Blindman's Bluff

by Faye Kellerman

  “What you know is a lot, Riley.”

  Karns made a point of exhaling loudly. “Why I didn”t want to get into it.”

  “Riley, my friend, you are very much into it whether you like it or not. You were one of the first people at the crime scene, and now you tell me that you dug Denny Orlando”s grave—”

  “Horseshit!”Karns whirled around, his face flushed and his hands shaking. “I didn”t dig Denny”s grave. I dug a grave for the horses where poor Denny was found.”

  “Well, someone dug up that hole for Denny,”Decker snapped back, “and it had to be someone who knew that the grave existed.”

  Karns spat on the ground, missing Decker”s shoe by several feet. “I”ve been honest with you and now you”re twisting me words so the murders are me fault or something. I have nothing more to say.”

  Decker decided on the cooperative approach. “If you are being honest, then I got a deal for you. Take a lie detector test.”

  “Those things are worthless.”

  “Not true,”Decker told him. “It”ll only work to your benefit. I can”t use it against you if you don”t pass, but if you do pass, I”ll direct my energies elsewhere.”

  “I don”t trust you, Guv. You”ll probably get me to say things I don”t mean.”

  “I won”t be giving you the test.”When Karns regarded him, Decker smiled. “And as far as saying things, the questions are yes/ no. It”s hard to put your foot in your mouth with one word answers.”

  Karns didn”t answer right away. Though Decker reserved a large sector of his judgment until the facts verified the hunch, his gut feeling told him that Riley wasn”t being deliberately evasive. It was more like Karns had a profound distrust for anything that required electricity.

  “How about if I set it up?”Decker said. “If you change your mind, just let me know.”

  “I”ll think about it,”Karns answered. “Now I”d like to get back to me business in peace if you don”t mind.”

  “Just a few more questions. The animals”corpses must have been very heavy. You had to have had help to lug them over to the grave.”

  “We did the grave first, Guv. Then we put them to sleep near the hole.”

  “Ah, that would make sense.”

  “You”d know it if you really had horses.”

  “I had horses but I never put them down. The vet always did it.”

  “Yeah, I figured you wouldn”t get your hands dirty.”

  Decker ignored the snide comment. “And you”re sure that you and Paco did all the digging by yourselves? If you”ve been honest until now, don”t go blowing it on a simple question.”

  Karns lowered his eyes. “Maybe Pine helped, too. Why don”t you call him up?”

  “We can”t find Joe. Any idea where he might be?”

  “No, not me.”Back to eye contact. “Go ask Brady. He”s in charge.”

  That was Decker”s next step.

  THE HEAD OF Kaffey security picked up on the third ring, but the connection was lousy. “I can barely hear you, Lieutenant. Can you text me?”

  Decker hated texting. His thumbs were too big for the phone”s keyboard. He pulled the unmarked onto the shoulder just before the entrance to Coyote Ranch”s freeway ramp. “Where are you?”

  Static.

  “I can”t hear you.”

  “What about now? Can you hear me?”

  “Better,”Decker said. “Don”t move. Where are you?”

  “At the Newport Beach residence. Mace and Gr…(static)…hired me…an eye on the place and, more important, on them.”

  Decker wasn”t sure he heard right. Grant continued to trust Neptune Brady even after Gilliam and Guy were murdered under his watch? He said, “I need to talk to you.”

  “I can”t leave…(static)…promised…(static)…protect them.”

  “You”re breaking up, Mr. Brady.”

  “Damn this reception.”

  “I heard that.”

  “I can”t leave my post, Lieutenant.”

  “Then I”ll come out to Newport.”

  “I”ll ask Mace and Grant. If it”s…(static)…it”s okay by me. When…(static)…be here?”

  “It”ll take me at least a couple of hours.”

  “…(static)…bosses don”t mind, how about three?”

  “Three would be perfect.”

  Brady might have tried to say good-bye, but all Decker heard was the crackle of white noise then silence.

  AFTER MARKING THE mug books with Post-its, Rina turned to the first preselected page. “This guy here—Fredrico Ortez—he could be the slighter man of the two.”

