Billy had been attached to Peaty. And Billy had a temper.
Was he too dull to realize the implication of a relationship with ReynoldPeaty? Or was there no implication?
One thing was likely: The janitor’s visits had been more than dropping offlost articles.
As I drove Sixth Streettoward its terminus at San Vicente, I considered Billy’s reaction. Shock,anger, desire for vengeance1.
Another sib defying Brad.
A child’s impulsiveness2 together with a grown man’s hormones3 could be adangerous combination. As Milo had pointedout, Billy had begun living on his own right around the time of Tori Giacomo’smurder and the Gaidelases’ disappearance5.
Perfect opportunity for Billy and Peaty to take their friendship to a newlevel? If the two of them had become a murder team, Peaty was certain to havebeen the dominant6 one.
Some leadership. An outwardly creepy alcoholic7 voyeur8 and a dullard man-boydidn’t add up to the kind of planning and care that had stripped Michaela’sdumpsite of forensic9 detail, concealed11 Tori Giacomo’s body long enough toreduce it to scattered12 bones.
Then there was the matter of the whispering phone call from Ventura County. No way Billy could’ve pulledthat off.
Iago-prompt, courtesy of the phone lines. It had worked.
I’d hypothesized about a cruel side to the Gaidelases but there was anotherpair of performance buffs worth considering.
Nora Dowd was an eccentric dilettante13 and a failure as an actress, but she’dbeen skillful enough to fool her brother about breaking off with Dylan Meserve.Toss in a young lover with a penchant14 for rough sex and mind games and itcooked up interesting.
Maybe Brad had found no sign of struggle in Nora’s house because there’dbeen none. Travel brochures in a nightstand drawer and missing clothes plusDylan Meserve’s skip on his rent weeks ago said a long-planned trip. AlbertBeamish hadn’t seen anyone living with Nora but someone entering and exitingthe house after dark would have escaped his notice.
A woman who thought private flying was a nifty idea.
Her passport hadn’t been used recently and Meserve had never applied15 forone. But he’d grown up on the streets of New York, could’ve known how to obtain fake paper.Getting through passport control at LAX might be a challenge. But jetting from Santa Monica to a landingstrip in some south-of-the-border village with payoff cash would be anotherstory.
Brochures in a drawer, no real attempt to conceal10. Because Nora wasconfident no one would broach16 her privacy?
When I stopped for a red light at Melrose,I took a closer look at the resorts she’d researched.
Pretty places in South America. Maybe formore than the climate.
I drove home as fast as Sunset would allow, barely took the time to look forHauser’s brown Audi. Moments after logging on to the Internet I learned that Belize, Brazil,and Ecuador all hadextradition treaties with the U.S.and that nearly all the countries without treaties were in Africa and Asia.
Hiding out in Rwanda, Burkina Faso, or Ugandawouldn’t be much fun, and I couldn’t see Nora taking well to the femininecouture of Saudi Arabia.
I studied the brochures again. Each resort was in a remote jungle area.
To be extradited you had to be found.
I pictured the scene: May-December couple checks into a luxury suite17, enjoysthe beach, the bar, the pool. Nighttime’s the right time for al frescocandlelight dinners, maybe a couple’s massage18. Long, hot, incandescent19 daysallow plenty of time to search for a leafy suburb hospitable20 to affluentforeigners.
Nazi21 war criminals had hidden for decades in Latin America, living like nobility. Why not a couple of low-profilethrill killers22?
Still, if Nora and Dylan had escaped for the long run, why leave brochuresanywhere to be discovered?
Unless the packets were a misdirect.
I looked up jet leasing, air charter, and time-share companies in Southern California, compiled a surprisingly long list,spent the next two hours claiming to be Bradley Dowd experiencing a “familyemergency” and in dire23 need of finding his sister and his nephew, Dylan. Lotsof turndowns and the few outfits24 who checked their passenger logs had nolisting of Nora or Meserve. Which proved nothing if the couple had assumed newidentities.
For Milo to get subpoenas25 of the records,he’d need evidence of criminal behavior and all Dowd and Meserve had done wasdisappear.
Unless Dylan’s misdemeanor conviction could be used against him.
Milo would be tied up right now with“boring police stuff.” I called him anyway and described Billy Dowd’s behavior.
He said, “Interesting. Just got Michaela’s full autopsy27 results. Alsointeresting.”
We met at nine p.m., at a pizza joint28 on Colorado Boulevard in the heart of Pasadena’s Old Town. Hipsters and youngbusiness types feasted on thin crust and pitchers30 of beer.
Milo had been scoping out BNB buildings inthe eastern suburbs for evidence of Peaty’s unofficial storage, asked if Icould meet him. When I left the house at eight fifteen, the phone rang but Iignored it.
