by M. Z. Kelly
I rubbed my forehead. My headache was still there, hiding somewhere behind my eyes and threatening to resurface. “Why is life so complicated?”
Molly’s smile was still there. “Apparently when Maurice died, Otto went to work for the new owners of the house. And...well, you know the rest of the story.”
I sighed. “He became our attic dweller.”
“So it would seem.”
“Any criminal record?”
“Nothing, and, as far as I can tell, he’s never been married. The only mystery seems to be what happened at the boys’ school to cause him to leave.”
I stood as Bernie got to his feet. “I hope he wasn’t a child molester.”
“Like I said, there’s no criminal record, but...”
“But it looks like I’m going to need to have a little chat with Otto.” I tugged on Bernie’s leash. “Thanks for your help, Molly. See you inside.”
When I got to my desk, Leo told me that we were scheduled to meet with Olivia in a few minutes. I then told him what Molly had pieced together on my brother. “Daniel goes from having a ten million dollar payday to being homeless. Tell me how that happens.”
Leo rubbed his jaw. “Maybe someone took advantage of him.”
My mind went to what my friends had said about the possibility that Harlee Ryland and Daniel were working together. I mentioned what they’d said.
Leo smiled. “I think your friends sometimes have a tendency to let their minds work overtime. Maybe Daniel has some drug or gambling problems and lost everything.”
“Maybe. All I know is I’m going to track him down and find out what happened.”
While we waited for Olivia to finish up some paperwork, Jessica stopped by my workstation and asked if we could talk. I remembered our last conversation and dreaded what she might say as we made our way over to the breakroom. After getting coffee, we took seats in the nearly empty staff lounge.
Jessica looked pale and exhausted. As she began, it was obvious that she was struggling to tell me what was on her mind. “I don’t have anyone to talk to about this, so I appreciate you listening to me.”
I decided to try and move past our previous issues and be encouraging. “No problem. What’s going on?”
“Despite what you might think of me, I’m not someone who’s had a lot of...” She took a breath and lowered her voice. “...for lack of a better word, experience.”
“Oh,” I said, unsure where the conversation was headed. I was still searching for how to respond when she went on.
“Boris is different from any man I’ve ever been with.”
“You mean, you’ve never made love to a werewolf before?” Okay, I didn’t say it, but I did say, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“He explained that, in his country, they have some different customs when it comes to coitus.”
“Customs.” I took a breath. “Really?”
She nodded. “When we make love, he gets a little animated.”
“Well, I think that’s to be expected.”
“No, I’m talking really animated.”
I hesitated, trying to understand what she meant. I decided I had no choice but to be blunt. “What exactly does he do?”
Jessica’s voice lowered to just above a whisper. “He crows.”
I put my hand over my mouth and cleared my throat, forcing myself to keep from laughing out loud. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Before we make love, he stands on the bed and he...he makes a sound that I think is supposed to be a roar, but it sounds more like a rooster crowing.”
My laughter was like a volcano, threatening to erupt like a burst of lava. I managed to push down Mt. Vesuvius and said, “What...what happens next?”
Jessica sighed and leaned in closer to me. “We make love, except...” Her eyes shifted, making sure no one entered the room. “...Boris leaves his underwear on.”
It took every ounce of strength to maintain control. I sucked in a couple of sharp breaths and said, “You’re kidding. How...how does he...you know.”
“Captain Winky comes out of his fly. At least, I think that’s what happens. I’ve never actually seen it.”
“Captain who?”
“Winky—that’s what he calls his...” Her eyes shifted again, making sure we were still alone. “...his, you know.”
I sucked in another breath. Despite my best efforts, the throttled laughter made a brief escape from my throat. I made a sound like a bird being strangled. I coughed to try and cover things up.
Jessica went on. “To be honest, it’s a little like making love to a bear wearing underwear.”
I held my breath and began turning red, wondering how much more I could take before I burst out laughing or wet my pants.
“What should I do?”
The bird in my throat fluttered up and made a crazy noise, like a sparrow on amphetamines, before I suppressed it. “Well...I guess...” I took a breath and used all the willpower I had left to continue. “I think you have a choice to make.”
“Meaning?”
I decided I sounded a little like Dirty Harry as I said, “The good news is, Boris is worth about half a billion dollars. The bad news is, he crows like a rooster, makes love with his undies on, and calls his penis Captain Winky. So, you’ve gotta ask yourself one question: is it worth staying in the captain’s boat or is it time to jump ship?”
She sighed. “It’s a hard decision.”
I looked up and saw that Leo was waving at me from the doorway. “Sorry, but I’ve got to run.”
I was in the hallway when the dam in my throat finally burst. I didn’t wet my pants, but my laughter came out in roaring fits as I ducked into a vacant office with Leo. I had a thought that maybe this was how Boris sounded when he was crowing like a rooster.
“You okay?” Leo asked, in between my fits of laughter.
I took a breath, let out another spasm of laughter, then finally managed to regain control. “Tell Olivia I had to use the restroom. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.”
