by Philip Cox
The tall palm trees which lined the kerbside flashed past as the three cars increased speed. Now eighty-five. They passed by the Hollywood Palladium on their left, and a small shopping center on the right. The parking lot of the center was empty, save one car. A large red illuminated sign read Rite Aid, the primary store at the tiny mall. There was a Dennys on the next corner.
A green light as they crossed the Gower Street intersection. On the right they passed the entrance to the Sunset Gower Studios, which fronted the 14 acre lot which was formerly the Columbia Pictures studios. After the studios, the buildings seemed to be older and were of one single storey. Another Dennys was the other side of the road, and a sports field with an oval running track, still illuminated on the right. A block or so away Leroy could make out the red signage for Home Office Depot on Wilton Place.
Before Wilton, however, the road crossed the Hollywood Freeway, US 101.
‘If he’s heading for the freeway,’ Leroy said, ‘he’s going way too fast.’
The ramp for the southbound 101 was next right, and it looked as if Justin was intending to go straight on. However, a second police car was heading west along Sunset, and as soon as the occupants realised the subject of the call was approaching, the red and blue began flashing and the siren began to sound. Immediately Justin made a sharp right to get onto the 101 ramp. It is a sharp turn, and no matter how good a driver one is, seventy to eighty miles per hour is too fast for almost ninety degrees. Instead of neatly taking the bend, the car skidded, and hit the crash barrier protecting the ramp.
Justin had probably taken his foot off the gas by now, but the momentum kept the Stingray going down the ramp, sparks showering the verge as the side of the car scraped along the barrier. After a hundred feet or so, the nearside wheels hit an obstruction, and the car rose three feet above the ground, landing on its side where it continued to slide down the road until it smashed into a green direction sign, and came to a halt, steam gushing from under the hood.
The two black and whites got onto the ramp first, and pulled up in front of the wreck, blocking the freeway entrance. Leroy joined them and got out. He sniffed the air at first: there was no smell of gasoline, only rubber.
He walked to the front of the wrecked Stingray and knelt down to look at the two still forms in the car. Both airbags had activated, but Leroy could see that both were wearing seatbelts, and were still in their seats. David Pine was strapped in, eyes closed. Blood was running down the right hand side of his face from a large wound at the top of his forehead. Leroy noticed some rapid eye movement, and saw him move his head slightly. Justin was not so lucky. A steel support from the crash barrier had smashed through the passenger window, and was embedded in the side of his head. Bone, blood, tissue and brain matter was scattered over what was left of the window.
Leroy turned to Quinn. ‘Pine’s still alive. Call in for an ambulance. Fast.’
FIFTY-FIVE
THE HOLLYWOOD COMMUNITY Hospital on De Longpre was the nearest facility to the accident scene, and once extricated from the wreckage, David Pine was taken there. Justin’s body was taken directly to the County Morgue. Pine was showing some signs of life, moaning, REM, and some movement to his head as he was being cut free; heavily sedated, he was made comfortable by the two paramedics and taken away.
Leroy and Quinn followed the ambulance. There was nothing they could do about or with Justin now, but Leroy wanted to speak with Pine as soon as he regained consciousness, if he ever did.
One of the surgeons at HCH, a six feet six African American came out and spoke to the two detectives after Pine had been taken to the emergency room. ‘He has suffered severe trauma to the upper part of his body, and there are some neck and head injuries. We’re in the process of stabilising him at this time then we’re going to let him rest before we make a detailed examination.’
‘Is he conscious?’ Leroy asked.
‘If you’re saying can you talk to him, then the answer’s no, and it’ll be no for some time. He’s heavily sedated now; we’ve had to give him something for the pain. Right now, he’s under observation.’
Leroy nodded. ‘Okay. When he does regain consciousness, will we be able to speak with him then?’
‘Possibly,’ the doctor replied. ‘We’ll just have to see how he is. But if he is able to talk, it will only be for a short while.’
‘He is a suspect in a murder enquiry,’ Leroy said, ‘so we do need to speak with him as soon as he’s able. Detective Quinn and I are going to deal with other enquiries while he’s sleeping. Do you have any objection if I leave a uniformed officer here? Then the officer can call me if there’s any change in Pine’s status.’