  Decker said, “Could be or definitely?”

  “It”s either this guy or maybe this guy.”She turned to another page. “This man here…Alejandro Brand, the guy with the scar. The two men look alike—at least in the mug shots.”

  They did resemble each other—shaved heads, narrow faces, small noses with broad nostrils, thick lips, and deep-set eyes. Under distinguishing marks, both had tattoos of animals: Brand had a snake on his arm, and Ortez sported a dragon on his chest. Other marks included XII and a B12 for Bodega 12th Street.

  Rina said, “I thought they might be brothers except they have different last names.”

  “Didn”t you tell me that one of the guys had a snake tattoo?”

  “I did. Maybe you should take a closer look at Brand?”

  “Maybe I will. What about the bigger of the two men?”

  “Maybe this guy…” Rina showed him a picture. “Or maybe him or him. I”m less sure about that one.”She closed the books. “To tell you the truth, after a while everyone begins to look alike. At the time, I could picture them in my head, but things fade. I just gave them a glance.”She shrugged. “Sorry.”

  Secretly, Decker was relieved. “You did great. I”ll copy down these names and see if we have any legitimate reason to bring them into the station house. And even if we don”t have anything on them now, these guys are mess-ups. If I tailed them for an hour, I”m sure I could catch them doing something illegal.”

  “I could have been more precise if I looked a little harder, but he kept telling me not to stare…the blind guy…Harriman.”

  “He used good judgment.”

  “I don”t know if I could pick them out of a lineup.”

  “You won”t have to. If I can bring in these jokers on something else, I”ll record the interview and send the tapes over to Harriman along with some similar tapes. He told me he could identify the voices. Let”s see if he means it.”Decker closed the mug books and stood up. “I have to go to Newport Beach. It”s a long ride. Want to keep me company?”

  “What”s in New—Oh, that”s the Kaffeys”main house. I suppose I could go look at the art galleries. See if there are any botanical paintings I want to add to our collection.”

  Decker frowned. “Two-thirds of the collection is sitting in closets. And we didn”t pay for those. Why would you want more and pay for them?”

  “I don”t pay for anything, Peter. I cull. I talk about what I have, and the gallery owners talk about what they have. Sometimes I trade up and sometimes I trade down. It”s kind of fun.”

  “My idea of fun would be to sell the collection and put the money in the bank.”

  “That is an option.”

  “But not yours. And that”s why I”m a philistine and you”re a connoisseur.”

  “You”re not sentimentally attached to the paintings like I am. I see one painting and I think of Cecily Eden and how much fun the two of us had together talking about plants and gardens although I”m still mystified why she left her paintings to me and not her heirs.”

  “She knew you”d appreciate them and you do.”He kissed the top of her head. “Let”s get going. If I have a spare minute, I”ll come with you to a couple of the galleries. It would give me great pleasure to see you dangle a Martin Heade in front of the wide-eyed art dealers.”

  THE FIFTY-MILE RIDE went quickly, enhanced by good conversation and th
e clear cerulean skies reflected in diamond-studded water. With the sloping hills ablaze with wildflowers to the east and the sandy shores that marked the western end of the continent, Newport and its environs had to qualify as one of the most geographically scenic places on the planet. Exquisite in its beauty, the berg was also exquisite in its price tag, one of those cases where if you have to ask, you can”t afford it.

  The area was teeming with traffic and tourists. The slowdown in the economy didn”t seem to have affected this marina. It was stuffed with sailboats, speedboats, catamarans, cabin cruisers, and yachts of all sizes and shapes. Galleries, boutiques, and cafés seemed to be the businesses of choice. Decker dropped Rina in front of a gallery, then checked his map and headed out to residential territory.

  The Kaffeys had named their mansion the Wind Chimes, and it sat behind wrought-iron gates that included a guardhouse replete with sentries, and a twelve-foot hedge that seemed to stretch for blocks. After conversing with one of the uniforms, he and his clunker car were allowed to tool down the sinuous driveway surrounded by a forest of pines, firs, sycamores, elms, and eucalyptus. He would have stopped to gawk, but there were too many guards who kept waving him forward. When he reached the pebbled motor court, the mansion came into view.

