Ready to Die (Sam Leroy Book 5)
Page 23
‘And even if they did have any suspicions about the rest, where’s the evidence? Wu got away with the first murder because the cops had no evidence, just their suspicions. Earlier today: that was just a fishing expedition. They could have asked us those questions here, or in my office. They insisted we go to the station, just to unnerve us. They certainly succeeded with you. It was pure theatre, Adrienne, just theatre.’
‘But Howard, they’ll be watching. Watching us. Watching what happens to Marty’s money.’
‘They can watch all they like. You are his sole next of kin therefore the estate legally goes to you. Didn’t we always say we need to be patient? I’m your lawyer. Months down the line, we can go public; say we grew close after Marty’s death. All legal and above board. The cash I gave Wu, that didn’t come from a bank account. There’s no audit trail - it can’t be traced. Not one shred of evidence points to us.’
‘You shouldn’t have used Wu. He has too much history. He had a connection with Martin.’
‘That proves nothing. There is nothing, nothing, evidentiary connecting Wu with either of us. All they have is some deadbeat at that mission on Alameda. His or her word against mine. Who’s any jury, who’s the DA, going to believe?’ He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. ‘I told you: we went through everything, down to the last detail. We’ve been so, so careful. Even down to collecting the shell cases up on Mulholland. That level of attention to detail; that’s why we can never be found out.’
‘And that cash?’ she asked. ‘It definitely can’t be traced?’
‘Not one red cent. And it was only going to one person – Wu. That’s why I insisted that he met Martin on his own. That’s why I had to pay him an extra five hundred to compensate for his fear of dogs. If he didn’t go alone, there would have been an extra witness, another person the police could talk to. There was just Wu: with him gone, nobody knows; we’re in the clear.’
She rested her head on Duvall’s shoulder.
‘I just want it to be over.’
‘It will be soon. We’ll just have to get Marty’s funeral out of the way. You will, of course, have to play the grieving widow for a few hours. Then, as your family lawyer, I will deal with Marty’s estate. All his money, and this place, will go to you. Less the taxes of course. Then I’ll wind up Joder Films. Give the people there their pink slips then you can decide what you want to do with the titles.’
‘Get rid of them, the discs.’
‘No, I mean the rights. I’m sure I’ll be able to sell them somewhere.’
‘Do that. I just want him and that company behind me.’
‘You will. Then we’ll just wait a few months.’ He put an index finger on her chin and lifted her head slightly. He could smell the booze on her breath. He leaned down to kiss her.
The doorbell rang. She jumped.
‘Who’s that?’ she shrieked.
‘Relax, darling. It’ll be nobody to worry about. Definitely not the police,’ he joked. He held her at arm’s length. ‘Go answer the door and get rid of them. Then – well, while I’m here…’
She nodded, smiled, and straightened her clothing.
Patted her hair back in place as she walked to the door.
Opened the door.
Saw Leroy and Quinn standing at the door.
CHAPTER FIFTY
‘The normal procedure,’ Russell Hobson said as he held up the bottle of Bollinger Special, ‘is when a friend and colleague does you a favour, you give them something.’ Talia, his wife, shook her head at Leroy in a don’t listen to him way.
‘It sure is,’ said Leroy as he opened his front door wide. ‘Come on in.’ With the door wide open, they could see the two kegs of San Miguel beer.
‘Wow, much appreciated, brother. Don’t let me forget those when we leave. Unless you’re planning on opening one tonight.’
‘I doubt that’ll be necessary. There’s enough booze out back to fill a liquor store. Go through; the others are out there.’
Leroy followed them out back. Everybody was here: Russ and Talia Hobson, Ray and Holly Quinn and Roman and Rosanne Perez.
‘You guys want the tour?’ Leroy asked. ‘The others have had it already.’
‘Sure, I’d love one,’ Talia said, and she and Russ, holding a mineral water and a glass of wine, followed Leroy around his new canal-fronting house, inside and out.
‘What are the neighbours like?’ Hobson asked, as they were walking round.
‘That side are a retired couple; seem nice. Some grandchildren visited yesterday, two boys, six or seven, I guess. The other side are a family: mother, father, I guess, with a boy and a girl, around the same age as the grandchildren.’
‘They know you’re a cop?’
‘Yeah, I slipped that into the conversation pretty early on.’
‘Any reaction?’
