africa?”
“She’s right there.” Pointing down the hall to a short, thin black woman ina powder-blue suit. Two tall, gray-haired men were listening to what she had tosay.
“Thanks.” I turned to leave.
Montez said, “Just to show you I’m not the asshole you think I am, here’sanother tidbit: Dowd called me right after I got the case. Offered to pay anybills the county wasn’t covering. I told her the county could handle it, askedher why the generosity47. She said Meserve was a gifted artist, she wanted tohelp him and if that meant clearing Michaela, she’d do it. I could smell thehormones through the phone. She good-looking?”
“Not bad.”
“For her age?”
“Something like that,” I said.
He laughed and wheeled his cart away and I walked toward Marjani Coolidge.The two men had left and she was examining the contents of her ownlawyer-luggage. Double-case, scuffed48 brown leather, stuffed so tight thestitching was unraveling.
I introduced myself, told her about Michaela’s murder.
She said, “I heard about that, the poor kid,” then interrogated49 me about myassociation with LAPD. Appraising50 my words and my body language with huge browneyes. Her hair was elaborately braided, her skin smooth and taut51.
I said, “Did Meserve tell you anything that could shed light on the murder?”
“You’re serious.”
“Something non incriminating,” I said. “Anything that could help locatehim.”
“Is he a suspect?”
“He could turn out to be a victim.”
“Of the same person who killed Brand?”
“Maybe.”
She smoothed her skirt. “Non incriminating. Last I heard that animal wasextinct.”
“How about this,” I said. “Without divulging52 content, can you tell me ifMeserve’s someone to be scared of?”
“Was I scared of him? Not in the least. Not the brightest star in theconstellation but he did what he was told. That girlfriend of his, on the otherhand…”
“Which girlfriend is that?”
“The acting teacher—Dowd.”
“She caused problems?”
“Battleax,” said Coolidge. “Phoned me right at the outset, said she’d hire aprivate attorney if I didn’t give Pretty Boy high priority. I felt like saying,‘Is that a threat or a promise?’”
“What did you tell her?”
“‘Do what you want, ma-dame,’ then I hung up. Never heard from her again. Irepresented Meserve the way I do any other client. Turned out just fine,wouldn’t you say?”
“Meserve’s codefendant’s dead and he’s missing.”
“Irrelevant,” she said. “We settled, my obligations are over.”
“Just like that,” I said.
“You better believe it. My job, you learn to stay in your own orbit.”
“Orbit, constellation53. You have an interest in astronomy?”
“Majored in it at Cornell. Then I moved here for law school and found outyou can’t see anything because of all the light pollution.” She smiled.“Civilization, I think you call it.”
收听单词发音 |
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curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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abducted
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| 劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展 | |
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trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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ace
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| n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的 | |
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bug
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| n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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unemployed
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| adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的 | |
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bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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sneaks
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| abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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massage
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| n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据 | |
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vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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retrieved
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| v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息） | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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meticulous
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| adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的 | |
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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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weirder
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| 怪诞的( weird的比较级 )； 神秘而可怕的； 超然的； 古怪的 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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evict
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| vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走 | |
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grovel
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| vi.卑躬屈膝，奴颜婢膝 | |
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reciprocate
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| v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答 | |
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defendants
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| 被告( defendant的名词复数 ) | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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wispy
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| adj.模糊的；纤细的 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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flip
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| vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的 | |
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flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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flinched
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glib
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| adj.圆滑的，油嘴滑舌的 | |
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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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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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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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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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scuffed
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| v.使磨损( scuff的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚走 | |
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interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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appraising
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| v.估价( appraise的现在分词 )；估计；估量；评价 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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divulging
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| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的现在分词 ) | |
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constellation
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| n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
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