Faye Kellerman_Decker & Lazarus 17

by The Mercedes Coffin

Decker shrugged.

  Rina was taken aback. “C’mon. When you found out about Sammy and Jacob, you were ready to tear the SOB apart!”

  “Vitton is the ‘walk like a man’ type of guy.”

  “Acid on the genitals, Peter?”

  “If Vitton would have known, I’m sure he would have arrested Banks.”

  “That poor boy—Cal J. How did he stand such humiliation and physical abuse?”

  “I think Dr. Ben came to his rescue and Rudy was expelled.”

  “So Rudy had a reason to hate Little.”

  “True, but Little wasn’t murdered until five years later.”

  Rina thought about that. “If Little got involved in Cal’s welfare, he must have said something to his father.”

  “I’m sure he did. I’m sure that Cal Senior hated Rudy. He just didn’t have enough of anything to arrest him.”

  “Acid on the genitals…how could any father stand for that?”

  “I’m sure he didn’t know, Rina.”

  “Talk about emasculation…” She thought a moment. “Did Vitton suspect his son was gay?”

  “According to Lamar, Cal J hadn’t come out in high school, but everyone knew.”

  “Is Cal really, really gay or just like…gay.”

  Decker smoothed his mustache. He knew she was asking the question for a reason. “Uh…he’s not overly flamboyant, if that’s what you mean. He was definitely effete, but I’ve known guys like that who are married. I didn’t get a chance to say more than a couple of words to him. He’s not leaving until Saturday. Maybe I can catch him tomorrow.”

  “What did Cal Senior think about his son being gay?”

  “According to Lamar, he dealt with it by denying or not talking about it.”

  “Hmmm…”

  “What does hmmm mean?”

  “How should I put this?” She tried to organize her thoughts. “I once knew a very religious family. They lived in one of the ultra-Orthodox sections of Brooklyn. Anyway, the family had quite a few sons and one was gay. He died of AIDS. The mother was broken up…just devastated. As for the father…he couldn’t wait to be done with shivah. I would have thought it was my imagination, but I wasn’t the only one who noticed.”

  “I’m sure your perceptions are accurate.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Now it could be that the man had deep, deep feelings for his son, but he sure didn’t show it. What he projected was being repelled by his son’s makeup.”

  “Okay. So, yes, maybe Cal was repelled by his son’s gayness, but I would bet that Cal Senior didn’t want anybody beating up on his son.”

  “Of course not. I’m not saying that at all. If he would have found out about Rudy and the acid incident, I’m sure he would have arrested that jerk with glee. I’m just wondering…not that he approved of the bullying, not that he even knew the extent of it. Just like I’m saying that I’m sure the father didn’t pray for his son to die of AIDS. Still, his reaction was blunted…something was off. And just like that father, I can’t help but wonder if deep down inside, there wasn’t a little part of Cal Senior that agreed with the gay-bashing sentiment.”

  THE BOTTOM OF his morning coffee mug had just touched his desk when the intercom squawked. “Good morning, Lieutenant; a man named Liam O’Dell is here to see you.”

  A stroke of luck. He’d been meaning to call him, anyway.

  “Thanks. You can send him in.”

  A minute later, the Mad Irishman was standing at his door. Over his shoulder stood a well-built Hispanic uniformed officer whose eyes were pinned on the back of O’Dell’s neck. He said, “He didn’t make it through the metal detector, obviously. I patted him down for weapons, but didn’t do a strip search. It’s your call.”

  “Thank you, that won’t be necessary.” After the officer left, Decker said, “You’re up early.”

  “I didn’t go to sleep.”

  That could explain why he looked so bad—droopy red eyes, blotchy skin, in dire need of a shave and ripe to the nose.

  “Banks is gone.”

  “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  O’Dell became agitated. “Did you hear me?” he yelled. “Banks is fuckin’ gone!”

  Decker got up and closed the door. “Yes, I heard you and you better lower your voice or any second you’ll be on the ground, spread-eagled, with your arms cuffed behind your back. Now sit down!”

  O’Dell turned quiet and plunked his rear end on a chair.

