‘We’re still looking for Miss Bourke.’
‘Of course you are. That’s what you do.’
Perkins paused and looked at Henry in the eye for a minute. ‘You’re not going to help us, are you?’
Henry smiled. ‘You need help? What can I do to help?’
‘We’re looking for Ellie Bourke.’
Henry tapped the side of his head. ‘Déjà vu. I could have sworn you just said that.’
Stanfield stood a little to the back of Perkins, a small smile on his face.
Perkins took a small step forward and checked himself when he felt Stanfield’s hand on his arm. ‘Would you know where she is?’
‘You guys are Valley cops, right?’
Perkins shook his head. ‘It doesn’t matter what precinct we work out of, our case has taken us here. So do you know where she is?’
‘You check Oxnard?’
Stanfield stepped forward. ‘We’re pretty sure Ellie is in danger. We think she was framed and the person who did it might be targeting her next. We really need to talk to her.’
Henry nodded and flicked them a salute. ‘Nice try guys. You’re pretty transparent. I’ve got to get back to work, okay? In the unlikely event I run into Ellie, I’ll pass on your message.’ He turned back into the cafe and put on his apron.
‘What did they say?’
‘They want me to believe they think she’s in danger and should turn herself in.’ He snorted. ‘Pretty sincere looking too.’
‘It’s La-La-Land. Everyone’s an actor.’ Emily handed his apron back. ‘Unless they were telling the truth. That’s what’s Ellie’s been saying. Do you think they were telling the truth?’
Henry shrugged. ‘Maybe. You’ve got her number, right? Let her know. Send her a text.’
‘Come on Perkins.’ Stanfield threw his suit jacket over his shoulder and strolled south along the boardwalk. ‘He’ll tell her, and even if he tells her and discounts it as bullshit, he’ll tell her. Let’s find the juggler.’
‘He’s so stoned he’s not going to remember his own name.’ Perkins slid his hands in his pockets and walked along side his younger partner,
‘He’ll pass on the information. He pressed the Oxnard story the hardest.’
Perkins loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. ‘You’re probably right. He’s plying his trade up there. Let’s take in the show and have a chat with Potsy.’
‘Who?’
‘Never mind. What the fuck is he doing with that puppy?’
Stanfield started laughing as he watched the juggler with the chainsaw, bowling ball and stuffed dog proceeded to freak out the females in the crowd. ‘You didn’t catch that, did you?’
‘Catch what? That asshole is juggling a puppy.’ Perkins pressed forward.
‘Hang on, partner. He switched the real one with a toy. Very real looking toy.’ He smiled. ‘Pretty fucking hilarious.’
Perkins grunted. ‘Right. A riot.’
They watched as the juggler finished his act by tossing the stuffed dog to a matronly woman protesting the loudest in the front.
He calmed the crowd, passed the hat - getting almost nothing from the women, but over-compensated by the offerings from the men.
Perkins walked up with his badge out, Stanfield along side doing a slow clap.
‘That was good. Loved it.’ Stanfield gave him a little bow. ‘I’m impressed.’
‘What can I do for you guys?’
‘Excuse me, Mr. - ’ Perkins flipped through his notepad.
‘Patrick Fitzgerald.’
‘Hmm. My notes say it’s Gerald Fitzpatrick.’
‘Ah, that would be me gay lover.’ Danny laughed at his own poor Irish accent. ‘What do you want this time? I think Ellie’s gone to Boise.’
‘She hasn’t gone to Boise, Tustin or Oxnard.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I know you’re in contact with Ellie.’
‘How, cop? I don’t have a phone, mobile or otherwise.’
‘You’ll see her and you’ll talk to her. We know she’s staying in this area for some reason. I’d like you to give her a message. We believe she was set up and may be in danger. It’s important she contact us as soon as she can and come into the station.’
‘Bullshit. You expect me to believe that? You got anything better than that?’
Perkins sighed. ‘Tell her. This is not bullshit, it’s dead serious.’ He nodded at Stanfield. ‘Let’s go talk to her manager.’
