by Philip Cox
‘Are they showing it as originally made?’ Leroy had asked as they parked.
‘What do you mean?’ Julia asked.
‘Well, they haven’t converted it to 3D, or colorized it, or something like that, have they?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’
‘So Harry Lime’s not gonna find any CGI dinosaurs in the sewers?’
‘Sam, don’t be an ass.’
‘Sorry.’
Leroy and Julia were in luck. The movie was being shown just as it had in 1949, just as director Carol Reed had intended. As they filed out of the theatre at the end of the movie, Leroy said to Julia, ‘Let’s get something to eat. Where shall we go?’
Before Julia could answer, they were passing the theatre café. Leroy paused and picked up a menu. ‘What about here?’ he asked, studying the items on offer.
Julia scanned it and pulled a face. ‘No, I want more than an eleven buck chilli dog. We don’t often get to do this, Sam; let’s go somewhere nice.’
Leroy coughed and said, ‘I know just the place. It’s not far, and our parking’s validated here.’
As they headed up Vine Street, Julia asked, ‘So where are we going? It had better not be Taco Bell.’
Leroy laughed. ‘No, it’s a little place I went to once before. It’s called Off Vine.’
‘Okay. Where is it, then?’
‘Off Vine Street, honey.’
‘Stupid question.’
The restaurant in question was actually on Leland Way, just off Vine Street and parallel with Sunset. Known as Off Vine, it is a lovely turn-of-the-century bungalow, a quiet oasis amidst the traffic and high-rises of Hollywood. When it was built in 1908, it was surrounded by trees and orange groves, off a newly made country road called Vine Street. Since then it survived the Roaring Twenties, the Depression, Hollywood’s Silent and Golden Eras, numerous earthquakes and a fire. It gives its diners a chance to glimpse into the past of what is termed old Hollywood.
Julia looked up at the blue neon sign above the door as they stepped inside. ‘Sam, it’s lovely.’
‘I hope we can get in,’ he muttered.
They were able to. Sitting at a table for two on one of the balconies overlooking the patio area out back, Julia ordered Wild Atlantic Salmon, sautéed and topped with wild mushrooms, spinach, roasted red bell pepper, chopped garlic and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Leroy chose Turkey Meatloaf topped with brown gravy. Both washed down with the house white for Julia and a light beer for Leroy. For dessert, they shared a Chocolate Pecan Caramel Pie.
As they ate, Julia looked around. ‘Sam, I love this place. Why haven’t you taken me here before?’
Leroy put his cutlery down and looked over at her. ‘Julia: when do we ever get to go out like this? And when we do, we tend not to stray too far from the Pacific. This town has literally hundreds of fine restaurants.’
Julia looked around, nodding. ‘It’s beautiful.’
‘And quite appropriate after watching a classic movie.’
Julia agreed. ‘Absolutely. What was your favourite scene?’
Leroy scratched his chin. ‘I think it was the final one where the girl - Alida Valli - is walking towards Joseph Cotton. He assumes she is walking up to him, but she walks straight past. So bleak. What about you?’
‘I think it’s where we see the cat in the doorway, at Harry Lime’s feet.’
‘I love the music as well,’ added Leroy.
‘A zither,’ said Julia. ‘It was played on a zither.’
‘Mm,’ Leroy said. He frowned. ‘Wasn’t there a TV series based on the movie?’
‘About a hundred years ago. Michael Rennie played Harry Lime.’
Leroy looked over to her. ‘You’re very knowledgeable on the subject.’
Julia laughed, putting her wine glass to her lips. ‘Media Studies at High School.’
He took a mouthful of beer. ‘Of course,’
‘What time are you starting work in the morning?’ Julia asked.
‘The usual. Eight.’
‘Well, let’s finish here and get back,’ Julia said. ‘I don’t think the night is over yet.’ As she spoke she put her hand on his.
Leroy sat up. ‘Absolutely. I’ll get the check.’
Vowing to return to Off Vine soon, they strolled back down to the ArcLight parking lot, where they had parked. Leroy pulled out of the lot into Ivar Avenue then followed the road down to Santa Monica Boulevard where he took a right. They were fortunate with the traffic conditions that evening, most of the many lights along the road being green. As the road forked to the left in West Hollywood, Leroy noticed red and blue flashing lights in his mirror. He could then make out the siren in the distance. After half a minute patrol car flashed past.
‘I wonder what’s up,’ Leroy queried, more to himself than Julia.
‘Sam, you’re off duty,’ Julia said firmly.
‘Sure,’ he replied, watching the black and white turn down La Cienega.