‘None really, but I thought I’d better start as I mean to go on.’ They rejoined the others. ‘Help yourselves to food, guys.’
‘You prepare all this, Sam?’ Perez asked, grinning. ‘Personally?’
‘Er – not exactly.’
‘It looks very familiar. Very much like the food they serve in Martha’s.’
For every Police Headquarters building, somewhere within a two-block radius, there will be a bar, used almost exclusively by the men and women from the Division. Martha’s was no exception. Situated on Iowa Avenue, between Colby and Butler, Martha’s had been an established watering hole since the early eighties. Martha herself, the granddaughter of an émigré from Germany between the two World Wars, had retired to Palm Springs some years back and the bar was now run by her son Kenny. Since Martha had left, nothing had changed: Kenny had retained his mother’s name for the bar, the food was just as bad, and the same clientele visited.
‘Yeah, well; I got Kenny to cater for me.’
Laughter.
‘Your neighbours?’ Hobson asked. ‘Any dogs?’
‘Don’t think so, why?’
‘You could check out their teeth.’
More laughter.
‘That was a very good break, Sam,’ said Perez. ‘Just to talk shop for a second. Otherwise, we’d never have heard of, what was his name?’
‘Tony Rios,’ said Quinn.
‘When are you due in court with them?’ Perez asked.
‘Just waiting on a date.’
‘Duvall was one clever son of a bitch,’ Quinn said. ‘Wasn’t he, Sam?’
‘He was. It turned out he had gambling debts. Used to drive to Vegas every other weekend. He owed well over a million. The proceeds of the Wheat estate would help, once he and Adrienne Wheat were a couple.’
‘Once she was out of the way,’ Quinn added.
‘Once she was out of the way, yes. It turns out he had been associated with Chuck Wu for some time, right since the Underwood charges were dropped.’
‘And the Underwood murder is still on the unsolved list,’ Quinn said.
‘And will probably stay that way,’ said Leroy.
‘The important thing,’ said Perez, ‘is that you guys got a result.’
‘And remember,’ cut in Hobson, ‘if all else fails, there’s always room for you in the K9 unit.’
More laughter.
The next hour or so were just filled with general chit chat, sometimes connected with work, sometimes not. After a while, Leroy noticed Holly Quinn take some dirty glasses into the kitchen. Casually, he wandered after her. Ray was engrossed in conversation with Hobson.
Holly was rinsing some glasses.
‘Hey,’ Leroy said, casually clearing up.
‘Hey,’ she replied.
‘How’s things, Holly?’
‘They’re good. Nice place, Sam.’
He nodded slowly.
‘Yeah, I think it is.’ He paused a moment. ‘So everything’s cool with you?’
She looked up at him, perplexed.
‘Of course. Why?’
‘It’s just the other day, Ray and I fini
shed early, and I stopped off for something to eat on the way home. I grabbed a cheesy mac – healthy, I know – from a truck on Venice and Dunn. I parked next to that motel by the aquarium.’
Holly’s expression froze. Flustered, she quickly looked around to make sure they were alone.
‘Have you told Ray?’
‘No.’
‘Are you going to?’
‘No plans on telling him. Holly, how long’s this been going on for?’
She stared into the sink.
‘A few months.’
‘Ray’s a good guy, Holly. You know that.’
‘I know, but…’
‘So what’s going on?’
‘Nothing. I’d already decided to put an end to things with him.’
‘With Ray?’
‘No. With… with the other guy. But you have to promise me you won’t tell Ray. Promise me, Sam.’
‘I told you, I’ve no intention of telling Ray. It’s between you guys, but Ray would be devastated if he found out. And so pissed at me if he found out I knew all along.’
‘I told you, Sam: I’m going to end it.’
At that point Rosanne Perez breezed in.
‘Nice party, Sam. Lovely house.’
‘Thanks, Rosanne.’
Rosanne and Holly went back to the others. Leroy pulled himself another can from a ring pull and wandered onto the back porch. He stood there, sipping his beer, and gazed around. This was all his: no more second floor apartment. Fresh air and nature. He made a mental note to call his mother in the morning: he would like her to come see his new home. Maybe Justine and her family, one day.
Ray Quinn appeared.
‘Hey.’
‘Hey,’ Leroy responded.
Quinn said, ‘Sam, Holly’s come down with some kind of a headache.’
‘Really, that’s too bad.’