Ann started at the banging on the door. She rolled off her mattress and pulled her hat snug on her head. She closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath and laid back down. She wasn’t feeling good. Maybe it would go away.
The hammering continued. ‘Hey, anyone in here? I’m not leaving until someone answers the door.’ The banging continued.
Ann groaned.
She shuffled to the door and cracked it open. ‘Go away.’
The man pushed her into the room and slammed the door shut. ‘You know Ellie, right?’
Ann fell back on the bed. ‘Who are you?’
‘Where’s Ellie?’
‘Who?’
The man leaned in close and yelled. ‘Where the fuck is Ellie?’ Spittle sprayed on Ann’s face. ‘Where the FUCK is she?’
‘I’m confused. Who are you? Why are you in my place? You need to leave.’
The man’s voice lowered, a menacing growl. ‘Listen you crazy fucking bitch, you tell me where Ellie is or I’ll kill you.’
Perkins and Stanfield pulled into the drive in Santa Monica, the gates swinging shut behind them. ‘Perks, what a place, eh?’
‘Every time we come here I get the feeling I know this place. I’ve seen it in a movie.’
‘Probably. It’s massive and you know a location manager would have picked the exteriors for something.’
The walked up the front steps. As Perkins raised his hand to knock, the door opened.
‘Gents. This is becoming a regular occurrence. What can I do for you?’
‘May we come in?’
‘No point really. This is going to be a quick conversation. I have a busy day ahead.’ He placed his feet shoulder width and crossed his arms, his body language screaming “Fuck off”.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I looked around the corner of the apartment building about three down from mine. Perkins and his partner were grilling Danny. Danny, as was his usual approach to authority, appeared to be frustrating the hell out of them. He was smiling and Perkins looked like he was going to pop a vein. His partner seemed to be enjoying himself.
I waited a few minutes after they left and casually walked over, a typical tourist chatting up the talent. ‘What did they want?’
He was squatting on the blanket, scratching his puppy behind the ears. ‘What? Oh, hi. They’re looking for you.’
‘Still. They seemed to be giving you a hard time.’
‘The old dude was. Young guy said he really liked the puppy act. Didn’t he Damien?’ Hat patted the blanket beside him. ‘Pull up a seat. Say hi to my co-conspirator.’
A sat cross-legged on the blanket. Damien hopped over and crawled on my lap, put his paws on my shoulders and licked the end of my nose. I picked him up and sat him back on my lap and scratched his head. ‘Cute pooch. I think he loves me. What did Perkins say?’
‘You were set up, you’re probably in danger. You should march your ass right down to the nearest police station right now and turn yourself in. For your safety, of course.’
‘Really? That’s weird. Because I was set up, and my life probably is in danger.’ I scratched the dog’s back. ‘But I think Perkins is just fishing. There’s no way he could know. He’s just trying to lure me in. Bastards.’
‘Yeah, well I told them you were in Boise. Don’t think they believed me.’
I laughed and hugged him. ‘You’re my hero. What city is next?’
He smiled and shrugged. ‘Whatever the mood tells me. Might be Boston, might be Moose Jaw.’
; ‘Don’t tell me. Make it a surprise.’ I handed back Damien. ‘You get the feeling he was bullshitting, or was he legit?’
He shrugged. ‘Who the hell knows? Go with your gut. You know I don’t trust those fuckers.’
‘I do. Thanks again Danny. I’ll let you get on with your day. I think I’ll give Perkie a call.’
‘You think that’s wise?’
‘Why not? He wants to talk to me. I’ll talk to him.’
‘He’ll get your number.’
‘Oh, shit. Close call. Thanks. I’ll figure it out. Maybe from a pay-phone. No matter. Take it easy mate, and give Damien a few extra kibbles for me.’
I turned tourist and walked the boardwalk. I was tired. Almost slipped up and called Perkins from my phone. But the fact was, I did want to talk to him. I believed his story as much as I believed in the tooth fairy. If it was Sampson telling me, maybe, but not Perkins.