  “I repeat,” Decker said. “Do you want some coffee?”

  Liam nodded. “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” Decker buzzed for another cup of coffee. “Banks moved out Saturday. I don’t know where he went. We’re looking for him. I was going to call you anyway, so I’m glad you dropped by. What are you so pissed about?”

  “He owes me money. How am I ever going to get what rightfully belongs to me? Primo’s gone. Ryan’s as good as gone. I’m all alone in this now, and I can’t even find the bastard. I’m screwed!”

  “The voice, O’Dell.”

  “Sorry.”

  The coffee arrived. The caffeine paradoxically seemed to have a soothing effect. Decker said, “Why don’t you just put out your own ‘best of’ album. If for no other reason, it might flush Banks out of the woodwork.”

  “Where the fuck am I going to get money for that? To do anything in this bloody business, you need a backer.”

  “I’m sure there are some Doodoo Sluts fans who might give you support. From what I understand, you had quite a crowd of admirers—male and female.”

  “That was a century ago, mate. Rudy took them all. He probably fucked them over.” He took another gulp of the hot liquid. “I was really counting on the lawsuit. Not for me, but for Ryan. The guy lives like a junkyard dog.”

  “I know. I went to visit him. His brother’s a doctor.”

  “He told you that?”

  “About ten times.”

  “That sounds like Ryan.”

  “Does his brother help out?”

  “He does…he’s a good man, Barry is, but he can’t afford to put Ryan in the kind of home he needs.”

  “Ryan said he was a lung doctor. They do pretty well.”

  “He works at a university.”

  “Aha.” Decker sipped. “Any idea where Rudy could have gone—a favorite club, a bar, a restaurant, a casino, maybe a massage parlor?”

  “I’m in the dark, mate. I don’t know where he went or who he hung with. Whenever I went to see him, I tried to pick him off at his apartment.”

  “Pick him off?”

  “Y’know what I mean, mate.”

  “Who is Rudy’s lawyer, O’Dell?”

  “What?”

  “Rudy’s attorney. You’re in a lawsuit with Banks. You have a lawyer. He must have a lawyer. Judging by the amount of lawsuits the guy generated, he probably has several lawyers.”

  “He usually did his own defending. He’s a lawyer.”

  “He’s got way too many suits to do it alone.”

  “I suppose I could call me lawyer about it.”

  “Please do.” Decker handed him the phone.

  “Now?”

  It was a little after eight. Decker said, “Even if your lawyer isn’t in, call and leave a message. If anyone knows where Rudy is, it would be his lawyer.”

  “His lawyer won’t tell us, mate. Confidentiality.”

  “I know that. I’ll deal with that later. For starts, I’d like to find out if Rudy’s alive.”

  O’Dell made a tiny O with his mouth. “You think he’s dead?”

  “That’s an open question.”

  “Nah, he’s not dead.” O’Dell brushed Decker off. “He’s just runnin’ from his creditors.”

  “Or from his dealers?”

  Again, O’Dell paused. “That could be. Rudy used to deal, y’know.”

  “Yes, I found that out. I think he might have used a kid named Darnell Arlington as one of his runners. Back then, he was around sixteen—tall and
black. Built like a basketball player.”

  “Name doesn’t ring any bell in me head. I didn’t buy the drug, Lieutenant. Rudy did. Rudy was the supplier for the band, the roadies, the girls, especially the girls.”

  “What kinds of drugs?”

  “From pot to H and anything in between. When we weren’t doing drugs, we were drinkin’ by the fifth. I don’t remember the kid, but I don’t remember much from those days at all. Not even the girls. That’s what really pisses me off. I don’t even know if it was good or not.”

  “Where did Rudy get the money to buy the drugs?”

  “Probably skimmed it from the band’s profits. He was in charge of the money. We were idiots for letting him do it, but we were also too stoned to care.”

  “Ekerling seemed to be aware of things. How’d he let Rudy get away with handling the finances?”

  “That’s what broke us up, mate. The money. When Primo started getting sober, he realized what was going down. The more sober he got, the more he and Rudy fought. When Rudy left the band, the Sluts wasn’t the Sluts. We tried to pick up the pieces, got a new lead vocalist, but it just didn’t click. And the times were changing. Grunge was pickin’ up and everyone wanted to sound like Kurt Cobain. I hate Seattle.”

