by Milk;Honey
“Hollander will be there,” Decker said.
“What’s Lou shooting for?” Marge asked.
“Ultimately, probation for Pappy and Earl,” Decker said. “And Earl and Katie to be placed with Sue Beth. As for ole Granny Darcy?” He shrugged. “Some sort of psych. eval. and treatment. Family’s totally fucked up. The only one who gains anything at all is Manfred. Sue Beth told me the Howards sold out right after the Darcys. Manfred’s already moving in the rigs. Seems they applied for drilling rights a long time ago, even before they owned the property. All the paperwork’s in. Just waiting for the final stamp of approval.”
“They could be protested.”
“By whom?” Decker said. “There’s no one left out there. Even Chip sold out to Manfred. And who could blame him? Not exactly a hoot slinging beers to hopped-up bikers. They’ve all taken the money and run.”
Western Avenue was a succession of cheap motels, take-out joints, and liquor stores. The seediest part of Hollywood. A perfect place to live if you wanted to dwell in chronic depression. The unmarked weaved in and out of traffic.
Marge said, “Manfred moving in like that. It stinks.”
“It’s what they call in business an opportunistic situation,” Decker said. “Turn right on Hollywood.”
The unmarked whizzed by boarded buildings papered with movie posters, passed an empty arcade welcoming minors, boasting fun for all. Decker told Marge to slow down when they hit the Sunset overpass.
“Turn left at the next light, park in the lot, I’ll pay.”
Marge pulled the unmarked into an empty space, received a ticket from an Iranian attendant. She faced Decker and said, “Make it quick, huh? Your old buddy isn’t a good influence on you.”
Decker said, “You just don’t want to burn your ass sitting in a hot car.”
“That, too.”
“Want to come up?”
Marge said, “And what would you do if I said yes?”
Decker smiled. “I’d be stuck.”
They both got out of the car. Marge said, “Think I’ll take a walk, buy a Coke. Can I get you anything?”
Decker shook his head. “Be careful out there.”
Marge smiled, but it was a perturbed look. Decker said, “Just a phrase, Margie. You’re quite capable of kicking ass if you want to.”
“I don’t know, Pete,” Marge said.
Decker stopped her in her tracks. He placed his hands on her shoulder, looked her in the eye. She was a fine-looking woman, smart and sexy in all the right places. Often, he wondered why he had never made a move on her, and decided it was because he needed a friend more than a lover. Well, he certainly had a friend in Marge, and no way he was going to let some scumbag take her away from him.
“Trust me, Margie?”
“Look, Pete,” she said, “I know you mean well, but I’m not in the mood for a pep talk—”
“Shut up,” Decker said. “Just answer one question, okay? You trust me?”
“Not entirely.”
“Good,” Decker said. “Never trust anyone entirely. But trust me on this one. You’ll be all right.” He pointed a finger at her. “You’re going to take something out of this and come out better for it.”
“And when do we get to the part where I save the entire city single-handedly?”
“You’re not an easy person to console, Detective Dunn.”
She shrugged. “Never bullshit a bullshitter.”
He removed his hands from her shoulder, held them up in the air. “Go at it at your own pace. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re still on my tag team.”
Marge smiled. “Thanks. Now go make your peace with your ex-rape-o friend.”
“Friend is good enough,” Decker said.
Abel was staring out the window when Decker walked in. Still gazing outside, he asked Decker, “Who’s the broad?”
“My partner.”
“Nice-looking. Big. Even from up here, she looks big.”
“She’s big.”
“A lot to hold on to,” Abel said. “Think she’d be interested in fucking a gimp with a ten-incher?”
“I don’t know,” Decker said. “But she knows about your case. That might bias her against you.”
“It should have gone to trial,” Abel said.
“Myra dropped the charges,” Decker said. “She wasn’t about to accuse her own mother of assault. There was nothing left to try, Abe. The files got messed up after the primary field investigator died. Be grateful for what you have.”
Abel turned to face Decker. “What I should have had was a declaration of innocence. That’s not the same as having the charges dropped.”
“You’re not running for office, Abe. What difference does it make?”
“It makes a difference to your lady friend out there.”
“She’s a cop,” Decker said. “She’s suspicious of anyone who uses hookers.”
Silence.
Decker said, “Want to know the giveaway?”
“What?”
“The old lady’s airline ticket,” Decker said. “Myra kept saying Mama came in after she was attacked, but her mother’s ticket said she actually left for Detroit the night of the rape on a ten P.M. flight. She must have paid Myra a surprise visit in the wee hours of that fateful morn and didn’t like what she saw. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Abel shook his head. “Stupid bitch cuts up her own kid because she’s turning tricks. And I’m the one who gets screwed.” He hobbled over to his refrigerator and pulled out two ice-cold bottles of beer.