Several miles later, they pulled up at a red light at the intersection with Bundy Drive. As they waited, Leroy could hear another siren, different in tone to the LAPD car earlier. It was an ambulance. It passed by on Leroy and Julia’s left, nosed its way through the vehicles ahead and in the other direction, and turned left. Leroy’s light turned green and the traffic moved slowly.
‘Leroy, what are you doing?’ Julia asked, as he indicated left, pulled into the other lane, and waited for a gap in traffic.
‘Just curious,’ he said. ‘I just want to see where it’s headed. We’ll only be five minutes.’
Julia shook her head in resignation as Sam Leroy followed the ambulance.
THREE
‘Just bear with me,’ Leroy said, as he eased the Taurus into the traffic heading down Armacost Drive. The traffic here was pretty light, and he had no problem keeping the flashing lights of the ambulance in his sight.
‘Sam, what are you doing?’ Julia asked. ‘You can’t do anything. You’re off duty.’
‘I know that.’
‘So what are we doing here? I thought we were going home.’
‘Call it professional curiosity. I know I’m off duty. I just want to see where it’s going. Tell you what: if it hasn’t stopped in five minutes, then I’ll turn right round again.’
Her elbow leaning on the door frame, and resting her head on her hand, Julia replied, ‘Five minutes. No more. God, Sam, you’d soon complain if as soon as we got home, I said, “I have some test papers to mark.”’
Leroy sighed. ‘All right. Point taken. I’ll turn off at the next intersection and head back…hold on: it’s stopped there.’
‘Great.’
Leroy quickly glanced over at Julia, indicated, and pulled over. The ambulance had parked outside a small, three-storey apartment building. Other cars were parked along the street, so Leroy had to park a third of a block away. He sat in the car and watched as the two paramedics leapt out of the ambulance and ran into the building.
‘So,’ asked Julia, ‘what are you going to do?’
He reached over and kissed her. ‘Give me five minutes, ten tops. I promise.’
‘You got seven and a half, Detective.’
Leroy grinned and got out of the car. Ran up the street and into the building. He flashed his badge at the commissionaire standing in the doorway. ‘Which floor?’ he asked.
The commissionaire, who must have been seventy years old if he was a day, pointed to a flight of stairs. ‘Up there on second. The paramedics just arrived.’
Leroy nodded and ran up the stairs. On the second floor was a further flight of stairs, leading to the third floor; either side of the stairs were three apartment doors. Two doors were open: the first, apartment C, was slightly ajar, and an old lady in a pink dressing gown was standing in the doorway. She was wearing a faded blue baseball cap, and was chewing gum. She was also staring at the open door to apartment E, across the hallway. When she saw Leroy, she shook her head, muttered something unintelligible, and sl
owly closed the door.
Leroy stepped over to the open door and looked in. The two paramedics were standing either side of a figure slumped in a high backed armchair. One of the medics noticed Leroy and stepped over, holding the flat palm of one hand out. ‘Excuse me, sir; you can’t come in here.’
He relaxed when he saw Leroy’s badge. ‘Sorry, officer. Wasn’t expecting you that fast.’
‘I wasn’t responding to the call,’ Leroy said, standing in front of the figure in the chair. ‘I was just passing. I’m supposed to be off duty; I was seeing if I could be of help.’
‘I don’t think you can be of much help,’ the other medic said. ‘Too late for this one.’
Leroy studied the figure in the chair. A grey-haired man, late sixties, maybe early seventies, dressed in blue jeans, a check open-necked shirt under a buttoned up cardigan. The man was clearly dead, but the fact that the back of the chair was so high meant that the body remained upright. Only the man’s head was slumped, at a forty-five degree angle. He was still wearing a pair of glasses, although these had slipped slightly. Next to the chair was a small table, on which rested the previous day’s copy of the Los Angeles Daily News, an empty whiskey bottle, and an empty glass.
There was also an empty pill bottle.
‘Who called it in?’ Leroy asked, taking in the scene.
‘The old lady from across the hall,’ replied the first medic. ‘She told 911 she hadn’t heard or seen the old guy since yesterday, so she got the commissionaire to unlock the door.’
‘Nothing we can do for him here,’ said the other medic.
‘No,’ agreed Leroy. ‘Look: I’ll leave you guys to it. Guess I shouldn’t be here, really. I’ll let the responding officers do their job.’
‘Caio,’ the second medic said, and with that, Leroy left the apartment. He nodded again to the commissionaire on his way out, and as he walked down the street back to his car, he noticed two patrol cars arrive, pulling up next to the ambulance. He slowly climbed back into the Taurus where Julia was waiting. She was doing something on her phone.
‘What was it?’ she asked, as he got settled back in his seat. ‘Anything interesting?’
