Decker”s phone rang again. Wang gave a wave as he walked out of the office.
“Hi, Mallory Quince here. We”ve got Alejandro Brand in custody.”
“Wow!”Decker sat up. “That was fast. Great job. How”d you bust him?”
“He busted himself. His meth lab blew up.”
THE VIDEO CAMERA in the interview room showed a man of around nineteen in an oversized white T-shirt and baggy green shorts that hung down to his knees. He had a Dodger cap on his head, the visor casting a shadow over his eyes and nose. Decker could make out a thin mouth and a long chin adorned with a soul patch. The skin on his arms and neck was blued with ink. There were two anaconda snakes running down his arms, and a B12 was visible on the back of his neck.
Mallory Quince stared over Decker”s shoulder at the video screen while clucking her tongue. “Rumor has it that Narcotics isn”t happy shaving time off the charge based on some blind guy”s hearing voices. The only reason they”ve agreed is that you”re a lieutenant and the scope of the Kaffey murders.”
“That”s two reasons. And I say what harm will it do to let the dude hear the tape? The blind guy”s ear is very acute.”
Mallory straightened up and folded her arms across her chest, pulling on the shoulders of her pumpkin-colored jacket. Her hair was short, dark. Her voice was tense. “How do you know that the blind guy isn”t going to say “yes, it”s the scumbag I heard”just to feel important and to get a reward?”
“Because I told him that the eyewitness had picked out four possible suspects. Harriman has already discarded two Spanish-speaking Mexican officers.”
“Maybe he knew you were setting him up with shills.”
Decker shrugged. “Tell Narcotics that I”m not offering Brand anything. All I want him to do is speak Spanish for voice identification.”
“Will that hold up in court?”
“We”re not accusing Brand of anything. We”re only trying to find out what he knows about the Kaffey murders. It shouldn”t take long. I really don”t even want to broach the murders until Harriman identifies his voice.”
“So what”s the plan?”Mallory”s voice had softened.
“I tell him the current charges against him…get him talking. His grandmother”s apartment in Pacoima was burned out. I want him to think that I”m trying to pin an additional arson charge on him.”
“Did he do it?”
“Probably. Who knows? Maybe I”ll even get a confession. I”ll be sitting right here.”On the monitor, Decker pointed to the empty chair across from Brand. “That way the camera picks up my good side.”
DECKER INTRODUCED HIMSELF in Spanish and shook hands with the kid.
Brand scratched a scar near his eye and said, “I know English.”
Decker kept his face flat although he was inwardly cursing. He switched to English. “However you”re comfortable, Alejandro.”
The gangbanger folded his hands and laid them on the table. The hairs on his forearm smelled like barbecue ash. That must have happened when the lab blew up. Maybe that”s how he got the first scar.
Decker said, “Do you know why you”re here?”
“No.”
“Your apartment exploded.”
“So what? I didn”t have nothing to do with it.”
“Why don”t you tell me what happened?”
“I can”t tell you”cause I don”t know.”He switched to Spanish. “Estallado…Boom. Comprende?”
“Sí.”
He said, “I think it was a gas line. It smelled like gas was leaking, you know?”
In Spanish, Decker said, “How long had you lived in the apartment?”
“Posible seis meses.”Six months.
“And how long were you inside before the apartment exploded?”
“Hmmm…posiblemente viente minutos.”
Maybe twenty minutes. He wasn”t much for long sentences, but at least they were conversing in the right language. Decker said, “And you smelled gas?”
“Yeah, I did.”Sensing an out, Brand was running with the story. “It stank.”
“So why didn”t you call the gas company?”
“” Cause it all happened too fast.”
“You were just sitting there…usted acaba sentarse alli y…boom?”
“Sí, sí. Exactamente.”
In Spanish, Decker said, “The police found antifreeze containers in your garbage.”
In Spanish, “It gets cold in the winter.”
