Faye Kellerman_Decker & Lazarus 19

by Hangman

  Jake said, “We even pulled out the trundle because it appears we’ve been supplanted by a younger model.” When Gabe turned red, he added, “Go eat some corned beef, kid. You need some protein.”

  “I’m still full from the pizza.”

  “Well, then go make me a sandwich. I’m hungry.”

  “Excuse me?” Rina said. “Is that how I taught you to talk to guests?”

  “He’s not a guest, he’s an interloper.”

  “It’s fine.” Gabe smiled shyly. “What kind of sandwich do you want?”

  “Pastrami and smoked turkey on rye, mustard, no mayo, and all the sides.”

  “Got it.” Gabe turned to brace himself for the onslaught at the buffet.

  When he left, Jacob said, “Nice kid. I understand he’s dealing with a couple of issues.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Decker threw his arm around his sons. “Thank you, Yonkel. Thank you, Shmueli. I will never forget this day.”

  “I love you, old man,” Jacob told him. “Now can I have the car?”

  Cindy came up to her father, munching on a drumstick. She kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday, Daddy. You deserve all this and more.”

  “I love you, princess.” He kissed her cheek, peeking at her abdomen that had blossomed into a nice bump. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m always famished around this time.”

  “When’s the big day?” Jake asked.

  Cindy said. “Christmas or New Year’s…something like that.”

  Jake laughed. “You don’t know the due date?”

  “I wasn’t listening too closely once the test turned up positive.” Cindy mussed up her stepbrother’s hair, then took another bite of chicken. “Wow, this is good. Koby, can you get me another drumstick?”

  Koby finished off his turkey on rye and wiped his hands on a napkin. “Not a problem. I’m ready for seconds anyway. Anyone else want something?”

  “I’ll take another sandwich,” Sammy said.

  “Hannah?” Koby asked.

  “Smoked turkey on rye.”

  “Rina?”

  “Same as Hannah.”

  “Lieutenant?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “But you haven’t eaten anything,” Rina said.

  “I’m still trying to figure out how all this happened.”

  “You figure it out,” Koby said. “I’ll get the food.”

  “There are going to be lots of leftovers,” Rina announced. “You guys will have to take all this food off my hands.”

  “Why don’t we eat it for Shabbos so you won’t have to cook,” Sammy said.

  “This is like the first time in years that all my family is going to be together,” Rina said. “Do you honestly think I’m going to serve you cold cuts for Shabbos?”

  Decker said, “How about if we let the guys and gals who work here take the food home to their families?”

  “I think that would be a dandy idea,” Rina said.

  “So if the cold cuts are vetoed for dinner, can I put in a vote for rack of lamb?” Jacob said. “Medium rare with green beans and garlic mash?”

  Rina rolled her eyes. “Anything else, Yonkel?”

  “A nice apple pie never hurt anyone.”

  Koby brought Cindy a drumstick, which she polished all off in four bites. “I love you all, but we can’t stay. Both of us have to go back to work.”

  “Wait,” Sammy said. “You have to stick around for the cake.”

  “A cake?” Decker said. “You’re not actually going to sing me ‘Happy Birthday’?” He turned to Rina for help. “Don’t let them do this.”

  “It’s not my decision.”

  Decker was getting desperate. “I have to get back to work. I’ve got a possible murder suspect sitting in the interview room wondering what’s going on.”

  “Actually, I just checked in on him,” Oliver said. “He’s very happy with his smoked turkey on rye.”

  Sammy said, “Go get the cake, Yonkel.”

  “You get the cake.”

  Marge said, “I’ll get the cake.” She turned to Oliver. “C’mon, Detective, let’s go embarrass the Loo.”

  The cake was brought in, looking more like a welding torch than a pastry. There were sixty candles plunged into chocolate icing. Decker braced for the misery as the entire squad room erupted into an off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday.” The only saving grace, in his opinion, was that he was able to blow out all the candles in a single breath.

  As Rina was cutting the cake, Decker took Marge aside. “What’s going on with Tinsley’s phone?”