‘I have no problem with that. Your officer will have to wait outside here, of course; not at Mr Pine’s bedside.’
So it was agreed: another officer would remain at the hospital while Leroy and Quinn returned to the Homicide Desk.
*****
Leroy had just finished briefing Lieutenant Perez when he got the call that Pine was regaining consciousness. Strobes and sirens in use in case Pine lapsed back into unconsciousness, they headed back to Hollywood.
‘While you were talking to the lieutenant,’ Quinn said, ‘I retrieved some more information on Pine, and a patrol car talked to a couple of his neighbours.’
‘Good work,’ replied Leroy. ‘What did you find out?’
‘David Kevin Pine,’ Quinn read out. ‘Aged 29. Has one conviction.’
‘Which we already know about.’
‘Yes, that’s right. As well as working behind the bar at Pacific Rim, he also has a job as a bellhop at a hotel on Western.’
‘Busy guy. Any girlfriend? Boyfriend?’
‘Not that the neighbours were able to say. He seemed to keep himself to himself. Never had any visitors; used to go out quite a bit – probably to work. He didn’t socialize with the neighbours. One said he was either shut in his apartment playing computer games or in the parking garage polishing his Harley.’
‘A Harley? Well, that’s probably what he was on when he went looking for Prescott.’ Leroy paused. ‘I don’t think the private car restriction on Catalina applies to motorcycles; we’ll have to check that out. One of the ferry companies might have a record of the trip. Is the Harley still in the garage?’
‘Apparently not.’
‘What about the Pacific Rim and the hotel? Has the patrol car been there?’
‘I said once they’d done at his apartment, to get down to the bar, although I’m not sure how much help the staff will be there.’
‘No,’ Leroy concurred.
‘Once they’ve gotten through there, they’re heading down to the hotel. It’s the Fine Western.’
‘That’s good. It might build up a better picture of David Kevin Pine, and what his story is.’
*****
On their return to the Hospital, Leroy asked for the doctor they spoke to earlier. He met them in the lobby.
‘He’s come round quicker than I anticipated,’ the doctor said as they waited outside Pine’s room, ‘so please be as brief as you can, and avoid exciting or agitating him.’
‘We will,’ Leroy reassured him.
‘There’s one thing you ought to know,’ the doctor said. ‘He’s quite lucid. After he came round, he asked to see a priest.’
‘A priest?’ Leroy looked at Quinn, then back at the doctor. ‘To make a confession?’
The doctor shrugged. ‘Or to receive last rites. Who knows? Also, he’s not aware that the driver didn’t survive the crash. It might be better if you didn’t tell him right now.’
Leroy nodded. ‘Has he seen a priest yet?’
‘We sent for the hospital chaplain. He’s out doing a home visit, so if you’re still here when he gets back, Mr Pine needs to see him immediately. Are we clear on that?’
Leroy nodded. ‘Crystal.’
The doctor opened Pine’s door to the detectives. ‘Please remember what I said. Brief, gently, and the priest.’
Pine was sitting up in bed, propped up by two pillows and a bolster. A transparent plastic oxygen tube was connected to his nose, and an IV tube to his wrist. Heavy black and blue bruises showed to his forehead and temple. Some of his teeth were cracked. He seemed aware of what was going on around, but his speech was a little slurred.
He looked over at Leroy and Quinn as they stepped into the room.
‘David,’ Leroy said quietly.
Pine looked over at him. ‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ he said weakly. ‘Do you want to hear my confession?’
FIFTY-SIX
LEROY SAT DOWN on the chair next to the bed. Quinn picked up another chair from the corner of the room and joined him.
‘I would like to, David,’ Leroy answered quietly. ‘In your own time. First of all: did you kill Murray and Barbara Hutchinson?’
Pine nodded, closing his eyes. He smiled. ‘Yes, I did.’
‘On your own? Or with Justin?’ Quinn asked.
‘Oh, with Justin. Always with Justin. In fact, he did the first one on his own. But I did the others with him. All those bastards from that kids’ home.’
