Lalla Bains 02 - A Dead Red Heart

by Dahlke, RP

  I dropped into it, reached across the table, and gripped his hands in mine. "Caleb, I know I've been hard to take lately. I accused you of feeding my theories to Detective Rodney when truly, if I'd been a better person, I would've realized that this is exactly what you should do. It's your job that's on the line, not mine, and I had no business to judge you for what you tell Rodney."

  He smiled, giving my hands a squeeze. "Glad to hear that, sweetheart."

  "Yes, yes. I know Detective Rodney is only doing his job, and based on the information that we gave him it's only right that he would assume that he had the right person for the murder of Billy Wayne, but he doesn't."

  Caleb finally managed to extract his hands from mine and restlessly scrubbed at his thinning crew cut. "Hot outside. What's the weather going to do?"

  "Caleb, darling, I have information to prove it."

  He looked around for perhaps the quickest escape route, then sighed, knocked back the last of his ice tea and jiggled the ice in the glass at a passing waitress. She smiled and indicated she'd be right back.

  The temperature outside had nothing on my own pot about to boil over. "Will you just hear me out?"

  He nodded, if somewhat cautiously, and I continued.

  "Am I right in assuming that I was coming to your office today to see the box of Billy Wayne's snowflakes?"

  "I called, asked if I could pick it up, but it was already checked out."

  "Caleb, darling, it means a lot to me that you tried. But, the box is not just checked out, it's missing."

  Caleb's wet glass slipped through his hand and thumped the table. "What?"

  "Let me back up a minute and it will be clearer. Last night I found an unwelcome gift in our mailbox with a threatening note. That makes two threats to me and my family, if you count the cryptic DOA on my dad's door. This note came to me after Mr. Kim was arrested. I kept thinking Rodney. But Caleb, I think Del was right all along. Billy Wayne's killer is a cop."

  "We're still looking to pick up Grace Kim. She could have done it, hoping you'd leave the investigating to the police."

  "Not Grace. I've got a bad feeling about Grace, and I hope I'm wrong, but I think she ran from me in that garage because she finally put two and two together. She realized her lover was someone who was a dangerous killer. Grace is gay, I know because she came out at high school graduation. So who was she meeting in a downtown garage that is parking for mostly lawyers, judges, and police?"

  He started to reply, but I was on a roll. "Remember when you asked me to look at Grace's car to see if I saw anything different about it? I didn't remember it until today. There was a Chinese good luck tassel hanging on her rearview mirror. I knew I'd seen another one just like it, but couldn't remember where, and then, downstairs Byron Bettencourt's sister, Barbara, told me that Byron's in love with a beautiful young police officer who's a good couple of inches taller than he is."

  Caleb tilted his head, obviously not getting the connection. "Who're we talking about here?"

  "I ignored Del Potts incendiary accusations about Grace and Pippa Roulette because he was always doing that, and it just made me mad. Del put Pippa as a suspect because she moved into town and six months later Billy Wayne was murdered. I didn't see because of his aggravating, nerve-wracking, drive-you-around-the-bend behavior—but Caleb, I think he had it right."

  He groaned. "Oh, no… you're not saying…"

  I took a deep breath and said, "I know, I know. Doesn't sound fair, does it? Here is a young woman, intelligent, beautiful; she's been on the job for a few short months and I'm already accusing her of murder. I'm as sorry as you are, Caleb. I liked her; well, at least I did until I added it all up. That and Roxy's comment about, what would I do if it were my brother who'd lost his last chance at a heart transplant? Your arrest of Mr. Kim was based on the killer being someone with military or police training, and someone who is left handed, which perfectly describes Pippa, as well, because I saw her write with her left hand. And that Chinese good luck symbol on Grace's rear view mirror? That was in Pippa's car, too. Pippa was the person Grace trusted to help her and her father, and now Grace has disappeared."

  "And Byron?"

  "I think she gave him a little hypnotic suggestion, something that wouldn't be too far out of the line for a kid who thinks he's in love—and Byron's still a kid, you know."