  “Well, Chuck did make some calls on that Monday during the time he was supposedly at lunch at Ranger’s. I’ve got someone checking on the towers to see where the calls were bounced from and then we’ll work backward.”

  “Is the cell tower for Ranger’s the same cell tower for the Grossman project?”

  “I’m checking that out as well.”

  “Tinsley gave us permission to get the business card that he took off of Adrianna’s body and also to search his house.”

  “Good job, Rabbi. Now I know why you’re in charge.”

  “You know, I really need to get started on that. I won’t be able to keep stalling him forever.”

  “No, Pete, you need to stay here with your party guests. Oliver and I will go over to Tinsley’s apartment.” Marge held out her hand. “Keys, please?”

  “You’re not cutting me a break, are you?”

  “To every season, there is a time.” She clamped a hand on Decker’s shoulder. “Loo, this is your time.”

  A SEARCH OF Tinsley’s place revealed the business card in the nightstand, a few ounces of cheap weed, and most important in the detectives’ eyes, a bag of women’s jewelry. Tinsley swore that the baubles belonged to his late mother, but Decker knew that killers often took trophies. He needed to make sure that none of the trinkets belonged to Adrianna Blanc and that meant calling up Kathy Blanc and asking her if she could identify any of the pieces. Tomorrow was going to be a hellish morning.

  Tinsley was run through the local system—no wants or warrants—then his prints were submitted to AFIS. Nothing popped up. He gave a buccal swab for DNA. Decker now faced a dilemma. He could either arrest Tinsley on lesser charges, which would guarantee no further cooperation on his part. Or he could spring him from the station house, thereby keeping the lines of communication open. Decker chose to let him go, keeping Tinsley in the crosshairs, assigning a cruiser to keep watch on the man.

  Both Ranger’s (the deli where Tinsley ate) and the Grossman place (the site where he worked) used the same tower for cell phones, so that was a bust. The next best option—and far from optimal—was to go to the eatery and see if anyone could put Tinsley there at twelve-thirty Monday afternoon for lunch.

  It was after one in the morning by the time Decker finished the paperwork and made it home. He was still on a high from his party, but it was tempered by the full schedule he knew he had tomorrow. He hoped to get a little bit of solitude before he dropped off to sleep. The house was quiet when he opened the door, lit with a lone living-room lamp. He expected to find Rina reading, but it was Gabe bundled up in blankets.

  “What are you doing up so late?”

  The boy took off his glasses and put down his book. “It was really cramped with the three of us in the bedroom, so I offered to sleep on the couch.”

  “Nice of you, but you’re not sleeping.”

  “No, I don’t do that too much these days.”

  “How’s your hand?”

  “It’ll be fine.” He rubbed his arms. “That was a stroke of luck…hurting my hand. No way I could have gotten an audition with Nicholas Mark. He’s got a waiting list for students that stretches to the moon.”

  “You must have impressed him.”

  “I don’t know how. I made mistakes. Probably fewer than if I knew he’d been listening.” He drew his knees up to his chin. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “S
ure.” Decker sat down. “What’s up?”

  “You know that I did talk to Chris on Tuesday. I was reluctant to tell you everything because I promised him I wouldn’t tell you about the conversation until three days later. He wanted time to get out of L.A.”

  Decker paused. “And that’s what he said? He needed time to get out of L.A.?”

  “More or less. You probably think he’s gone into hiding. I think he was trying to shake you off so he could find my mom without you bugging him.”

  Decker was quiet.

  “Anyway. You can look at my stuff. All the bank and phone records. I don’t care. I kept my promise to him and my conscience is clear. Maybe now I can fall asleep.”

  “As long as we’re on this topic…I spoke to a security guard from the hotel today. He had a lot to say about your mother and father.”

  “You mean about the fight?”

  “So you know about it.”

  “Chris told me. He said it was a bad one. He said you’d find out about it. He swore to me that Mom was alive when he left.”

  “And you believe him?”