When I arrived, he was at a front booth, apart from the action, working onan eighteen-inch disk crusted with unidentifiable foodstuffs31, his own pitcherhalf full and frosted. He’d doodled a happy face on the glass. The features hadmelted to something morose32 and psychiatrically promising33.
Before I could sit, he hoisted34 his battered35 attaché case, took out acoroner’s file, and placed it across his lap. “When you’re ready. Don’t ruinyour dinner.” Munch36 munch.
“I ate already.”
“Not very social of you.” He massaged37 the pitcher29, erased38 the face. “Wannaglass?”
I said, “No, thanks,” but he went and got one anyway, left the file on hischair.
At the front were routine forms signed by Deputy Coroner A.C. Yee, M.D. Inthe photos what had once been Michaela Brand was a department-store manikintaken apart in stages. See enough autopsy shots and you learn to reduce thehuman body to its components39, try to forget it’s ever been divine. Think toomuch and you never sleep.
Milo returned and poured me a beer. “Shedied of strangulation and all the cuts were postmortem. What’s interesting areNumbers Six and Twelve.”
Six was a close-up of the right side of the neck. The wound was an inch orso long, slightly puffed40 at the center, as if something had been inserted inthe slot and left there long enough to create a small pouch41. The coroner hadcircled the lesion and written a reference number above the ruler segment usedfor scale. I paged to the summary, found the notation42.
Postmortem incision43, superior border of the sternoclavicular notch44, evidenceof tissue-spreading and surface exploration of the right jugular45 vein46.
Twelve was a front view of a smooth, full-breasted female chest. Michaela’simplants spread as if deflated47.
Dr. Yee had pointed4 to the spots where they’d been stitched up and noted,“Good healing.” In the smooth plain between the mounds48 were five small wounds.No pouching49. Yee’s measurements made them shallow, a couple were barely beneaththe skin.
I returned to the description of the neck lesion. “‘Surface exploration.’Playing around with the vein?”
“Maybe a special type of play,” said Milo.“Yee wouldn’t put it in writing but he said the cut reminded him of what anembalmer might do at the start of a body prep. The location was exactly whatyou’d choose if you wanted to expose the jugular and the carotid artery51 fordrainage. After that, you spread the wound to expose the vessels52 and insertcannulas in both of ’em. Blood drains out of the vein while preservative’spumped into the artery.”
“But that didn’t happen here,” I said.
“No, only a scratch on the vein.”
“A would-be embalmer50 who lost his nerve?”
“Or changed his mind. Or lacked the equipment and knowledge to followthrough. Yee said there was an ‘immature’ quality to the murder. The neck stuffand the chest lacerations he called dinky and ambivalent54. He wouldn’t put thatin writing, either. Said it was for a shrink to decide.”
He extended a palm.
I said, “Better find yourself a decisive shrink.”
“Fear of commitment?”
“So I’ve been told.”
He laughed and drank and ate. “Anyway, that’s the extent of the weird55 stuff.There was no sexual penetration56 or fooling with the genitalia or overt57 sadism.Not much blood loss either, most of it settled, and the lividity showed thebody was on its back for a while.”
“Manual strangulation,” I said. “Look in her eyes and choke the life out ofher. It takes time. Maybe it’s enough to get you off.”
“Watching,” he said. “Peaty’s thing. With him and Billy being a couple ofarrested-development losers—immature—I can see them fooling with a body butbeing afraid to dig too deep. Now you’re telling me ol’ Billy’s got a temper.”
“He does.”
“But?”
“But what?”
“You’re not convinced.”
“I don’t see Billy and Peaty being clever enough. More important, I don’tsee Billy setting up Peaty with that call.”
“Maybe he’s not as stupid as he comes across. The real actor in the family.”
“Brad can obviously be fooled,” I said, “but he and Billy lived together soI doubt to that extent. Learn anything new about the stolen cell phone?”
He flipped58 the attaché case open, got his notepad. “Motorola V551, Cingularwireless account, registered to Ms. Angeline Wasserman, Bundy Drive, Brentwood.Interior designer, married to an investment banker. The phone was in her pursewhen it got stolen the day of the call—nine hours before. Ms. Wasserman wasshopping, got distracted, turned her head, and poof. Her big concern was thewhole identity theft thing. The purse, too—four-figure Badgley-something number.”
“Badgley Mischka.”
“Your brand?”
“I’ve known a few women.”
“Ha! Wanna guess where she was shopping?”
“Camarillooutlets,” I said.
“The Barneys outlet59, specifically. Tomorrow, when it opens at ten, I’ll bethere showing around pictures of Peaty and Billy, the Gaidelases, Nora andMeserve, Judge Crater60, Amelia Earhart, anyone else you wanna suggest.”
“Nora and Meserve may be cavorting61 as we speak.” I told him about the travelbrochures, my calls to the private jet outfits.
