D is for DEADBEAT

by Sue Grafton

  Pettigrew moved away and Feldman turned to study me. “Are you all right?”

  I nodded, wishing I could sit down again, afraid once I did I’d be stuck.

  “Anything you want to add before I let you go?”

  I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking back. I know the snapping sound a .32 makes when fired and the shots I’d heard weren’t like that. “The shots,” I said. “They sounded odd to me. Hollow. More like a pop than a bang.”

  “A silencer?”

  “I’ve never heard one except on TV,” I said, sheepishly.

  “I’ll have the lab take a look at the slugs, though I don’t know where anybody’d get a silencer in this town,” He made another quick note in his book.

  “You can probably order one from the back of a magazine,” I said.

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  The photographer was snapping pictures and I could see Feldman’s gaze flick in that direction. “Let me tend to this guy. He’s new. I want to make sure he covers everything I need.”

  He excused himself and crossed to Billy’s body where he engaged in a conversation with the forensic photographer, using gestures to describe the various angles he wanted.

  Maria Gutierrez came up to me. “We’re going out to the trailer park. Gerry said you might want to come.”

  “I’ll follow in my car,” I said. “You know where it is?”

  “We know the park. We can meet you there if you want.”

  “I’m going to see if Billy’s car is here in the lot. I’ll be along shortly, but don’t wait on my account.”

  “Right,” she said.

  I watched them pull out and then I worked my way through the lot, checking the vehicles in the area adjacent to the boat launch. I spotted the Chevy three rows from the entrance, tucked between two RV’s. The temporary sticker was still on the windshield. The windows were down. I stuck my head in without touching anything. The car looked clean to me. Nothing in the front seat. Nothing in the back. I went around to the passenger window and peered in, checking the floorboards from that side. I don’t even know what I was hoping for. A hint, some suggestion of where we might go from here. It looked as if Feldman might initiate a formal investigation after all, and glad as I was to turn it over to him, I still couldn’t quite let go.

  I stopped by my car and picked up the skirt and shoes, which I handed over to Lieutenant Feldman. I told him where to find Billy’s car and then I finally got back in mine and took off. In my heart, I knew I’d been stalling to allow Pettigrew and Gutierrez a chance to deliver the news of Billy’s death. That has to be the worst moment in anybody’s life, finding two uniformed cops at your door, their expressions somber, voices grave.

  By the time I got to the trailer park, the word had apparently spread. By some telepathic process, people were collecting in twos and threes, all staring at the trailer uncomfortably, chatting in low tones. The trailer door was closed and I heard nothing as I approached, but my appearance had generated conversation at my back.

  A fellow stepped forward. “You a family friend? Because she’s had bad news. I wasn’t sure if you were aware,” he said.

  “I was there,” I said. “She knows me. How long ago did the officers leave?”

  “Two minutes. They were real good about it… talked to her a long time, making sure she was all right. I’m Fritzy Roderick. I manage the park,” he said, offering me his hand.

  “Kinsey Millhone,” I said. “Is anybody with her now?”

  “I don’t believe so, and we haven’t heard a peep. We were just talking among ourselves here… the neighbors and all… wondering if someone ought to sit with her.”

  “Is Lovella in there?”

  “I don’t know the name. Is she a relative?”

  “Billy’s ex-girlfriend,” I said. “Let me see if I can find out what’s going on. If she needs anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “I’d appreciate that. We’d like to help any way we can.”

  I knocked at the trailer door, uncertain what to expect. Coral opened it a crack and when she saw it was me, she let me in. Her eyes were reddened, but she seemed in control. She sat down on a kitchen chair and picked up her cigarette, giving the ash a flick. I sat down on the banquette.

  “I’m sorry about Billy,” I said.

  She glanced at me briefly. “Did he know?”