“It freezes like once every six years in Southern California.”
“My car isn”t so good.”
“They also found containers of acetone, paint thinner, Freon, battery acid…those materials are very explosive.”
“Yeah, I found out the hard way.”
“There were empty pop bottles, tubing, lots of matches, and a hot plate—”
“I need a hot plate”cause I don”t have a stove. Talk to my landlord.”
“C”mon, Alex.”Decker leaned in. “What were you doing with all that stuff?”
“It”s a crime to have stuff?”
“It”s not a crime to have paint thinner if you”re an artist. It”s not a crime to have antifreeze if you”re going to drive to Colorado in the winter. It”s not a crime to have acetone if you own a nail salon. It looks suspicious when you have all those things and you don”t paint, you”re not driving in cold weather, and you”re not doing your nails.”
The gangbanger shrugged.
“You have some heavy-duty charges against you, son. You can help yourself if you tell us what was going on. Judges like honesty.”
Another shrug.
“If you tell us the truth, we might even be a little more lenient with the arson charge in your grandmother”s apartment.”
He yanked his head up. “What arson charge?”
“Alex, c”mon!”Silence. “Everyone saw you running away. We have dozens of eyewitnesses.”
“I say they”re liars and I say you”re a liar. You don”t have nothing.”
“Look, Alex, you”re in trouble. You have stuff in your apartment that makes you look like you were doing something illegal…like you”re not only dealing, but also manufacturing. That”s twenty years minimum.”
The kid”s eyes were doing a little dance in their sockets. “It wasn”t even my stuff.”
Excuse number two. “So whose stuff was it?”
“La Boca.”
The mouth. “That”s a person?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Tell me about La Boca and how all that stuff got inside your apartment.”
It began in fits and starts. How La Boca had friends who were out of business and they needed a place to store their stuff. How he volunteered to keep his stuff”cause he”s a nice guy. When Brand saw that Decker wasn”t interrupting, he elaborated further. It didn”t matter because it was all a pack of lies. But once the kid started talking, he couldn”t stop.
And that”s exactly what Decker wanted: Brand”s voice speaking Spanish and recorded on tape.
TWENTY-FIVE
EVEN IF IT wasn”t an actual legal breach, showing up at the house certainly was unethical. Rina studied Brett Harriman through the peephole to see if anyone was with him, but he appeared to be alone. He was dressed in a blue T-shirt and jeans.
“What do you want?”she asked through the closed door.
“Can I come in? I just want to talk to you for a few minutes.”A pause. “It”s awkward to speak through a barrier.”
Rina opened the door, but kept the security chain on. “It”s awkward for you to show up at my house. We don”t have anything to talk about.”
“I identified the voice of the man I overheard at the courthouse.”A pause. “Maybe now you can come down and identify him.”
Rina was silent. She resented the intrusion.
Harriman said, “We should feel good about the teamwork. I think the ID might have helped your husband.”A pause. “I mean I feel good about it.”
It was nice to do
one”s civic duty, but it wasn”t worth uncorking the champagne. Unless he was after the Kaffey reward. But then why bother her? Maybe if she continued the silent treatment, he”d take the hint.
Sure enough, Harriman gave up. “Sorry to have bothered you.”
Rina felt bad. Inhospitable wasn”t a word in her vocabulary, but the man was odd and she was alone. She watched him make his way down the steps, feeling the dips of the cement with the point of his shoe. When she couldn”t see him anymore through the peephole, she went to the window and pulled back the curtains just in time to see him slide into the passenger side of a newer-model black Honda Accord. Of course he hadn”t come alone. He couldn”t drive.
Her eyes swept along the empty street.
Well, nearly empty.
Directly across the road was Addison Ellerby”s twenty-five-year-old white Suburban. A few feet away from the truck was a dark blue Saturn sedan with tinted windows. She didn”t remember ever seeing that car in her neighborhood, but she didn”t pay much attention to cars. Automobiles were just background pieces, bits of color that dotted the landscape like a tree or a rosebush.
