[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

travel in style? Yeah, could be. So what do we have, just a road trip?Bonnie
and Clyde in fancy wheels cutting townbecause they ve been doing bad things.
 Don t know, I said.  People who attend Nora s school keep disappearing,but
now that we know Peaty s got wheels he s got to remain center focus.
 A van. Your basic psycho meat wagon. And soon he s gonna be unemployed.
IfSean s yanked off surveillance and that bastard sneaks away, I m further
backthan when I started.
He folded his arms across his chest.  I screwed up by telling Brad
aboutPeaty s van.
 Peaty cleans lots of buildings, I said.  It was the right thing to
do,morally.
 Weren t you listening? I was covering my own ass.
 Sorry, can t hear you.
While we waited for the LAPD tow truck to arrive, Milotried phoning Binchy.
Again no connection. He said something about the high-tech big lie and paced
up and down the block.
The truck appeared, moving slowly as the driver searched for the address.
Milo s wave went unheeded. Finally, the rig pulled up anda sleepy-looking
driver around nineteen got out.
 In there, the Toyota, Milotold him.  Consider it a crime scene and take it
directly to the forensicsgarage.
The driver rubbed his eyes and shuffled paper.  Them wasn t my orders.
 Them is now. Milo handed him gloves. Thedriver slipped them on and slouched
toward the little car s driver s door.
Milo said,  There s a snow globe on theseat. It s evidence.
 A wha?
Page 89
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
 One of those doohickeys that snows when you turn it upside down.
The driver looked baffled. Opened the door and drew out the globe. Upendingthe
toy, he watched plastic flakes flutter. Peered at the writing at the baseand
wrinkled his brow.
Milo gloved up, snatched it away, anddropped it in an evidence bag. His face
was flushed.
The driver said,  I m supposed to take that in?
 No, Professor, I keep it.
 Snow, said the driver.  Hollywoodand Vine? Never seen no snow there.
As I drove back to the station, Milo said, Do me a favor and contact that
lawyer Montez soon as you can. Find out ifMichaela told him anything about
Meserve and Nora that she didn t tell you. Anyidea who Meserve s P.D. was?
 Marjani Coolidge.
 Don t know her.
 Me neither, but I can try.
 Try is great.
The second call to Binchy connected. Milotold him,  Check out your phone,
Sean. You still on him? Nah, don t worry aboutit, he s probably working. I ll
figure something out for nights. What you cando for me is start calling health
spas from Santa Barbara County down tomid-Baja and see if Nora Dowd or Dylan
Meserve have checked in& spas like inmassages and health food. What?& no, it s
fine, Sean.
He jammed the phone in his pocket.
 Stuck on robbery detail? I said.
 Seems to be. He beat a fast cha-cha rhythm on the dashboard. I could feelthe
vibrations through the steering wheel.
 Better get over to Peaty s place myself tonight. The unregistered
van sgrounds to arrest him. Maybe we can chat in his apartment so I get a look
atthe dump. Meanwhile, I make those spa calls myself hello, ear cancer.
 I can do that. Leave the big-strong-guy detective work to you.
 Such as?
 Finding out if Nora used her passport. Is it really tougher postNine-Eleven?
I d think there d be more interagency communication.
 What a sage, he said.  Yeah, I fibbed to Bradley, figuring he d bemotivated
to get into Nora s house, let me know if anything s off. Technically,nothing s
changed, you still need a search warrant to access passenger lists.And the
airlines, being busy figuring out ways to torment their passengers,still take
their sweet time complying. But there is more buddy-buddy stuff.Remember that
granny shooting I closed last year?
 Sweet old lady subbing for her son at the liquor store.
 Alma Napier. Eighty-two years old, perfect health, some meth addleddungball
unloads a shotgun on her. The search of said dungball s dump turns upa carton
of video cameras from Indonesiahollowed out inside with pistol-shaped
compartments. I thought the Federal AirMarshals might want to hear about that,
got to know one of the supervisorsthere.
He retrieved the phone, asked for Commander Budowski.
 Bud? Milo Sturgis& fine. You? Terrific.Listen, I need a favor.
Fifteen minutes after we got to his office, a civilian clerk brought in
thefax. We d split the task of locating and phoning spas, were coming up
empty.
Milo read Budowski s report, handed it tome, got back on the phone.
Nora Dowd hadn t used her passport for foreign travel since the previousApril.
Three-week trip to France,just as Brad had said.
Dylan Meserve had never applied for a passport.
Neither Nora nor Dylan s name appeared on any domestic flights out of LAX,
Long Beach, Burbank, JohnWayne, Lindbergh, or Santa Barbara.
Budowski had left a handwritten note at the bottom. If Nora had sprung for
aprivate jet, that fact might never emerge. Some air-charter companies were
Page 90
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
lessthan meticulous checking I.D.s.
Milo said,  There s everyone. Then there sthe rich.
He made a few more calls to resorts, broke for coffee at two p.m. Instead
ofcontinuing, he leafed through his notepad, found a number, and phoned.
 Mrs. Stadlbraun? Detective Sturgis, I was by last week to talk about& he
is?How so? I see. No, that s not very polite& yes, it is. Has there been
anythingbeyond that& no, there s nothing new but I was figuring to stop by and
talk tohim. If you could call me when he gets in, I d appreciate it. Still
have mycard? I ll hold& yes, that s perfect, ma am, either of those numbers.
Thanks& no,ma am, there s nothing to worry about, just routine follow-up.
He clicked off, rotated the phone receiver, twisting the cord and letting
itrecoil.
 Ol Ertha says Peaty s been acting  even weirder. He used to just keep
hishead down, pretended not to hear. Now he looks her in the eye with what
sheclaims is  nastiness. What do you make of that?
 Maybe he spotted Sean watching him and is getting nervous, I said.
 I suppose, but one thing Sean s an ace at is not getting made. He wheeledhis
chair the few inches the cramped space permitted.  Would  nervous makePeaty
more dangerous?
 It could.
 Think I should caution Stadlbraun?
 I don t know what you could say that wouldn t cause panic. No doubt Bradwill
evict Peaty in addition to firing him.
 So we ve got ourselves a homeless, jobless, angry guy with illegal
wheels.Time to grovel and ask the captain for help with surveillance.
He disappeared, came back, shaking his head.  At a meeting downtown.
I was on the line with the Wellness Inn of Big Sur, enduring a voice
mailmessage about seaweed wrap and Ayurvedic massage and waiting for a human
voice.
By three thirty, we were both finished. Nora Dowd hadn t checked into anyposh
retreat we could find under her name or Dylan Meserve s.
I tried Lauritz Montez at the Beverly Hills Public Defender s office.
In court, expected back in half an hour.
Too much sitting around. I got up and told Milowhere I was going. His reply
was a finger wave. I didn t bother to reciprocate.
I reached the Beverly Hillscourt building by five to four. Closing time for
most sessions. The hallwayswere filled with attorneys, cops, defendants, and
witnesses.
Montez was in the middle of it, pushing a black leather case on wheels.
Thinand sallow as ever, gray hair drawn back in a ponytail. Giant drooping
mustacheand wispy chin-beard whitening around the edges. The lenses of his
glasses werehexagonal and cobalt blue.
Walking alongside him was a pallid young woman in a filmy pink granny [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • moje-waterloo.xlx.pl

    •