  “I think so. When I found him, he was already in shock and fading fast. I don’t think he suffered much if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “I’ll have to tell Mom. The two cops who came said they’d do it, but I said no.” Her voice trailed off, hoarse from grief or the head cold. “He always knew he’d die young, you know? Like when we’d see old people on the street, crippled or feeble. He said he’d never end up like them. I used to beg him to straighten up his act, but he had to do everything his way.” She lapsed into silence.

  “Where’s Lovella?”

  “I don’t know,” Coral said. “The trailer was empty when I got here.”

  “Coral, I wish you’d fill me in. I need to know what was going on. Billy told me three different versions of the same tale.”

  “Why look at me? I don’t know anything.”

  “But you know more than I do.”

  “That wouldn’t take much.”

  “Level with me. Please. Billy’s dead now. There’s nothing left to protect. Is there?”

  She stared at the floor for a moment and then she sighed and stubbed out her cigarette. She got up and started clearing the table, running water in the tiny stainless steel kitchen sink. She squirted in Ivory Liquid, dropping silverware and plates into the mounting suds, talking in a low monotone as she worked. “Billy was already up at San Luis when Daggett got there. Daggett had no idea Doug was related to us, so Billy struck up an acquaintance. We were both of us bitter as hell.”

  “Billy told me he and Doug were never close.”

  “Bullshit. He just told you that so you wouldn’t suspect him. The three of us were always thick as thieves.”

  “So you did intend to kill him,” I said.

  “I don’t know. We just wanted to make him pay. We wanted to punish him. We figured we’d find a way once we got close. Then Daggett’s cellmate died and he got all that money.”

  “And you thought that would compensate?”

  “Not me. I knew I’d never be happy till the day Daggett died, but I couldn’t do it myself. I mean, kill someone in cold blood. Billy was the one who said the money would help. We couldn’t bring Doug back, but at least we’d have something. He always knew Daggett lifted the cash, but he didn’t think he’d get away with it. Daggett gets out of prison and sure enough, he’s home free. He starts throwin’ money around. Lovella calls Billy and we decide to go for it.”

  “So the guys up at San Luis never did figure it out,” I said.

  “Nope. Once Billy saw Daggett was in the clear, we decided to rip him off.”

  “And Lovella was part of it?” Coral nodded, rinsing a plate, which she placed in the dish rack. “They got married the same week he got out, which suited us just fine. We figured if she didn’t talk him out of it, she could steal it…”

  “And failing that, what?”

  “We never meant to kill anyone,” she said. “We just wanted the money. We didn’t have much time anyway because he’d already spent part of it. He went through five grand before we could bat an eye and we knew if we didn’t move fast, he’d blow the whole wad.”

  “You didn’t realize he intended to give the rest of it to Tony Gahan?”

  “Of course not,” she said with energy. “Billy couldn’t believe it when you told him about that. We thought most of it was still around somewhere. We thought we could still get our hands on it.”

  I watched her face, trying to compute the information she was giving me. “You mean you set Daggett up with Lovella so you could con him out of twenty-five thousand bucks?”

  “That’s right,” she said.

  �
�You were splitting it three ways! That’s a little over eight grand apiece.”

  “So?”

  “Coral, eight grand is nothing.”

  “Bullshit, it’s nothing! Do you know what I could do with eight grand? How much do you have? Do you have eight grand?”

  “No.”

  “So, all right. Don’t tell me it’s nothing.”

  “All right. It’s a fortune,” I said. “What went wrong?”

  “Nothing at first. Billy called him up and said the guys at San Luis heard about the money and they wanted it back. He told Daggett they were coming after him, so that’s when Daggett split.”

  “How’d you know he’d hightail it up here?”

  “Billy told Daggett he’d help him out,” she said with a shrug. “And then when Daggett got into town, Billy started working on him, trying to get him to fork it over to us. He said he’d act as a go-between, smooth it all over and get him off the hook.”

  “He’d already given it to me at that point, right?”