“Another subpoena26 called for, if I had grounds,” he said. “The paper for Ms.Wasserman’s cell came in fast because it’d been reported stolen but I’m stillwaiting on the phone booth trace. Hopefully I’ll have it in hand tonight.”
“Night owl53 judge?”
His smile was weary. “I’ve known a few jurists.”
I said, “Meserve’s hoax62 conviction won’t help with the passenger logs?”
“Misdemeanor offense63 pled down to community service? Not hardly. You’reliking him and Nora better now? Nor more Andy and Cathy as psychos?”
“Their leaving town puts them in my radar64.”
“Nora and Mr. Snow Globe. He hid his own car in Brad’s treasured space, justlike Brad assumed, left the globe there for a screw-you.”
“If he and Nora targeted Peaty, they could’ve learned about Peaty’sunregistered van. Left the second globe as a misdirection.”
“Rape kit65 too?”
“Why not?” I said. “Or it was Peaty’s. Everyone at the PlayHouse seems tohave known about Peaty’s staring and Brad knew about Peaty’s arrest record, soit’s not a big stretch to assume Nora could’ve found out. If Nora and Dylanwanted a scapegoat66, they had a perfect candidate.”
“Years of picking off the weak ones and then they just decide to leave forthe tropics?”
“Been there, done it. Time to explore new vistas,” I suggested.
“Brad told you that Nora would have to come to him for serious dough67.”
“Brad’s been wrong about lots of things.”
He took the coroner’s file back, leafed through it absently.
I said, “Dylan had Michaela bind68 him tight around the neck. He pretended tobe dead so effectively it scared the hell out of her. She also said pain didn’tseem to be an issue for him.”
“The old psychopath numbness,” he said.
A young, black, cornrowed waitress came over and asked if we were okay.
Milo said, “Please wrap this to go, andI’ll try that brownie sundae.”
Closing the file. The waitress caught the Coroner label.
“You guys in TV?” she said. “C.S.I. or something like that?”
“Something like that,” said Milo.
Deft69 fingering of cornrows. Eyelid70 flutter. “I’m an actor.” Big smile.“Shock of shocks.”
“Really?” said Milo.
“Extremely really. I’ve done a ton of regional theater in Santa Cruz and San Diego—includingthe Old Globe, where I was a main fairy in Midsummer. I’ve also done improv atthe Groundlings and a nonunion commercial in San Francisco, but you’ll never see that. Itwas for Amtrak and they never ran it.”
She pouted71.
I said, “It happens.”
“It sure does. But, hey, it’s all good. I’ve only been in L.A. for a few months and an agent atStarlight is just about ready to sign me.”
“Good for you.”
“D’Mitra,” she said, extending her hand.
“Alex. This is Milo. He’s the boss.”
Milo glared at me, smiled at her. Shesidled closer to him. “That’s a great name, Milo.Pleased to meet you. Can I leave you my name and number?”
Milo said, “Sure.”
“Cool. Thanks.” Leaning in, she rested a breast on his shoulder and scrawledon her order book. “I’ll bring your brownie sundae right now. Totally on thehouse.”
收听单词发音 |
1
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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impulsiveness
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| n.冲动 | |
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hormones
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| n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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alcoholic
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| adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者 | |
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voyeur
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| n.窥淫狂者，窥隐私者 | |
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forensic
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| adj.法庭的，雄辩的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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dilettante
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| n.半瓶醋，业余爱好者 | |
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penchant
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| n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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broach
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| v.开瓶，提出(题目) | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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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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incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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Nazi
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| n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的 | |
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killers
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| 凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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outfits
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| n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 ) | |
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subpoenas
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| n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 ) | |
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subpoena
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| n.（法律）传票；v.传讯 | |
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autopsy
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| n.尸体解剖；尸检 | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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pitchers
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| 大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 ) | |
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foodstuffs
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| 食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 ) | |
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morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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munch
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| v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼 | |
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massaged
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| 按摩，推拿( massage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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notation
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| n.记号法，表示法，注释；[计算机]记法 | |
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incision
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| n．切口，切开 | |
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notch
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| n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级 | |
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jugular
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| n.颈静脉 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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deflated
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| adj. 灰心丧气的 | |
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mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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pouching
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| vt.& vi.（使）成为袋状（pouch的现在分词形式） | |
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embalmer
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| 尸体防腐者 | |
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artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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ambivalent
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| adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的 | |
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weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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overt
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| adj.公开的，明显的，公然的 | |
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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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outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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cavorting
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| v.跳跃( cavort的现在分词 ) | |
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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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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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radar
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| n.雷达，无线电探测器 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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dough
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| n.生面团；钱，现款 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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eyelid
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| n.眼睑，眼皮 | |
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pouted
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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