Leroy shrugged. ‘Some old guy found in his armchair next to empty bottle of booze and pills.’
‘God. He took an overdose?’
‘It looks like it, but there’ll have to be an autopsy and an investigation.’
‘Did he leave a note or something?’
‘Not that I noticed, but it won’t be my investigation.’
Julia shuddered. ‘Ugh. That’s horrible.’
Leroy pulled out into the traffic. ‘What is?’
‘Dying alone. Poor old guy.’
‘Welcome to my world. Come on; let’s finish our evening.’
Leroy found his way onto Venice Boulevard and they headed home, home tonight being Julia’s apartment. They sat on the floor, their backs against her couch, and she opened a bottle of red wine. Their subsequent lovemaking began slowly and gently on the floor, becoming more frantic and energetic as they moved to Julia’s bedroom, finally settling down to sleep in each other’s arms.
*****
In general, adults need between seven and eight hours of sleep. However, some people can function after sleeping for much less time. Winston Churchill would sleep for an average of six hours a night; for Bill Clinton it was between five and six. Margaret Thatcher would only sleep for four hours a night. One can cope with the occasional night of no or less sleep – one just feels tired the next day. Sam Leroy had had many nights of no sleep at all, or of only two to three hours. If he was lucky, he might have caught an hour or so during the day.
Tonight he was relaxed; he had had an enjoyable evening, good food, good wine, good sex. Tonight, he was heading for a restful, recuperative, eight hours of sleep.
Just as well.
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SAM LEROY IS BACK IN
NO PLACE TO DIE
Los Angeles, California
A severed head is found beneath the Hollywood Sign.
Fresh from wrapping his previous case, LAPD Detective Sam Leroy is called to the scene. Now he is tasked with identifying the victim, and finding the rest of him.
Not necessarily in that order.
Following up on the few leads they have, Leroy and his partner, Detective Ray Quinn, find themselves unravelling a complex puzzle, one which began two thousand miles from home, and which involves sex, extortion, and ultimately murder.
While Leroy follows the trail, he is feeling himself coming to the end of a relationship, and may possibly be making decisions he might later regret.
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ALSO BY PHILIP COX
AFTER THE RAIN
Young, wealthy, handsome - Adam Williams is sitting in a bar in a small town in Florida.
Nobody has seen him since.
With the local police unable to trace Adam, his brother Craig and a workmate, Ben Rook, fly out to find him.
However, nothing could have prepared them for the bizarre cat-and-mouse game into which they are drawn as they seek to pick up Adam’s trail and discover what happened to him that night.
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DARK EYES OF LONDON
When Tom Raymond receives a call from his ex-wife asking to meet him, he is both surprised and intrigued – maybe she wants a reconciliation?
However, his world is turned upside down when she falls under a tube train on her way to meet him.
Refusing to accept that Lisa jumped, Tom sets out to investigate what happened to her that evening.
Soon, he finds he must get to the truth before some very dangerous people get to him…
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SHE’S NOT COMING HOME
EVERY MORNING
At 8.30 Ruth Gibbons kisses her husband and son goodbye, and goes to work.
EVERY EVENING
At 5pm she finishes work, texts her husband leaving now, and begins her walk home.
EVERY NIGHT
At 5.40 she arrives home, kisses her husband and son, and has dinner with her family
EXCEPT TONIGHT
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DON’T GO OUT IN THE DARK
A WET AUTUMN NIGHT
Newspaper reporter Jack Richardson lends his coat and car to a friend
AN ACCIDENT
Within thirty minutes, Jack’s car lies in flames
The crash seems suspicious, and Jack wonders if it was an accident, or murder.
But if it was murder,
Who was the intended victim?
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SAM LEROY RETURNS IN…
WRONG TIME TO DIE
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much blood.’
Los Angeles, California
When LAPD Detective Sam Leroy is called to a murder scene, even he is taken aback by the ferocity and savagery of the crime.
Furthermore, there seems to be no motive, which means no obvious suspects.
Believing the two victims themselves hold the key to their own murder, Leroy begins his investigations there, and before long the trail leads him to the island of Catalina, where a terrible secret has remained undiscovered for almost thirty years…
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SHOULD HAVE LOOKED AWAY
It began on a Sunday. An ordinary Sunday, and a family trip to the mall.
Will Carter takes his five-year old daughter to the bathroom, and there he is witness to a fatal assault on an innocent stranger.
Over
the next few days, Will tries to put the experience behind him, but when he sees one of the killers outside his home, he becomes more and more involved, soon passing the point of no return.
Becoming drawn deeper and deeper into something he does not understand, Will feels increasingly out of his depth and is soon asking where this is going and was the victim as innocent as he first thought…
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