  “Sure, but we didn’t know that. He acted like he still had it handy. He acted like he might turn it over to Billy, but that was all crap. Of course, he was drunk all the time by then.”

  “So he was conning you while you conned him.”

  “He was just stringing us along!” she said indignantly. “Billy met him Tuesday night and Daggett was real cagey. Said he needed time to get his hands on it. He said he’d bring it in Thursday night, so Billy met him at the Hub again, only Daggett said he needed one more day. Billy really laid into him. He said these guys were getting very pissed and might kill Daggett anyway, whether he gave ‘em the money or not. Daggett got real nervous and swore he’d have it the next night, which was Friday.”

  “The night he died.”

  “Right. I was working that night, and I was sup posed to keep an eye on him, which I did. Billy decided to come late, just to make him sweat, and before I knew what was happening this woman showed up and started buying him drinks. You know the rest.”

  “Billy told me you took some kind of cold cap and crashed in the back room. Was that true?”

  “I was just laying low,” she said. “When I saw Daggett leave, I knew Billy’d have a fit. I already felt bad enough without putting up with his bullshit.”

  “And Billy finally figured out who she was?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. I wasn’t here this morning, so I don’t know what he was up to.”

  “Look. I have to go down to the police station and tell Lieutenant Dolan what’s been going on. If Lovella comes back, please tell her it’s urgent that she get in touch. Will you do that?”

  Coral wedged the last clean dish against the pile in the rack. She filled a glass with water and poured it over the lot of them, rinsing off the few remaining suds. She turned to look at me with a gaze that chilled. “Do you think she killed Billy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Will you tell me if you find out it’s her?”

  “Coral, if she did it, she’s dangerous. I don’t want you in the middle of this.”

  “But will you tell me?”

  I hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Thank you.”

  Chapter 25

  *

  I had a brief chat with the manager of the trailer park. I gave him my card and asked him to call me if Lovella came back. I didn’t really trust Coral to do it. The last I saw of him, he was tapping at her door. I got in my car and headed over to the police station. I asked for Lieutenant Dolan at the desk, but he and Feldman were in a section meeting. The clerk buzzed Jonah for me and he came as far as the locked door, admitting me into the corridor beyond. Both of us were circumspect – pleasant, noncommittal. No one observing us could have guessed that mere hours ago, we’d been cavorting stark naked on my Wonder Woman sheets.

  “What happened when you got home?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Everybody was asleep,” he said. “We have something in the lab you might want to see.” He moved down the hall to the right and I followed. He looked back at me. “Feldman had the guys check the trash bins at your suggestion. We think we found the silencer.”

  “You did?” I said, startled.

  He opened the half-door into the crime lab, holding it for me as I passed in front of him. The lab tech was out, but I could see Billy’s bloody shirt, tagged, on the counter, along with an object I couldn’t at first identify.

  “What’s that,” I said. “Is that it?” What I was looking at was a large plastic soft drink bottle, painted black, lying on its side with a hole visible in the bottom.

  “A disposable silencer. Handmade. A sound suppressor, in effect. It’s been wiped clean of prints,” Jonah said.

  “I don’t understand how it works.”

  “I had to have Krueger explain it to me. The bottle’s filled with rags. Take a look. The barrel of the gun is usually wrapped with tape and the bottle affixed to it with a one-inch hose clamp. The soda bottle has a reinforced bottom, but it’s only effective for a few shots because the noise level increases each time as the exit hole gets larger. Obviously, the device works best at close range.”

  “God, Jonah. How do people know about these things? I never heard of it.”

  He picked up a paperbound booklet from the counter behind me, flipping through it carelessly so I could see. Every page was filled with diagrams and photographs, illustrating how disposable silencers could be made out of common household objects. “This is from a gun shop down in Los Angeles,” he said. “You ought to see what you can do with a length of window screen or a pile of old bottle caps.”

  “Jesus.”

  Lieutenant Becker stuck his head in the door. “Line one for you,” he said to Jonah and then disappeared. Jonah glanced at the lab phone, but the call hadn’t been transferred.