  Caleb was doing a quick head shake, indicating that I was running away with the truth, again. "You think I'm simply jealous of a beautiful and talented younger woman, right? But, Caleb, what if I'm right? What if Pippa Roulette is not what, or who, she says she is? What better way to have access to all the critical information she's been looking for than to do it from inside a police department."

  "Wow! That's a leap, even for you, sweetheart. She came with glowing references and we have her prints and picture to prove it."

  I knew how easy it was to fuzz out the details with a dazzling smile and lowered eyelashes. A beautiful woman is naturally trusted to be what she says she is. After all, everyone knows that born beautiful means doors are opened, jobs, money, men come easily, and certainly the city fathers would knock themselves out to have someone of Pippa's credentials and personal good looks on their roster. I'd used much of the same technique to get what I'd wanted over the years, so why not Pippa?

  I said, "They didn't finger print her when she walked through the door, did they? What says she didn't Photo-Shop her picture into someone else's identity?"

  "Oh boy, you sure know how to throw the fuel on the fire. The chief is trotting her out to the city council as his newest and brightest. The girl has all the right moves, and he's been talking fast track promotion if things go right in the next few months."

  "Not according to Byron. He told his sister that he and Pippa will be transferring to another town soon where they will move in together. If it turns out that Pippa is the killer, I'm afraid that Byron might be about to experience more than a simple broken heart."

  "Oh, come on, Lalla. Pippa is every young man's wetdream. Byron's just bragging to his big sister. Besides, what would be her motive?"

  "Are you listening to me? Roxanne said, 'What would you do if the love of your life lost their chance at a heart transplant because it went to a convicted felon in prison?' I think she had it right. And the fastest track to any inside information, like a heart transplant recipient, would be through the police department."

  Caleb suddenly lost the stubborn face he'd been wearing. "The DA isn't even sure they have an airtight case to present to a grand jury to prosecute Mr. Kim."

  "Why? What happened?"

  "I think it's the potential of an inaccurate murder charge against a minority business owner during an election year. It doesn't help that we can't locate Grace Kim, or that Mr. Kim won't talk to his defense attorney. Personally, I'm rooting for Mr. Kim." He pushed back his chair. "Can we finish this outside?"

  I nodded. He put some cash on the table, and we walked to where I'd parked my car.

  I opened my car door and slipped into the driver's seat. Caleb squatted down to rest his arms on the door frame so that we could continue our conversation.

  I said, "So, now that you're rooting for Mr. Kim, can you get me an interview with him today?"

  He hesitated. "What makes you think he'll talk to you?"

  "I'd like to try. But do you suppose you can keep this from Rodney if I promise to tell you everything he said?" It was tit for tat. Rodney would hear about it only if I was wrong about Pippa.

  "I can, if you keep your promise to call me."

  For effect, I crossed my heart. He pulled out his cell and made the call.

  "You get to see Mr. Kim, get him to tell you if Grace was involved with Pippa. I'm going to see if I can tip-toe around Modesto city's police chief and get a look at Pippa's personnel files. If you're right, Lalla, that it's Officer Roulette, you should have back up with you from now on. Kenny Everett has the day off, and he owes me a favor."

  "No. You can't put a tail on
me, or Pippa. If she gets wind of it, she'll disappear before we can find out what she's done with Grace. And if something happens to his daughter because we cornered Pippa, Mr. Kim will blame you, me and the entire police department."

  "Then we'd better hurry." He looked at his watch. "By the way, here's your clean cell phone. We'll talk again in an hour—got it?"

  I nodded, already starting up the car and pulling out into traffic, thinking of what I could say to convince Mr. Kim that I was on his side.

  Chapter twenty-eight:

  I met Mr. Kim in the bland, windowless room meant for lawyers and their clients. When he saw me at the table, he brightened a bit and shuffled over to pull out a chair. The orange jumpsuit hung on his thin, bowed frame, his voice rusty from keeping it to himself. "Have you found my daughter, Miss Bains? I have been here for three days and the lawyer says that she did not leave for Vietnam."