  “Does the name Jervis Wenderhole sound familiar? His street name was A-Tack.”

  “Don’t know him, mate, but I don’t know everyone.” He finished his coffee. “So you think that Rudy’s dead?”

  “He moved and we can’t find him. That’s all I know. Sure you don’t have a clue about where he might be?”

  “Rudy always talked about moving to Mexico…money’s cheap and so are the women. That’s what he used to say.”

  “Does he own property in Mexico?”

  “I hope so. It would be something I could sell for cold hard cash.”

  “Liam, if you think of anywhere he might be…if you find him, please call me right away. I found some blood drips in his apartment. More than a cut finger’s worth.”

  “Oh bloody hell!” O’Dell looked grave. “Is it Primo?”

  “It wasn’t Primo. He was O positive. The blood was B positive. There’s a nameless body out there, and Banks knows something about it.” Decker paused. “Was he mad at anyone specific?”

  “No one specific, mate, just the world.”

  CHAPTER 28

  DECKER HANDED MARGE a slip of paper on which was written a name, an address, and a telephone number. “One of Rudy Banks’s lawyers. Go over and find out if she’s had contact with Rudy in the last few days.”

  Marge flipped hair out of her eyes. Dressed in blue slacks, a white shirt, and a cardigan sweater, she could have stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. The name on the note was Hillary Mackleby, and the address was in the city. “You can’t find out this information by a phone call?”

  “She’s not going to tell us anything about Rudy because of confidentiality issues, but a clever detective will be able to interpret her facial expression once you tell her that he’s been missing since Saturday. If she seems calm, he isn’t missing. If she seems alarmed, then maybe he hasn’t contacted her.”

  “Where is this place?”

  “Wilshire between Crescent Heights and La Brea.”

  Marge sat down. “No problem. It’s convenient, anyway. I have to go into the city. I’ve found Jervis Wenderhole.”

  “A-Tack.”

  “I found out why they called him that,” Marge said. “His full name is Jervis Attarack Wenderhole. Attarack…A-Tack. Anyway we set up the appointment by phone tag. Since I’ll be going into the city, I’ll stop by the law offices and try to speak with Mackleby in person.”

  Oliver knocked on the open door, then stepped into the office, wearing a brown jacket, white shirt, and a gold tie. Marge looked at him. “You look like you’re headed for Vegas.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “How’d the memorial go?”

  “Freddie Vitton was a wealth of information. Rudy Banks used to torture Vitton’s younger brother, Cal Junior, when they were in school together. Banks went so far as to try to throw acid on his genitals—”

  Marge said “Jesus” and Oliver said “Ouch” at the same time.

  Oliver said, “What did Cal Senior do when he found out?”

  “Apparently, Big Cal man never found out about the bullying,” Decker said.

  “C’mon.” Marge looked up from her notepad. “He had to have known something.”

  “According to Freddie, he probably did know something, but Cal J never confided in his dad, so Cal Senior never did anything. Freddie did mention that his father hated Rudy and if Rudy would have been implicated in Little’s death, Cal wouldn’t have hesitated to haul him in. Rudy was a punk and had run-ins with the law.”

  “I don’t buy that. Big Cal knew about it. A good parent knows when something’s wrong.”

  “He wasn’t a very good parent,” Decker said.

  Marge said, “But how would Freddie know that his father hated Rudy if Junior never mentioned the bullying to his dad? And if Cal Senior hated Rudy because he was a local punk, why would he be talking about Rudy to Freddie?”

  “Good point,” Decker said. “Freddie also told me that Ben Little was intervening on Cal J’s behalf. Maybe that’s why Cal Senior didn’t intervene. And eventually the situation was taken care of. Rudy was expelled. Since Arnie Lamar said that Big Cal wasn’t that comfortable with his son’s homosexuality, I could see Cal Senior letting someone else deal with the situation.”

  Oliver said, “If Little expelled Banks, then Banks would have a reason to hate him.”