Leroy asked, ‘So what was it with you and Justin? Were you two an item or something?’
Pine chuckled, his laughter terminated by a cough. ‘I wish. No, I first met him at work. At the Rim, I mean. Most daytimes I have a job at the Fine Western.’
‘As a bellhop; yes, I know. Tell me about Justin. How did you meet? At the bar?’
‘For sure. I was working there one night. It was quiet. He came in - alone. Sat at the bar; we got to talking. Same again the next few nights I was there.’
‘And the children’s home?’
‘That’s what I’m telling you. That was Justin’s problem.’ Pine stopped, coughed. ‘Okay, the Rim’s a gay bar; but like I told you before: I’m not gay myself; I just work there.
‘Justin, now he was gay. He got to telling me about the guy he used to live with. Justin’s a few years younger than me, but the guy he lived with was older than both of us. But he’s dead now, as well. Killed himself. Bullet to the brain. All because of that kids’ home.’
‘How so?’ Leroy asked.
‘On account of all the stuff that went on there,’ Pine replied. ‘He used to have nightmares about it, after all those years.’
Leroy and Quinn glanced at each other. ‘Go on,’ Leroy said.
Pine continued, ‘It was a school as well. There were maybe a couple of dozen kids at the home at the time. Boys, only boys. Well, this dude Justin lived with used to wake up nights crying like a baby, apparently. Said the guys running the place used to beat the shit out of them on a daily basis, for any misdemeanour, any excuse. Used to tie them down and beat them with a goddam paddle or belt until they cried out for them to stop. But the two guys in charge - Hutchinson and Prescott - were worse than the others. They’d do things to the boys. Justin’s guy - he never told me his name - told him that they took him down to the shed out back. He thought he was in for another beating, but they made him do things for them.’
‘Sexual things?’ Quinn asked.
‘Do I need to draw you a picture?’ Pine asked. ‘Then when that was done, they pulled his own pants down and took it in turns to have him. Every other night, that happened to one of the boys.’
‘And there was no way of contacting the outside world?’ asked Quinn.
‘Justin said maybe there would be now, but in those days there was nothing they could do. They never saw anybody from outside.’
Pine reached over for a glass of water and Quinn passed it to him.
Then Pine continued. ‘Two boys did kind of retaliate. Somehow they’d gotten hold of some stuff they found in the back yard and stuffed it up Prescott’s tail pipe. His car’s, I mean…’ Pine coughed as he laughed. ‘Apparently the car damn nearly exploded. But every boy in the place got paddled again and again until they gave the men the names of the two boys who did it.’
Leroy glanced over at Quinn. He knew the answer before he asked the question. ‘And what happened to the other two?’
‘They got taken out one evening. Nobody ever saw them again. Anyway, Justin always said that if it had happened these days, then at least one of the boys would have reported it. But back in the day everybody kept quiet. Wanted to forget it. Went into denial. Ashamed of what had happened to them. So Prescott, Hutchinson and those other low-lifes got away with it.’
Leroy said, ‘If any of them had gone to the police, even years later, then it would have been taken seriously. Look what happened to all those Catholic priests a few years back.’
‘Justin had a better plan. He told me about it. Told me about how those pervert bastards would get what was coming to them. Want to hear how we did it?’
FIFTY-SEVEN
‘YES, I DO,’ Leroy replied. ‘Tell us how you did it. How you killed Hutchinson, Travis, Dexter, Freeman, Greer. And Hutchinson’s wife. And Anthony Wong.’
Pine took a deep breath. ‘Travis was the first. When Justin and I first got together Travis had already been dealt with. That guy lived up in Seattle somewhere.’ He paused and coughed. ‘I should say at first that part one of Justin’s plan was to get a hold of where the bastards lived. He had done some research and found that Avalon Mission who ran the home was still in business and operating out of Avalon still. He knew where they worked - you know, picking up homeless kids here and there - so took a trip down to Tijuana when he knew they were down there. Prescott found him there and took him back to the States.