As soon as the Honda pulled away, the Saturn sprang to life and drove off behind it. Rina was positioned to catch the license plate.
An exercise in futility. There were no plates, just a framed piece of paper where the license plate was supposed to be, stating ANOTHER SATURN SOLD FROM POPPER MOTORS.
DECKER SPOKE WITH surprising calm, making his threat all the more ominous. “I”m going to kill him!”
Rina unwrapped a roast beef sandwich and handed it to him. They were sitting at his desk. Peter once told her that since he had an office—as opposed to a cubicle—he felt as if he had arrived. The area wasn”t much bigger than a walk-in closet. “I”m sure he didn”t mean anything.”
“I don”t care.”He took a bite. With a bulging cheek, he said, “His showing up is out of line and just plain creepy.”
“Yes, it is. Potato salad?”She passed him the carton before he could answer. “Not that I”m Xena the warrior, but even I could take on a blind man.”
Decker said, “Maybe he”s not blind. Maybe he”s one big con.”
Rina laughed. “He”s faking his blindness?”
“He”s obviously an attention seeker. Have you ever seen his eyes? Maybe he”s perfectly sighted and just wants to get into your pants.”
“Now you”re being ridiculous.”
“If he shows up again, call me immediately.”
“That would be about the last thing I”d do. You carry a gun.”
“And I know how to use it. Now tell me about the Saturn.”
She took a nibble of her turkey sandwich. “I told you everything. It was navy with tinted side windows, maybe two, three years old and didn”t have any regular plates.”
“Sedan, SUV, or coupe?”
“Sedan.”
“That would probably be an Astra or an Aura. And there was no license plate…just paper saying the car came from Popper Motors.”
“Exactly. It took off as soon as Harriman left.”
“And you didn”t see who was inside?”
“I didn”t even know someone was inside until it left. The windows were very dark. The Saturn made me more nervous than Harriman.”
“Why”s that?”
“Because I couldn”t see who was behind the wheel. You should call up Popper Motors.”
“Marge is doing it right now. Do you think that the car was watching the house or watching Harriman?”
“I couldn”t say. If I had to guess, it would be Harriman. Or maybe no one.”
“Did the Saturn have a view of the window you were looking through?”
“I don”t know.”
“So not only did this schmuck show up at our house, potentially tainting any useful information he gave me, but he also possibly dragged you into something dangerous.”Decker was trying to control his temper. “I don”t want you and Hannah to stay in the house if I”m not there.”
“That”s ridiculous.”
“A strange car with tinted windows and paper plates was parked across the street, and I”m working on a very high-profile murder. Maybe it didn”t have anything to do with Harriman. Maybe it has something to do with me.”
“But then why did it leave when Harriman left?”
“I don”t know, Rina. But until I do know, it pays to be careful. Just do me a favor. Stay at your parents”when I”m not home.”
“My parents are almost an hour away in traffic and Hannah has school.”
“She can stay with friends until I get home. You stay at your parents”. Agreed?”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”A broad smile. “But you won”t be getting any home-cooked meals for a while. What about Shabbos?”
“Call up friends and we”ll get us invited out.”
If Peter was willing to be that social, he was serious. “And you don”t think you”re overreacting?”
“No, I”m not overreacting, and even if I was, better to be safe.”Peter was still angry. “I can”t believe he showed up at the house. What an idiot! Or maybe he”s just deranged. I”ll kill that bastard!”
“Please don”t do that, Peter.”Rina took his hand and smiled. “Cops generally don”t do well behind bars.”
But he didn”t laugh. Rina took another stab at humor. “If I weren”t so trusting, I would think you”re trying to get rid of us. If I drop in and find you in the middle of a lap dance, your goose is cooked.”
“The only lap dance I want right now is one with Ms. Beretta. You mess with my wife, you mess with me.”