‘So we’re going to hit the road.’
‘No problem, Ray. Glad you could both come.’
‘See you Monday?’ asked Quinn.
‘See you Monday.’
‘You stay put, Sam; we can let ourselves out.’
‘You know how to find your way back to your car?’
‘Out the front, make a left, then another left.’
‘You got it.’
After five minutes, Leroy decided to go back inside. As he left the porch, he could hear Ray and Holly get into their car, and drive off. It was dark by now. He wandered back inside.
Perez said, ‘Ray’s already gone; we’re gonna head off too. We have to relieve the babysitter. Thanks for the evening, though.’
‘Glad you could come, Roman. See you Monday?’
Leroy and Perez shook hands, and Rosanne stepped up to him. She looked up and gave him a bearhug.
‘Lovely house, Sam,’ she said, in her thick accent. ‘All you need now is a lovely woman to share it with. You know what? I could speak to one of my cousins.’
‘Sam’s okay on that, Rosanne,’ said Perez, pulling his wife away from Leroy.
Hobson and Talia also began getting ready to leave. Talia insisted on clearing up in the kitchen and loading the dishwasher, while Hobson and Leroy had one more drink. Talia was driving that night. They left at just after ten thirty, Russ taking his two kegs of beer with him.
Leroy sat on a chair on the back porch. Maybe he would try the front porch tomorrow. It was silent, and dark. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He was glad they had all come to his housewarming tonight, but he was also relieved they had all left.
He sat still, savouring the open air and the tranquility.
Then his phone chirped. Wearily, he pushed himself off the chair and went into the kitchen, where his phone was resting on the counter. He answered.
‘Yes, Mrs Washington. This is Detective Leroy here…’
THE END
ALSO BY PHILIP COX
INTRODUCING
LAPD DETECTIVE SAM LEROY
LAST TO DIE
Los Angeles, late September, and the hot Santa Ana winds are blowing, covering the city with a thin layer of dust from the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.
That night, there are three mysterious, unexplained deaths.
The official view is that they are all unrelated. The deceaseds had no connection, and all died in different parts of the city.
However, Police Detective Sam Leroy has other ideas, and begins to widen the investigation.
But he meets resistance from the most unexpected quarter, and when his life and that of his loved ones are threatened, he faces a choice: back off, or do what he knows he must do…
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088KJ17W4
www.amazon.com/dp/B088KJ17W4
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…
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VPKN4TI
www.amazon.com/dp/B00VPKN4TI
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.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N38CZNJ
www.amazon.com/dp/B01N38CZNJ
SAM LEROY IS BACK IN
ANOTHER WAY TO DIE
Seven years ago, LAPD Detective Sam Leroy shot and killed Harlan Cordell, and breathed a sigh of relief that the reign of the infamous Pentagram Killer was over.
But now, the killings have begun again. The police believe they are dealing with some fanatical copycat, but these new murders share a small detail with those before, a detail only the police and the killer would know.
How can today’s killer know the intimate details of seven years ago?
Or, as he fears, did Leroy kill the wrong man, leaving the real Pentagram Killer to wait and resume his grisly trade on an unsuspecting city?
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PPJ22QY
www.amazon.com/dp/B07PPJ22QY
ALSO BY PHILIP COX
THE VALUE OF NOTHING
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?
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088KP99D2
www.amazon.com/dp/B088KP99D2
THE ANGEL
Investigative reporter Jack Richardson is assigned to a story involving sleaze and a prominent Member of Parliament.
During the investigation, Jack receives a call relating to an old case, one involving the murder of a twenty-year-old girl, suggesting that the case might not be as closed as everybody thinks.
Torn between his assigned story, and one where there might have been a terrible miscarriage of justice, Jack must make a choice.
His decision le
ads him into a dark place he never knew existed, and which puts him in great personal danger…
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BR2YQGG
www.amazon.com/dp/B07BR2YQGG
THE COYOTE
`
London newspaper reporter Jack Richardson is working on a story when he receives the news that his brother-in-law has been found dead in his car.
Having reservations about the verdict of suicide he starts to probe the circumstances, and finds similarities between his brother-in-law’s death and the story he is working on, both connected to a chain of events which began three years earlier, and over a thousand miles away…
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0888C2LHM
www.amazon.com/dp/B0888C2LHM
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.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FZ0RAI
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005FZ0RAI