My phone vibrated, which was disconcerting. Far too many people knew this number, already. And nobody was programmed in my directory, so I was never completely sure who it was.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, Ellie. It’s Lily. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.’
‘Oh, you’re going to get yourself in trouble. You shouldn’t have called.’
‘I’m relaying a message from Perkins.’
‘He gets around. Let me guess. My life is in danger, I’ve been set up and I should hustle my ass to the nearest police station before I get myself killed.’
‘Spot on.’
‘When was he there?’
‘He and his young partner are driving out of the gate right now. They seemed sincere.’
‘It’s Hollywood. He had no explanation for this sudden reversal, did he?’
’Not that I could tell. Kind of strange, isn’t it?’
‘What?’ I stood in a doorway and watched a police car drive down Speedway.
‘You really are being set up and that guy has threatened you. So Perkins is right.’
‘He’s just trying to get me to turn myself in. Look, Lily, I don’t want to be rude, but I’ve got to go.’
‘Before you hang up, Marty has hired a PI to try and find the ass who set you up. Can you tell me the number he used? This guy has contacts and might be able to get more information about him.’
‘Got a pen?’ I recited the number from the received text and thanked her and shut down the call. I didn’t like other people risking their freedom on my account.
Torn between wanting to believe Perkins and not trusting a single fucking thing coming out of his mouth was distracting me from what I had to do. I took a deep breath and called the number which sent me the threatening text. It went to a generic voice mail box again.
‘Coward. Answer the phone and face me like a man. Bitch.’
I hung up. I needed to control the situation. I needed to make sure the asshole didn’t get to me before I had a chance to set the stage.
And I wasn’t ready yet. I needed to lay low.
This Perkins angle was intriguing. He didn’t strike me as the type of person who’d resort to trickery. But Kent had an inside source. Maybe he’d be able to dig up the truth.
He answered out of breath. ‘Ellie. What’s going on?’
‘Perkins is going around telling anyone who knows me he fears for my safety, that he knows I was set up. And he wants me to turn myself in.’
‘No, I don’t buy it. Too risky. Let me talk to Shelley and get the scoop.’
‘I thought her name was Stevie.’
‘Yeah. Stevie. I’ll call her and get back to you shortly. Don’t do anything stupid.’ He grunted and hung up.
Sounded like he was weight lifting.
And here I was waiting again. But I didn’t have to do nothing. Charlie might have more information.
He answered with a groan. ‘What felony do you want me to commit this morning?’
‘Good morning, Charlie. You still have the number, right? The one I gave you - ’
‘What, you think I’m disorganized?’
‘Can you check the location for me? I don’t want that fuck sneaking up on me.’
‘You’re going to get me fired, mate.’
‘Only for another day or so Charlie. Appreciate it.’ I listened to keys clicking for a very long, nervous minute.
‘The number is located very close to you. You just called it, right?’
‘Yeah, I did. Define close to me?’
‘Different sectors of the same site. Like rock throwing distance from each other.’
‘Oh, fuck.’ I pulled myself into the doorway and tried to make myself smaller.
‘Fuck, indeed.’ There was a bit more clicking of keys. ‘There’s been nothing since then, but it wasn’t very long ago so he can’t be far. Watch your ass, right?’
‘I will. Thanks again. I promise not to bother you too much.’
I slipped the phone into my pocket. What does a psycho look like? If Charlie was right, and he knew this stuff pretty well, Mr. Nutbags was within a mile of me. Looking for me. Wanting to do me physical harm.
Not if I could help it.
I felt like everyone was looking at me, now. Fuck, I hated feeling like this. All eyes seemed to be accusing me. I wanted to leave the anonymity of the crowds on Venice Beach and head to a hidey hole.
My ass vibrated.
I squeezed out the phone. It was him.
Calling, this time.
‘Hey, nutbags. You looking for me? You’ll never find me.’
‘I know where you are right now. I saw you pull that phone from your very tight back pocket.’ The voice was a deep “I’m Batman” kind of voice. It was either electronically disguised or the guy was good at doing voices.