  Decker”s family had taken a family trip to the Biltmore in North Carolina when he was a kid and though he knew the place couldn”t possibly be that big, it still appeared otherworldly. It appeared that Guy Kaffey had been copying the Biltmore”s French Regency style. Like its model, it was fashioned from limestone and had multiple-peaked blue slate roofs with an abundance of gables and chimneys. He could have picked up more details but he was stopped by a private sentry. The man was squat and brutish looking and was packing a Saturday night special. After checking out Decker”s ID then radioing someone on his walkie-talkie, he decided that the LAPD cop passed muster. “Leave the car here. We”ll take you up to the entrance in a golf cart. And we”ll keep your gun.”

  Decker smiled. “Leaving the car here is okay. Going up to the house in a golf cart is okay. Nobody touches my weapon.”

  More radioing and walkie-talkie conversation. Finally, the sentry said, “What are you carrying?”

  “Standard-issue 9 mm Beretta. Is that Mr. Brady on the wire?”

  The guard ignored him, but he must have been cleared. A few minutes later, Decker was winding his way past the house down a paved pathway that led through flower gardens, ferneries, orchards, a grape arbor, and a vegetable garden spilling over with a variety of tomatoes, pole beans, basil, squashes, and baseball-bat-sized Italian zucchini. The golf cart stopped at a gazebo with a roof that matched the house, and everyone got out. The spot overlooked an infinity pool that bled into the Pacific blue.

  Dressed in a blue blazer with brass buttons, white linen pants, and rubber-soled boat shoes, Neptune Brady was surveying the ocean through a mounted telescope. He was chewing gum, his jaw clenching and relaxing, as he moved the tube across the expanse of water. Decker took in the view before he spoke. The house was situated on a bluff—about fifty feet above the water. There were dozens of boats in the foreground and a couple of commercial liners on the horizon. Waves were softly breaking, white foam licking the sand. From the bluff”s height, it sounded like whispering winds.

  Brady waved off his men with a flick of the wrist and within a few minutes it was just the two of them. He said, “I had this installed when the family first moved in.”He was still peering through the lens. “Kaffey refused the fence off the bluff because he claimed it ruined the view.”

  “He had a point,”Decker said.

  “Yeah, but it”s easier for someone to breech security.”Brady looked away from the lens and regarded Decker full face. “Not that it stopped them at Coyote Ranch.”

  In the harsh sunlight, Brady had aged in just a few days: more wrinkles and more gray hair. His pupils were constricted, and his eyes appeared almost colorless. “I don”t know how much time I can give you. I may have to leave abruptly.”

  “Where are Grant and Mace Kaffey?”

  “At the hospital with Gil. He”s doing better.”

  “Good to hear.”

  “Thank God he made it through.”A heavy sigh. “I think it”s finally dawning on me…the scope.”He waited a beat. “It”s coming to an end for me.”

  “What”s coming to an end?”

  “Everything. My business was taking care of Guy and Gilliam, and I failed.”

  “The family kept you on,”Decker said.

  His jaw went up and down as he stared at Decker. “What choice did they have?”

  “They could have fired you immediately.”And the fact that they didn”t is of interest to me. “They chose not to.”

  “I think they”re too dazed to make changes. Once Gil recovers, I”m going to get axed.”

  “What do you think went wrong?”

  “It could be a thousand things. On the surface it looks like that once you found Denny, well…I guess everyone”s pointing a finger at Rondo Martin. But I can”t believe…I still think it had to be outsiders with inside information.”

  Thinking about Joe Pine, Decker asked, “Anyone specific in mind?”

  Brady sat down on a bench and stared at the ocean. “There were lots of maids and people working the grounds: here at Wind Chimes and also Coyote Ranch. At least ten people a day roaming around, weeding or watering or planting. Who knows what conspiracies go on behind my back?”

  “Did the same people work at both locations?”

  “Mostly yes, but there”s a lot of turnover. Guy would get angry and fire people, and then there”d be a whole new crop of workers.”