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Kim." Then I told him about running into Grace in a downtown parking lot. My version left out the fact that I'd followed her into town from his place. "It would help if you could tell me who she was there to meet."

  "She did not tell me anything. Only that I should leave. But I have been under police suspicion and told not to leave town, and now... now I am very afraid for her."

  His gaze flitted about the small room and then alighted on his hands resting on the table. "I feel so powerless, and I cannot protect my daughter if I am in prison. Miss Bains, can't you make the police understand that I would never have killed Billy Wayne? Though it went against my culture, my son lived on because of Billy Wayne."

  "I think the best thing I can do for you right now is to help find Grace. Do you have any idea where she may have gone, or who she would go to if she was frightened? "

  "In past life, Grace was like Billy Wayne, troubled and at odds with life. Always one foot in war and one in peace. Part of that life has carried itself into this one. It prevented her from considering marriage. It also made her very protective of me." He looked up at me, the wrinkled face painfully aware of his predicament. "No matter how much I pushed, argued, she would not leave. We had no one left in our family but each other."

  "Was Grace seeing anyone special?"

  He turned his head to the door as if a memory had just walked in. "She never brought friends home. She was always alone or with me. Except for recently. Chinese New Year, I gave her a good luck talisman and she asked for another, for her special friend."

  "Would that be a red silk tassel with Chinese characters on it?"

  "Yes. The same."

  Pippa came to town and Billy Wayne died. The minutes were ticking by for me to wrap up this interview with Mr. Kim, get back to Caleb and hopefully find Grace before it was too late.

  I thanked him, and with a promise to try and find his daughter, knocked for the deputy to let me leave.

  Of course Caleb wasn't in his office. I tried his cell phone and got his answering machine. Leaving out names, I left a brief message that my meeting confirmed our discussion. Then I called Pippa Roulette's office, and when she answered I hung up, called Del and told him what I knew, as well as suspected, that the good luck tassels were the link that confirmed Pippa was involved with Grace, and how I'd discovered that Pippa was also romantically involved with Byron Bettencourt.

  "If we can prove that Pippa has Grace, we might be able to keep her from adding Byron Bettencourt to the growing list of Pippa's disappearing lovers."

  "Hold on a minute, and I'll see if she takes the paper."

  I got to listen to Barry Manilow while I waited. Del was back in less than three minutes.

  "You got a pen?"

  "Yes."

  "Then write this down and meet me there. It's off Sisk and not too far from here. Take Standiford, then right on Dale, then right on Braden, 4334 Braden Ave."

  "But Del, you shouldn't…,"

  "Neither should you. You keep forgetting, he was family. Jan will be our lookout so watch for her car."

  It took me ten minutes to go from downtown Modesto to Braden. They were parked three houses from Pippa's.

  Del rolled down the window, and I asked, "You got a plan?"

  "Sure," he said, getting out and shoving a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses pamphlets into my hand. "Hold this up in front of you. Now let's go see what it takes to get inside."

  We walked up to the door. Del knocked then nudged the doorbell. "No peephole. See anyone at the window?"

  "Doesn't look like anyone's home."

  He took out a soft leather wallet. "Did I ever tell you I used to ice-skate? Hey, I know what you're thinking, but I wasn't always this fat. I coulda gone to the Olympics too, but I peaked in an off year."

  "What does ice skating have to do with a set of lock-picks?"

  He wiggled two of the slim tools together in the lock,turned the handle and when the door opened, he winked. "It's like ice skating, baby. Practice, practice, practice."

  He gave me a pair of surgical gloves to put on, snapped on a pair himself, and we slipped through the door, closing it behind us.

  Inside, the house was clean and quiet. He punched a button on the phone answering machine.

  All the messages were from dry-cleaners, her office, and one from Caleb. I flushed. Just a request for a call back and timed about a half-hour ago. If he was calling her at home did it mean that Pippa had sniffed a suspicious wind and already fled?