  “Yes, I do. Chris also told me that he offered the guy some money and the guy took it. So how reliable could he be if he was bribable?”

  “The guard felt guilty about it. He gave it back to me. I think his account is pretty reliable.” Decker chose his words carefully. “But he did tell me a few things about your mom that makes me wonder if Chris is telling the truth or not. The security guard told me that your mother looked more mad than scared when he interrupted them.”

  “Mad or upset?”

  “Mad as in angry, which is the word he used. Your mom was angry at the guard for barging in on their argument. And it does sound like a bad fight. He heard your dad call your mom a lying bitch and he heard your mom call your dad crazy and paranoid. The point I’m making is that your mom didn’t look scared to the guard.”

  “That’s odd…” Gabe licked his lips. “Chris was under the impression that he had scared the shit out of her.”

  “He told you that?”

  Gabe nodded.

  “Interesting,” Decker said. “Because…I’m just wondering if…maybe after all these years…your mom has finally learned how to snow people. In my opinion, Chris would be far more likely to leave her alone if she appeared scared rather than angry.”

  Gabe was quiet.

  “I would really like to talk to your father. I’m on the fence about his guilt and innocence and it would help me to hear his point of view. If you could call him up and ask him to come in just to talk…maybe take a polygraph, which he could probably pass even if he did murder your mom.” Decker thought a moment. “If Chris didn’t do anything to her, I want to concentrate on other leads. And if she vanished of her own accord…” Like with a rich doctor to India. “Well, it would be nice not to waste departmental resources on finding people who don’t want to be found.”

  “Lieutenant, I can’t call Chris and ask him favors. He’ll act like I’m betraying him or something.” Gabe rubbed his eyes. “Just wait for him to call me.”

  “What makes you think he’ll call?”

  “Because I know my dad. He’s going to want to know what you know and the best way to find that out is through me. Then I can tell him, ‘Decker wants you to come in and take a polygraph.’ He’ll probably say ‘fuck that’ or something equally pithy, but at least I can plead your case without looking like a traitor.”

  A fair compromise. “Okay. I’ll wait until he calls you. When he does call you, let him do most of the talking.”

  “He’s onto that. Chris uses silences as efficiently as his Mauser. But I can handle him.” Gabe rubbed his eyes. “I’m going to have to give him something—my dad.”

  “Give him Atik Jains. He probably knows about it anyway. Don’t say anything about your mom knowing an Indian doctor.”

  “Did you get a chance to check out the names I gave you?”

  “I did and I might have some information.” He paused. “How much do you want to know, Gabe? Because if you know stuff, then you might have to lie to your dad.”

  “You’re right. I’m better off not knowing.” He folded his arms across his chest. “Besides, if she left on purpose, then why should I care?” Anger in his eyes. “Let her start a new life without me. It’s her prerogative.”

  “I’m sure that if she did that, she felt that you were best off without her.”

  “Yeah, isn’t that what all mothers say when they give up their babies for adoption.”

  “You’re not a baby. You’re an independent guy. She knew you could handle it.”

  “And here I am…handling it.”

  “She stuck it out for almost fifteen years. After the beating, she probably didn’t feel safe anymore.”

  “I know.” A sigh. “You’re right. She probably did feel like this was her last shot at freedom. She had all the right reasons for doing what she did, but that doesn’t help to ease the pain.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  THE JEWELRY TAKEN from Tinsley’s apartment was neatly laid out atop a clean plastic sheet on Decker’s desk. He explained to Kathy Blanc where they were in the investigation and the purpose of the identification. She became livid when he got to the part about letting Tinsley go. “You let this monster walk out of here a free man?”

  “He’s not in jail but he’s under watch,” Decker said. “We can pick him up at any time once we get evidence on him.”

  “A woman from the bar identifying him as the man my daughter spoke with isn’t enough? His business card in my daughter’s coat pocket isn’t enough? Finding my daughter dead at his place of work isn’t enough? What do you jokers need to arrest someone?”