I spun around and looked into the crowd. There were more than a dozen people on their phones. One of them could be Sweeney’s killer. Or not. There were plenty of windows he could be looking from.
‘So why are you keeping your distance, asshole? You promised grievous bodily harm. You going to break your promise?’
‘I’m not stupid. There are crowds. When I get you, I’m going to get you alone. It’s just going to be you and me, for an extended visit.’
‘Candlelight and wine?’
His voice dropped a key and evoked menace. ‘You’re not going to enjoy this visit.’
‘You have halitosis?’
‘Bitch, I will make you wish you could die. And I’m going to tell you exactly how it’s going to happen.’ He took a deep, shuddering breath.
‘I’ll make sure you can’t make any noise loud enough to be heard outside the room. And then I’m going to start hurting you. I’m going to make you feel pain in places you never thought pain would be felt. You will think it can’t get any worse, and then it will. You’ll plead for me to kill you to put you out of your misery.
‘But I won’t. That will be stage one. You’ll soon long for stage one. Because stage two will be ten times worse. The horror you experience will make you regret every self-serving action you’ve ever taken. You’ll realize every person you trod on to get you to where you are now is getting their collective payback.
‘And then, when it’s beyond what you can humanly bear you will become the apparent victim of self-immolation.’
I swallowed and slipped back in the doorway. ‘I thought you were going to make it look like a suicide.’
‘Didn’t you catch the “self” part of “self-immolation”? I thought I knew you, Ellie. I guess I was wrong. Selfish, I understand. I didn’t think you were stupid.’
‘You know me?’
‘You’re not random.’
‘Where am I now?’
‘Why, are you lost? You’re not far from me. I’ll keep an eye on you until it’s dark, and then you’re all mine. I suggest you enjoy the sunset tonight. It’ll be your last.’
‘Fuck you.’
‘Eloquent.’
‘If you know me, tell me your name. This impending doom is apparently inevitable. Te
lling me who you are shouldn’t make any difference.’
His laugh sounded like gravel in a galvanized tub. ‘I want to see the look on your face when you find out.’
‘How did you find me so fast?’
‘You’re not exactly hiding. You haven’t gone more than a few miles from your home. I’m surprised the police haven’t picked you up already.’
‘So you’re a cop?’
He laughed again. ‘God, no.’
‘So how did you find me so fast? Tell me.’
‘You can thank your friend, the crazy bag lady for her assistance. Once I got her going, she wouldn’t shut the fuck up.’
I gripped the phone so tight I was afraid I was going to crack the screen. ‘What did you do to Ann?’
‘A bit fragile upstairs, isn’t she? I’m sure she’ll be fine. Eventually. Barely a mark on her frumpy body, but her mind may be scarred for the rest of her very short life.’
‘Listen, you f-‘
‘Shut up.’ Heavy hoarse breathing filled my ear. ‘It’s not all about you, bitch. You’re just one in a line of victims. Number two. Sweeney was one. Setting you up was almost as fun as seeing the look on his face just as I shot him in his fat fucking head.’ He took a breath. ‘No, there will be many more after you. This is the best fun I’ve had in a very, very long time.’
I heard his shoes, or boots, clicking across a floor. ‘You’re a sick fuck.’
‘Of course I am. That’s what makes me so fun to be around. It’s not even noon yet. Barely past 11:00. You’ve got seven hours to sort your shit out. I’ll be keeping a very close eye on you for those seven hours, so don’t think you’ll escape.’
The call dropped. I peered out from the corner of the doorway. He could see me, I couldn’t see him.
Lovely.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ann groaned and held her face as she slowly regained a sense of where she was. She opened one eye and checked if her unwelcome visitor was still there.
She sat up, a bit too quick for the pain in her head. ‘Oh, my goodness. What have I done?’ She wiggled a tooth with her tongue and winced. ‘Ouch.’ Her hand came away from her mouth sticky with partially congealed blood and her lip felt like it was twice its normal size.
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