“At least you’re a free man,” Decker said.
“Yeah,” Abel said. He placed the beer on the corner kitchen table. “Yeah, I am. Thanks, Doc. Thanks a lot.”
“Don’t mention it.” Decker sat down and drank half a bottle. “Look…I keep thinking that one of us should have tried a little harder. That we let too much shit get in the way. What do you think?”
“I think, Doc, that we’re like an old love affair.” Abel sat down at the table. “Some good memories and a lot of bad ones. But with it all, there’s still a little bit of macho male-pair bonding-type love, know what I’m saying?”
“Yep.”
“So let’s leave it at that,” Abel said. “Your wife-to-be wrote me a gracious letter, returned my Nam picture. But she wrote about you and me in past tense—what kind of friends we were.” Abel let out a small laugh. “Subtle but effective. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised she wrote to me at all.”
“Rina’s a very special lady.”
“That’s for sure.”
There was more awkward silence.
Decker said, “You call me if you need anything, okay?”
“Always.” Abel took his beer and returned to the window. They drank for several minutes, Decker at the table, Abel staring out the window. Decker wondered how many hours Abel spent looking at life passing him by.
Eventually, Abel said, “Your partner’s back. Swinging some fine hips. What were you conferring about out there?”
“Business.”
“Where’re you guys off to?”
“Shooting range at the academy.” Decker hesitated, then said, “She had some trouble a week ago. Some asshole tried to bash her head in. Her confidence needs a little bolstering. I was giving her a pep talk. I don’t think she bought everything I was saying. But if she bought some of it, that’s good enough.”
Abel didn’t answer right away. Eventually, he said, “That woman out there. Know what she is?”
“What?”
“She’s your new macho love affair, Doc,” Abel said. “Go out and create some memories with her. Leave the past behind.”
“Sage words,” Decker said. He stood from the table. “Maybe you should follow them.”
“I should,” Abel said. “But I won’t.”
They exchanged weak smiles.
Then they embraced.
About the Author
FAYE KELLERMAN in
troduced LA cop Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, to the mystery world seventeen years ago. Since then she has published twelve Decker/Lazarus novels, including her recent New York Times bestseller The Forgotten. She is also the author of Moon Music, a contemporary thriller set in Las Vegas, and The Quality of Mercy, an historical novel of Elizabethan England. Ms. Kellerman lives in California with her husband, noted author Jonathan Kellerman, and their four children, three dogs, and fish too numerous to count.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Praise for New York Times bestselling author
FAYE KELLERMAN
and
MILK AND HONEY
“Faye Kellerman’s best novel to date: deeper, richer, more emotionally complex.”
James Ellroy
“No one working in the crime genre is better.”
Baltimore Sun
“She does for the American cop story what P.D. James has done for the British mystery, lifting it beyond genre.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Compelling…Her characters are fully drawn and the gritty story moves on relentlessly.”
Indianapolis Star
“Reading a good thriller is very much like taking a great vacation: half the fun is getting there. Faye Kellerman is one heck of a tour guide.”
Detroit Free Press
“A rich, nourishing feast of a novel. Kellerman has never been better and Rina and Decker have never been more endearing.”
Nancy Pickard
“Kellerman has become a real pro at setting up crime puzzles, laying on lots of real and fake clues, and keeping everyone guessing.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Faye Kellerman spins a deft tale of dogged detective work…[It] easily puts her into a class with the most literate, facile, and engaging writers in the business.”
Associated Press
“Kellerman’s novels sustain a quality that is unusually high.”
Chicago Tribune
“A delight…Kellerman is a gutsy, forceful writer. Her cop talk in the station house fairly crackles.”
Booklist
“Kellerman is splendid.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Engrossing…horribly riveting.”
Roanoke Times & World News
“A wonderful mystery…MILK AND HONEY is one of those books that leaves strong reminders long after the last page is turned. It is startling in its content and frightening in its execution.”
Ocala Star-Banner
“Kellerman is a master of mystery.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“A believable, intricate mystery in which series hero
Decker is revealed as even more complex, interesting, and sympathetic than in earlier appearances.”
Publishers Weekly
“Kellerman does an excellent job…Her novels blend good police procedure with insights into a society cloistered from most of us.”
Los Angeles Times
“She is a master storyteller.”
Chattanooga Free Press
Also by Faye Kellerman
RITUAL BATH
SACRED AND PROFANE
THE QUALITY OF MERCY
DAY OF ATONEMENT
FALSE PROPHET
GRIEVOUS SIN
SANCTUARY
JUSTICE
PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD
SERPENT’S TOOTH
MOON MUSIC
JUPITER’S BONES
STALKER
THE FORGOTTEN
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
MILK AND HONEY. Copyright © 1990 by Faye Kellerman. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2008 ISBN: 9780061807503
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900
Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