  The questions were rhetorical, but Decker answered them as if they were sincere. “If we would have found Tinsley’s business card in her purse, I might have kept him under lock and key. The truth is that he told us about the card. Otherwise we wouldn’t have known about it.”

  Kathy was coiffed and bejeweled, dressed in gray slacks and a red cotton tee. Her complexion matched the hue of her shirt. “He threw you a bone and you lapped it up.”

  “He’s on our radar. I have cops on him. Unfortunately, I need hard evidence. I’ve talked to the D.A. this morning. She won’t take it to a grand jury unless I have more.”

  “Then she’s an idiot.”

  “Mrs. Blanc, what I have on Tinsley is easily explained away by his story. Plus, Garth Hammerling and Mandy Kowalski are still missing. Why Garth hasn’t shown his face is anyone’s guess, but it sure makes him look bad.”

  “You told me that Garth was five hundred miles away when it happened.”

  “No, I said that Garth was five hundred miles away when Adrianna went to work at St. Tim’s Sunday night. We know he came back to L.A. What we don’t know is if he saw Adrianna or not.”

  “So why can’t you find him? Isn’t that your job?”

  “Yes, it’s our job. And we’re doing everything we can to find him and Mandy Kowalski. If he’s with Mandy, that might be worrisome.”

  Kathy folded her arms across her chest. “I never trusted that girl.”

  “Interesting you should say that. She lied to the police at least once. Can I ask you why you never trusted her?”

  “I don’t know.” She had lowered her voice. “She appeared nice, but she was very serious.” Her eyes watered. “If she would have been Bea’s friend, I might have felt differently. But Adrianna didn’t have friends like her. She liked her friends like herself—freewheeling. Also I felt that she was…disapproving of my daughter.”

  “If so, why do you think they became friends?”

  “This is going to sound terrible…and it’s based on nothing…”

  “Go ahead,” Decker said. “I like conjecture.”

  “I sensed that Mandy liked Adrianna because she could feel superior to her, like mentoring her through nursing school. And she did help her. But once Adrianna stopped being…dependent on Mandy, I thin
k Mandy became bitter.”

  “Was it you who told me that Mandy introduced Garth to Adrianna?”

  “I think so.” Kathy paused. “Maybe that’s why Mandy was bitter. Maybe Mandy liked Garth. In any case, Mandy was certainly not like Adrianna’s other friends.”

  “Not like Crystal Larabee, for instance?”

  “Poor Crystal.” Tears raced down Kathy’s cheeks. “Her mother is coming in this afternoon. I’ve invited Pandy to stay with us until both of the girls…”—sobs now—“are laid to rest.”

  “That’s very kind of you.”

  Kathy dried her eyes with a tissue. “Are you coming to the memorial service?”

  “When is it?”

  “Tomorrow at eleven.”

  The date was not only on Shabbat, but was the first weekend in years when his entire family would be together. He said, “Of course.”

  “That would be nice.” Another swipe at her eyes. It didn’t little to stanch the flow. Her eyes focused on the gold pieces. “What exactly should I do?”

  “We found these in Chuck Tinsley’s apartment. He claims the pieces belonged to his late mother. I’d like you to tell me if any of the items might have belonged to Adrianna. If you need to touch anything, I’ll give you some latex gloves.”

  She studied the pieces with her hands in her lap. “These are all yellow gold. Adrianna never wore yellow gold. She thought yellow gold was very old ladyish.”

  Decker noticed the yellow gold chain around Kathy Blanc’s neck. “So…as far as you know, none of these items is Adrianna’s.”

  “As far as I know, that is correct. I don’t know all of her jewelry, but these pieces aren’t her style. Maybe my style, but not hers.”

  “That helps a lot. Thanks so much for coming down.” He studied the jewelry for a few moments more than he should have. Something was catching in his brain.

  Kathy said, “Would it have helped your case against Tinsley if I would have identified one of the pieces as Adrianna’s?”

  “Of course. It would have helped the case immensely.”

  “And you would have arrested him?”

  “Probably.”