‘It seemed Prescott was still being controlled by his dick because he instantly took a shine to Justin and offered him the post of his PA. Had other designs on him, but Justin made sure that nothing happened. Working for Prescott, Justin was able to get the addresses of the other guys.
‘Well, he found that Travis had moved up to Washington State and took care of him. Used his guy’s old hunting rifle. The one he used on himself, Justin said. Once Travis was taken care of, we both went after the others.
‘Dexter was the next. Justin was always capable of getting into older men’s homes - you know what he looked like. He held old man Dexter at gunpoint while I searched his bathroom. Found a bottle of sleeping pills. Made the bastard take the lot. Sat and watched while he kind of just went to sleep.’
‘And the same with Freeman and Greer?’ Leroy asked.
‘U-huh. Greer, he was up near Soledad, I recall, but Freeman, he was LA, wasn’t he?’ Pine was beginning to get drowsy. ‘We made Greer put the rope around his own neck, then Justin kicked the chair away. With Freeman - now that was fun. Justin remembered that Prescott once told him that Freeman had a bad allergy to peanuts. So I bought a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly and made him a PB & J sandwich. God, that was fun watching him die.’
‘And Hutchinson? Why the genital mutilation? And why his wife too?’
‘Because it was Hutchinson who raped Justin’s guy. Many times. So he had it coming. And that ugly bitch of a wife of his: Justin wanted Hutchinson to see somebody close to him being violated, like his guy was.’
‘And Prescott?’ asked Leroy. ‘Was he violated before he died, too?’
Pine shook his head. ‘Justin wanted me to do that, as he’d be recognised by anybody else from the Mission. I said I couldn’t do what we both did to Hutchinson, so he came up with a Plan B. He wanted Prescott to burn to death; thought it was what he deserved. But I couldn’t do that either, so instead, I slit his throat with two feet of piano wire. It was outside his house on Avalon. I used my bike to get there; he thought it was Justin arriving. Got the shock of his life when I took the helmet off. Got an even bigger one when I put the wire round his throat.’ He began to laugh, the laughter punctuated by coughing.
‘Where did Anthony Wong figure in all of this?’ Leroy asked.
‘Justin figured it was getting too easy for you guys. All too predictable. So he thought we should throw in a diversion for you.’
‘A red herring?’
&
nbsp; ‘If you say so. Wong was one of Justin’s neighbours. Lived on the floor below.’
Leroy looked over at Quinn, then back at Pine. ‘So he lived in the same building? The next floor up?’ Looked at Quinn again and shook his head. Then asked, ‘What about the drugs?’
‘What drugs?’ Pine was getting tired by now.
‘We found a pill in the Hutchinsons’ bedroom. Where did that come from?’
‘Oh, yes. Justin got a hold of that. He said it would be cool to leave it at the scene; give you guys the run-around. We never used; at least I didn’t.’
‘Did Justin tell you where he got them from?’
Pine shook his head.
Leroy looked over at Quinn. ‘And that secret’s died with Justin.’
‘I’m getting tired now,’ Pine said softly. ‘I won’t have to go over all this again, will I?’
‘I expect so,’ Leroy replied. ‘But it’ll wait till you’ve recovered enough to stand trial.’
He and Quinn got up to go. As they left, Quinn turned to Pine and asked, ‘One more question: when Justin told you about all this, about what he wanted to do: why did you go along with it? Why not come to us?’
‘That’s easy. Because of what my uncle did to me when I was a boy. He figured he’d gotten away with it too.’
Leroy and Quinn said nothing; they left Pine alone in his room. Leroy spoke to the nurse at the reception desk. ‘We’re leaving now; Mr Pine’s asleep, I think. While he’s here, I’m leaving an officer here. Can you let the other doctor know?’
The nurse said she would and so Leroy and Quinn left. As they passed though the electric glass doors, a man wearing a clerical collar arrived. Leroy walked over to the patrol car which was parked in the lot and asked one of the patrolmen to wait there until a permanent replacement could be found.
Then they returned to the Taurus, and silently drove away.
On the way back to the police station, Quinn said, ‘Man, that’s quite something to take in.’
‘Isn’t it? You believe him?’