  “But Banks had been out of North Valley for five years,” Marge told him. “He was already a punk rock star. Why would he wait so long to kill Little?”

  Decker said, “Maybe he had finally amassed enough money to pay for the hit.”

  Marge was making diagrams. “Banks torments Cal J, Little expels Banks. Then Banks kills Little…and then fifteen years later, Cal Senior commits suicide?”

  “Oh, I spoke to Detective Shirley Redkin about suicide. The death was ruled inconclusive.” When both detectives looked up, Decker explained, “Off the record, she thinks the ME wanted to keep the options open just in case other information came in.”

  The room was quiet for a moment. Oliver said, “Is it possible that Rudy found out about the reopening of the case and murdered Cal Senior?”

  Decker shrugged.

  Marge shook her head. “You know, we’ve never even interviewed Banks face-to-face.”

  “I talked to him.”

  “For how long?”

  “About five minutes.”

  “I rest my case,” Marge said. “We seem to be making him our convenient fall guy.”

  Oliver said, “His name keeps showing up.”

  “How about this?” Decker said. “Freddie also told me that Rudy used to be the drug dealer for the school. I just talked to Liam O’Dell and he said Rudy was the drug supplier for the group.”

  “Banks was a drug runner and Darnell was a drug runner,” Oliver said. “That’s how the two were connected. When Arlington was arrested for drug dealing, Ben Little found out about the operation. He somehow managed to sweep Arlington’s arrest under the table because he liked Arlington, but he had no such love for Banks. He became a threat to Rudy’s operation, so Banks had him murdered.”

  Marge said. “You’re assuming that Rudy still worked North Valley when Darnell came to the school.”

  Oliver said, “The turf isn’t that big, and Darnell would have been perfect for the job. Then Darnell got caught and Little became a threat. Rudy told Darnell to fix the situation. Now by then Darnell had moved away, but he still had friends. Maybe he hired one of his dawgs to do the shooting.”

  Decker looked skeptical. “Wenderhole and Josephson were interviewed. They had alibis.”

  Marge said, “And why didn’t Vitton arrest Rudy if he suspected him of selling drugs?”

/>   Oliver said, “He probably didn’t have the evidence. Just like we don’t have the evidence.”

  Marge held up a finger. “Or maybe Rudy had something on Cal Senior. Something big enough to make Cal Senior back off.”

  “Like what?” Oliver said. “That Cal J was gay?”

  Decker said, “Freddie implied that even before Cal J came out, it was pretty clear that he was gay.”

  “It was common knowledge?” Marge asked.

  Decker said. “I got the feeling it wasn’t spoken about, but it kinda hovered over Cal Senior’s consciousness.”

  “Have you spoken to Cal J?”

  “I’m going to try to talk to him before he goes back to San Francisco. By the way, the blood I found in Banks’s apartment doesn’t match Ekerling.”

  Marge made a face. “So we’ve got another body to deal with?”

  “I wish we had another body,” Decker said. “All we have is blood drips. I have no idea who the blood belongs to or how old it is. When are you going to meet with Wenderhole?”

  “This afternoon.”

  Oliver said, “If Darnell hired Wenderhole to ice Little, he’s going to lawyer up. You’re not going to get anything out of him.”

  Marge said, “I left messages that I wanted to talk to him about the Little case. If he was going to lawyer up, he had his chance. He agreed to meet with me. So I think our theory about Darnell hiring out his peeps is crap. Maybe it was Melinda Little who hired out. That insurance policy keeps tickling the back of my mind.”

  “You think Melinda hired Rudy to kill her husband?” Oliver said.

  “Why are you so obsessed with Rudy?” Marge asked.

  “Because he keeps lingering around like a bad fart.”

  “But we keep blaming everything on him. It’s like the Democrats in ’08. Every ill that had befallen the country—from terrorism to global warming—was George Bush’s fault.”

  Oliver smiled. “Ooooh, she’s getting all political!”

  “I’m just saying Banks right now is easy dumping ground. We need to consider other alternatives. And by the way, you should hear Will if you think I’m a fascist.”

  “But he’s from Berkeley.”