  Del winked at me. "We may not have much time. Let's take a look around."

  I followed him into the bedroom and pushed his hands away before he could pick through her drawers. I didn't want Jan finding some other woman's panties on him. "I'll do this, you go look in another room."

  He shrugged and in a minute I heard him going through garbage cans.

  We met in the hallway. He said, "No envelopes in the trash, no food in the fridge. Nothing here with even an address on it. You find anything?"

  "A few clothes on the hangers, but no sign that two people were ever living here. Think we're too late?"

  I went to stand in the door between the bedroom and the living room. "It's odd, isn't it?"

  "What?"

  "Take a good look around. Do you see any photos of family or friends? There's none of the usual girl stuff in her medicine cabinet except a small bottle of aspirin. We got the right place?"

  He looked around at the sparsely furnished home.

  "Exactly what I was thinking. Wait." He lifted up a cushion on the couch and pointed to a nationally known furniture company tag. "They sell what they rent, but I'd say this was meant to be a temporary setup."

  I said, "Think she's already split?"

  "She'll be more likely to finish out her work day as is, then leave." He looked at his watch. "Shift change at the police station in fifteen minutes. Let's try there."

  I felt my stomach turn over. "We've got to find Grace. Pippa knows my car and yours, too, but not Jan's, and certainly not Arny's."

  "Arny will like that. He's already told his family he intends to change his major to law enforcement. Smart kid "

  Jan agreed to allow Arny to drive as long as he kept his distance.

  "We'll use these walkie talkies to trade off following her," he said handing me one. "No names. We'll use code. You're 'blue one' and Jan and I will be 'blue two.'

  I sighed and gave up. Finally, Del got to play Dick Tracy.

  I had Arny park close to the police station parking lot and Jan and Del were going to hang back to take over when we called them.

  Arny asked, "Which one's her car, do you know?'

  "She drives a white Firebird."

  "Cool. Does it have the 486?"

  "Got me there, kid," I said, pointing at Pippa's red head leading a group coming out of the police station. "There she is." I slid down in my seat in case she looked over.

  Arny chuckled. "She can't see you from there." Then he leaned over me. "But if you want to make it look really good, I could kiss you."

  I pushed him away. "Pay attention to her. W
hat's she doing now? Did she get into her car?"

  He sat up, all business again. "She's waving goodbye to some people. Now she's opening the door to her car. Interesting."

  "What? What's she doing?" I asked, still hunched down in my seat.

  "She's looking around to see who might be watching. I'm going to love police work, I just know it."

  "Start the car. We have to be ready."

  I felt silly doing this, but I called Del on the walkie talkie and said, "Blue one to blue two."

  Del whispered, "Blue two, here."

  "She's leaving now."

  "Righty-O, blue one. We're behind you"

  I couldn't believe I was going to say this but I did. "Give her some room, Arny, and follow that car."

  He grinned, then pulled out onto the street. "Think she's got a gun? What if she's got a gun? Are you packing?"

  "Only the extra fifteen pounds I put on from the worry of these last two weeks. Look, Arny, we're only following her to see if she'll lead us to Grace. The key here is to prove that she's kidnapped Grace Kim and find where she's holding her. No car chases. If she spots us as a tail, we'll turn a corner and let Jan and Del take over."

  I looked in the rear view mirror and saw Jan's car a couple of cars behind us. We followed Pippa onto the freeway north then off at Kansas and a side street. I put my hand on Arny to make him slow down. "Hang back, don't let her see you."

  Pippa turned a corner. "Pull over here."

  I called Del. "Blue two, you'll need to take over."

  Arny waved as Jan shot past us and took the corner on two wheels. "Blue two, slow down!"

  Del answered, a little breathless. "It's alright, blue one, we don't want to lose her. Wait, she's gone. Shit! Just a minute—slow down, Jan. We're slowing down— some houses, now a junk yard, a Mexican grocery store, now we're passing a storage unit. There! Inside the gate to those storage lockers. That's her car going in."