After splashing cold water in my face and finally managing to get myself under control, I joined the meeting with Olivia and the rest of Section One in progress. I pushed thoughts about Jessica and Boris out of my mind and focused on the discussion. The topic was the Peters case, specifically Jackson Ellis and his two principal followers.
Woody gave the group his take on the murders of Henry Moss and the parents of Mel and Marilyn Peters. “I think Ellis separated from Yates and Mathias when last night’s killings went down. It’s just a guess, but it could be that Ellis murdered Moss, while his so-called disciples took care of our victims’ parents.”
“What makes you think Ellis did Moss?” Darby asked.
“His parents live in Orange County, and he had past issues with them, especially his father. I think it’s likely he wants to be in this area because they’re also on his purge list.”
“We have his parents’ house being watched,” Olivia said.
“Why do you suppose he targeted Moss?” Leo asked.
Jenny spoke up, giving us her opinion. “I don’t think Ellis was extorting him. Molly and I looked into his finances and there’s no indication he made any recent large withdrawals from his accounts.”
“It could have been personal for Ellis, since Moss and Marilyn were in an off-and-on relationship,” I said.
“Jenny and I’ve done a lot of digging and we might have something else that will change the entire direction of our investigation,” Molly said.
Olivia gave her and Jenny the floor. In a moment, the weapon used to murder Mel Peters was on an overhead monitor. “As we all know, this is a Walther P38 semi-automatic 9mm pistol,” Molly said. “It was manufactured for the German army during World War II and is now a collector’s item.”
“It’s a strange choice for a murder weapon,” Woody said.
Molly agreed and went on. “We’ve been able to link the history of the weapon to a licensed gun dealer in Phoenix,
who just got back to us. His name is Scott Brown. We learned that he sold the gun to a man named Russell Fisher in 2013. Fisher registered it, but later sold it at a gun show in Tempe. Since Fisher wasn’t a licensed dealer, he wasn’t required to report the sale.
“Fisher’s been on a campout, but he got back last night, finally returning our calls. He told us he has an excellent memory and remembers the man who bought the gun from him was a Clayton Hollingsworth. The description he gave us of the buyer matches this guy.”
Molly used another remote, and a prison mug shot of Hollingsworth appeared on the monitor. The convicted felon was a big guy with a full beard. He was wearing a leather jacket and looked like someone who might be part of a motorcycle club.
“What’s he in the joint for?” Darby asked.
“He assaulted a clerk in a liquor store in Compton last year. The weapon wasn’t fired in the assault. Rather, it was used to pistol-whip the clerk. It was booked into evidence at the department’s Metro Division when Hollingsworth was arrested.”
“We checked with Metro this morning,” Jenny said. “They have no record of the weapon ever being checked out.”
“Meaning someone stole it out of the evidence locker,” Olivia said, the timbre of her voice rising.
Jenny nodded. “Maybe the person who killed Mel and the others, which means Jackson Ellis might be innocent.”
“Wait a minute,” Darby said. “We’ve got a suspect who was extorting money from Marilyn Peters and her father, and has gone on a killing spree. I think we’re taking our eye off the ball.”
“We follow the evidence where it leads,” I said.
“Yeah, well maybe Ellis got the weapon from whoever stole it from the evidence locker.” Darby went on for a minute, telling us that the LAPD Property Division had a history of losing evidence.
Olivia looked at Jenny. “Do we know who’s in charge of Metro Division’s property?”
Jenny looked at Molly, who was working her laptop. “It looks like a Captain Collins,” Molly said. She looked up from the screen. “He’s been there over four years.”
“I’ll follow up with him. In the meantime, Ellis is still our primary. Let’s hope he and what’s left of his followers turn up, and we can get some answers.” Olivia looked at Darby and Woody. “Let’s move on to our Wonderland case. Any luck contacting the aunt and uncle, or Robinson’s mother?”
“Nothing on the aunt and uncle,” Woody said. “We went by their house and talked to a neighbor who thinks they’re backpacking somewhere in Canada, off the grid. But we did manage to get ahold of the mother, Marianne Dahlberg. She’s agreed to meet with us this afternoon.”
“Maybe she can explain what her daughter does with fish hooks and wire,” Darby said.
Olivia moved on to the Tanner case, asking Jenny and Molly. “Anything on a client list for the psychiatrist?”
“We think she used a company called Montrose Medical Billings,” Jenny said. “We’re waiting for a call back.”
“Good enough,” Olivia said. “I know we’re all running on fumes, so let’s get caffeinated and get to work. The chief is anxiously awaiting some results.”
FIFTY-FOUR
Haley stopped her car down the street from her mother’s sprawling house, which sat on a hill overlooking Newport Harbor. She’d never been to the house before, but knew it was probably worth millions. It had been over a decade since she’d last spoken to her mother. Haley wondered if she even knew that she’d graduated from medical school.
As she walked toward the house, Haley remembered the last conversation she had with her mother. She had just graduated from high school and, at her mother’s insistence, she had seen Dr. Tanner again.
She remembered leaving the psychiatrist’s office after her session and getting into her mother’s car, noticing the shopping bags in the back seat.
“How did things go with Beverly?” her mother had asked, after mentioning her shopping spree. Mother always called the psychiatrist by her first name.