  “Let me take this and I’ll be right back,” Jonah said. “Hang on.”

  “Right,” I murmured. I leaned toward the silencer, trying to remember where I’d seen something similar. Through the hole in the bottom, I caught a glimpse of the blue terrycloth filling the interior. When I realized what it was, my mental process clicked in, and the interior machinery fired up. I knew.

  I straightened up and crossed to the door, checking the corridor, which was empty. I headed for my car. I could still see Ramona Westfall coming up the basement stairs with an armload of ragged blue bath towels, which she’d dumped on the chair. The plastic bottle had been filled with a soft drink which she nearly dropped as she passed it to Tony to refrigerate.

  I stopped by the office long enough to try the Westfall’s number. The phone rang four times and then the machine clicked in.

  “Hello. This is Ramona Westfall. Neither Ferrin nor I can come to the phone right now, but if you’ll leave your name, telephone number, and a brief message, we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.” I hung up at the sound of the tone.

  I checked my watch. It was 4:45. I had no idea where Ramona was, but Tony had a 5:00 appointment just a few blocks away. If I could intercept him, I could lean on him some about her alibi since he represented the only confirmation she had. How had she pulled it off? He had to be on heavy medication for the migraine, so she might have slipped out while he was sleeping, adjusting the kitchen clock when she got back so she’d be covered for the time of Daggett’s death. Once she was home again, Tony had wakened – she’d probably made sure of that so she’d have someone to corroborate the time. She’d fixed the sandwiches, chatting pleasantly while he ate, and as soon as he went back to bed, she changed the clock again. Or maybe it wasn’t even as complicated as that. Maybe the watch Daggett wore had been set for 2:37 and then submerged. She could have killed him earlier and been home by 2:00. Tony may have realized what she’d done and tried to shield her when he understood how close my investigation was bringing me. It was also possible that he was in cahoots with her, but I hoped that wasn’t the case.

  I locked my office and went down the front stairs, trotting up State
Street on foot. The Granger Building was only three blocks up and it made more sense than hopping in my car and driving all the way around to the parking lot behind the building. Tony might still be hanging out at the arcade across the street. I had to get him before she had a chance to intercept. I didn’t want him going home. She had to realize things were getting hot, especially since I’d shown up at the house with the shoes and skirt. All I needed from him was an indication I was on the right track and then I’d call Feldman. I thought about the Close, which I knew would be gloomy with the gathering twilight. I didn’t want to go back there unless I had to.

  I checked the arcade. Tony was at the rear, on the right-hand side, playing a video game. He was concentrating fully and I didn’t think he was aware of me. I waited, watching small creatures being blasted off the screen. His scores weren’t that good and I was tempted to have a try at it myself. The creatures suddenly froze into place, random weapons firing off here and there without regard to his manipulations. He looked up. “Oh hi.”

  “I need to talk to you,” I said. His eyes moved to the clock. “I got an appointment in five minutes. Can it wait?”

  “I’ll walk you over. We can talk on the way.” He picked up his package and we moved out to the street. The fading afternoon sun seemed bright after the darkness of the arcade. Even so, the fog was rolling in, November twilight beginning to descend. I punched the button at the crosswalk and we waited for the light to change. “Last Friday… the night Daggett died, do you remember where your uncle was?”

  “Sure. Milwaukee, on a business trip.”

  “Are you on medication for the migraines?”

  “Well, yeah. Tylenol with codeine. Compazine if I’m throwing up. How come?”

  “Is it possible your aunt went out while you slept?”

  “No. I don’t know. I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” he said.

  I thought he was stalling, but I kept my mouth shut. We’d reached the Granger Building and Tony moved into the lobby ahead of me.

  The elevator that had been out of order was now in operation, but the other one was immobilized, doors open, the housing visible, two sawhorses in front of the opening with a warning sign.