THE CALL TO Harriman was brief. Stay away from his house, stay away from his wife.
“I didn”t mean anything.”He was contrite. “I just wanted to make sure she knew—”
“That”s not your business, Mr. Harriman, it”s my business. Your part in this investigation is done! Over! Finished! Get it?”
“Lieutenant, I know you think I”m a weirdo, but I”m not. I”ve worked for the courts for five years and I don”t get a lot of opportunity to do novel things. I suppose I overestimated the worth of my participation. If you need me, call.”
“Good,”Decker said. “We”ve reached an understanding. Before you get off, I want to ask you a couple of questions. Starting with who drove you to my house?”
“My girlfriend, Dana. You want her phone number?”
“I do.”
Harriman rattled off some numbers. “She”s at work. I just spoke to her a few minutes ago. I”m sure you can reach her.”
“Brett, did you notice anything unusual when you left my house?”
“Did I notice anything unusual?”A slight chuckle. “I”m blind.”
Okay. So he didn”t fall into that one. “Did you hear anything unusual when you left?”
“Like what?”
“You tell me.”
“Unusual?”Harriman was silent, trying to re-create the moment. “I walked back to the car…your wife closed the door to the house…”
“She told me she didn”t open the door.”
“I”m sorry to contradict you, but she did open the door. Probably not all the way because her voice still sounded a little muffled. Do you have a security chain on the front door? Maybe she opened it as far as the chain.”
Decker didn”t answer. “Go on. You heard her close the door…”
“Uh…I didn”t hear any footsteps nearby. I heard a dog bark. Sounded like a golden or a lab—something medium to large. I didn”t hear voices. There was some distant traffic. We took off…” A long pause. “I think there was a car behind us. Ask Dana.”
“I will. What”s Dana”s last name?”
“Cochelli. I”ve got to go back to court. I apologize for being overly zealous.”
“No problem.”Decker hung up. He was about to call up Harriman”s girlfriend when Grant Kaffey burst through the doors of the squad room. His eyes were wild and his hair was messy, as if it had been raked by nervous fingers. Decker b
olted up and attempted to usher him into his office, but the man was too agitated.
“He”s gone!”Grant said.
Decker said, “Who”s gone?”
“Gil! I went to the market to pick up a few staples and when I came back, he”d disappeared!”Grant grabbed Decker”s arms. “You”ve got to find him!”
“Let”s go inside the office and talk about—”
“What”s there to talk about!”Grant screamed. “He”s gone! Just find him! Isn”t that your fucking job?!”
Decker kept his voice even. “If you all hadn”t disappeared in the first place, this might not have been necessary. If you want me to find your brother, let”s go into my office and you can tell me what happened. And if I find you credible, then I”ll think about an APB. Right now, buddy, from my standpoint, you look like suspect number one!”
The color drained from Grant”s face. “You think I hurt him?”Then his face turned crimson. “You think I”d hurt my own brother!”
Decker flung open the door to his office. “After you.”
Kaffey weighed his options, then stormed across the threshold of Decker”s office.
Score one for the lieutenant.
Decker closed his office door. “Did you call 911?”
“I called the police,”Grant said. “They told me that an adult missing for an hour wasn”t a crime. I tried to explain the situation, but the guy was an asshole.”He was pacing on whatever little floor space there was. “I hung up and came out here.”
“Where were you staying?”
“Somewhere in the Hollywood Hills. One of Gil”s buddies owns the place. He told my brother we could have it for the month.”
Decker said, “You drove all the way from Hollywood?”
“I was panicked! I didn”t want to stay alone in the house and I didn”t know what to do. You”re the enemy I know rather than the enemy I don”t know.”
“We”re on the same side, Mr. Kaffey. I need the address of the house.”
Grant was still pacing. “I don”t know it, but I could point out the house. It”s near a big street with lots of little cafés. Gil and I had dinner there last night.”
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