“It was the usual,” Haley said.
“Did you talk about your sister?”
“Of course. That’s all we ever talk about.”
“What did Dr. Tanner say?”
Haley glared at her mother. “The lie. The same lie she always says.”
“But you have to...”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Haley said, cutting her mother’s words off. “I’ll be leaving for college in a week and I won’t ever have to see Beverly again.”
Her mother had brushed a tear as she drove. “I was hoping she could help you understand the truth.”
“STOP!” Haley screamed. “I won’t listen to the lie one more time.”
After that day, she and her mother had only spoken by phone a couple of times. When Haley made it clear she had nothing to say to her, the calls ended. Her mother had shown up at her college graduation ceremony, but Haley had refused to talk to her.
Haley stopped on the steps in front of her mother’s house. She reached into her purse and removed the scalpel. This would be the last time she would ever have to hear the bitch’s lies.
FIFTY-FIVE
“There’s been a reported sighting of Ellis’s followers in the Summerland area,” Olivia said, after gathering us all in her office again. “They think Julie Yates and William Mathias are in the Santa Barbara area.” She looked at Darby and Woody. “I want you two to meet with the investigators there and assist.”
“Why us?” Darby protested. “You can send Sexton and Kingsley, while Horton and me work Peters.”
I had the impression that Olivia, like the rest of us, was exhausted and in no mood for Darby’s antics. “I just gave you an order. I expect you to follow it.”
“You’re playing favorites.”
“If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to put in a transfer request. The investigators in Santa Barbara are expecting you. I suggest you leave now.”
When Leo and I were in the car, Olivia rubbed her temples, expressing her frustration with Darby. “Why is it that he takes exception to everything he’s asked to do?”
“I think it comes naturally,” I said from the back seat next to Bernie. “He got his asshole degree before joining the force.”
Leo glanced at me in the rearview mirror as he drove us. “I think maybe we need to stop for coffee. I know the signs, and we’re all running on fumes.”
“There’s a Starbucks the next block up,” Olivia said.
After stopping, getting coffee and some muffins, we took a seat at one of the tables in the coffee shop. We talked about our cases for a couple minutes. I then mentioned what Darby and Woody had found out after following Haley Robinson last night. “Do either of you have any thoughts about the wire and fishhooks that she bought?”
“Maybe we’re reading more into it than we should,” Leo suggested. “It might be that she enjoys fishing in her spare time, and the wire...” He shrugged. “Hard to say.”
I looked at Olivia as her phone rang. Before answering it, she shook her head and said, “I don’t have a clue.”
Olivia’s call lasted less than a minute. When it ended, she tossed her empty coffee cup in the trash and stood. “That was Jenny. Guess who’s on Dr. Beverly Tanner’s client list?” She grabbed her purse off the chair. “Haley Robinson.”
We were in the car, making plans to head for St. Regis Hospital to talk to Robinson when Jenny called back. Olivia put the call on speaker.
“I have a friend who works dispatch for the PD in Newport Beach,” Jenny said. “They just got a 911 call from a housekeeper in Marianne Dahlberg’s residence. There’s a woman matching the description of Haley Robinson there. She’s in the house, making threats to kill her mother.”
FIFTY-SIX
Haley stood on the front steps of her mother’s enormous home. She was about to ring the bell when she hesitated. She decided to try the side gate. Maybe, if the gate was unlocked, she could enter the residence and surprise her mother.
Luck was with her. She moved quickly through the unlocked gate and into the back yard. As she surveyed the perfectly manicured grounds, Haley realized that her mother had done very well for herself. The back yard had all the amenities anyone could ever want. There was a pool, with one of those swim-up bars, a barbeque area, and even a sauna. She knew that her mother had married and divorced twice since her father was murdered, each union paying off handsomely.
No one was around as she moved cautiously over to the patio and peered inside the house. Seeing no one, she tried the door, finding it unlocked. In a moment, she was standing in the family room that adjoined a luxurious kitchen. The home looked like the after picture out of one those home improvement magazines.
Haley heard someone gasp and turned around. Her mother had entered the family room and seemed frozen in place, a look of terror moving over her face.
“Hello, Mother.”
Her mother’s voice bordered on panic. “How did you...?”
“The door was unlocked, so I thought I’d pay you a little visit.”
Her mother took a step back. “What do you want?”
“Chad. I want to know where I can find him.”
Her mother put a hand to her mouth and gasped. “How...how did you...?”
“Lizzy told me.”
Her mother didn’t respond right away, but finally said, “I know about...about what happened to Beverly. Were you responsible?”
“Of course.” Haley held up the scalpel. “Just like I’ll be responsible for your death if you don’t tell me where I can find Chad.”
“Please don’t do this. You don’t understand.”
“I understand a lot of things, Mother.”
Her mother moved back, but Haley followed, pushing her into a corner. “First, you murdered Father. Then, you took up with that monster who raped and murdered my sister.”
Her mother shrank back, called out to someone named Maria. Haley reached down, grabbing her mother by the arm. “Tell me where he is.”
Her mother broke down crying. “There’s something I never told you. Chad is...”