  “Did you vet everyone who worked for the Kaffeys?”

  “I did background checks on anyone Guy asked me about. But I wasn”t in charge of hiring and firing domestic help.”

  “Who was?”

  “I don”t know. It wasn”t me.”

  “They never asked for your opinion?”

  Brady”s jaw began working overtime. “This didn”t come from me, but I”m sure that some of their help didn”t have green cards. Like I told you before, Guy was cheap. If all he needed was a body to pull out weeds, he”d go for the lowest price tag. Maybe Paco Albanez would know more. He”s legal, by the way. I did the background check on him.”

  “Who hired Paco?”

  “Guy.”

  “Who hired Riley Karns?”

  “Gilliam. She put him in charge of all the animals—dogs and horses.”

  “Where”d she find Riley Karns?”

  “She hired him away from one of the horse clubs where she used to show her Morgans. I did a background check on him and nothing turned up. He had a good reputation with the animals. Once he was a skilled jockey. He rode quarter horses.”

  “We”ll get back to him in a minute,”Decker said. “So you personally think the murders were the work of the hired help?”

  “Someone on the inside. Not all of them…just a few bad apples.”

  “What about Rondo Martin? Is he a bad apple?”

  “I personally screened him. He had worked for Ponceville for eight years. The place was a rural farming community so there wasn”t much crime to begin with, but under Martin”s reign whatever crime they had had gone down. Nothing about him waved a red flag.”

  “How long had he worked for you?”“Two years.”

  “Why did he leave Ponceville?”

  “I seem to remember him wanting a bigger city, but I might be mistaken. Look it up in his file. I gave it to one of your detectives. His name escapes me, but he was a sharp dresser.”

  It is said that the clothes make the man and nothing could be truer in this case. “That would be Scott Oliver. How well did you know Rondo Martin?”

  “He showed up for work on time. He did his job well and without attitude.”

  “Did he speak Spanish?”

  It took a moment before Brady processed the question. “Some of the guards were bilingual, but I don”t kno
w about Martin.”He took in Decker”s eyes. “I know how it looks, but you had your suspicions about Denny Orlando. Then he turned up dead.”

  “You think Martin is dead?”

  “No idea.”

  “What about Joe Pine? Did he speak Spanish?”

  Brady paused. “Yes, fluently. Why are you asking about him?”

  “He”s missing.”

  The pause lasted longer than it should have. “He”s missing?”When Decker nodded, Brady shook his head. “He was one of Guy”s rehabilitated gangbangers. I”m sure he has a record. I never liked him, but Guy was the boss.”

  Brady”s PDA went off.

  “Excuse me.”The guard talked in hushed tones, then he said, “Right away.”He turned to Decker. “Grant and Mace have returned from the hospital. They”d like a few words with you.”

  “That”s fine. Riley Karns told me that he was one of the guys who originally dug the graves for the horses. He said that Joe Pine—who was on duty that day—told him where to dig it.”

  “That could be. Hold on.”Brady spoke on the phone. “I need the cart A-sap.”He stowed his phone in his pocket. “Usually, I had nothing to do with the horses but when one of them was sick…I think it was Netherworld, Guy told me that he didn”t want to spend the money on cremation. He told me to find an out-of-the-way spot on the property and get rid of it. I think I did punt to Pine to find the spot.”A pause. “I think I told him that if he needed help to ask Riley or Paco.”

  “So you didn”t choose the spot?”

  “No, but I knew the horses were buried somewhere around there.”The man was sweating. He wiped his face with a handkerchief. “I”d like to remind you that I was five hundred miles away when the murders occurred.”

  That meant nothing. Decker said, “I need a list of everyone who knew about the grave. So far I have Karns, Paco Albanez, Joe Pine, and you. Anyone else?”

  “I don”t know, for goodness”sakes. It was at least a year ago.”

  “You”re in charge,”Decker said evenly. “You have to know these things.”

  Brady took a deep breath and let it out. “You”re right. I”ll find out.”

  “What do you know about Joe Pine?”