by Sue Grafton
"The worst," I said. "What made you quit?"
"Just to prove I could," she said. "What about other stuff? You ever do coke?"
"Nope."
"Ludes, Vicodan, Percocet?"
I turned and stared at her.
"I'm just asking," she said.
"I smoked dope in high school, but then I straightened up my act."
She flopped her head to one side and said, "Snore."
I laughed. "Why snore?"
"You live like a nun. Where's the friggin' joy?"
"I have joy. I have a lot of joy."
"Oh, don't be so defensive. I wasn't judging you."
"Yes, you were."
"Well, okay, maybe a little bit. I'm mostly curious."
"About what?"
"How you make it in this world if you give up living on the edge."
"Maybe you'll find out."
"I wouldn't bet on that, but one can always hope."
As we approached Santa Teresa, a drifting fog had curled across the landscape, wispy and pale. I drove along the beach, palms standing out darkly against the soft white of the Pacific. Reba'd been staring at the ocean since it came into view south of Perdido. As we passed the Perdido Avenue off-ramp, she turned her head, watching it recede into the mist. "You ever hear of the Double Down?"
"What's that?"
"Perdido's only poker parlor - scene of my downfall. Had some great times there, but that's over and done with. Or so I hope."
The highway angled inland and she watched the ebb and flow of citrus groves on either side of the road. Houses and businesses began to accumulate until the town itself appeared - two- and three-story white, stucco buildings with red tile roofs, palm trees, evergreens, the architecture defined by the Spanish influence. "What'd you miss most?" I asked.
"My cat. Long-haired orange tabby I've had since he was six weeks old. He looked like a little powder puff. He's seventeen now and a great old guy."
As I took the Milagro off-ramp, I glanced at my watch. It was 12:36.
"Are you hungry? We have time for lunch if you want to eat before you meet your PO."
"That'd be great. I've been hungry since we hit the road."
"You should have spoken up. You have a preference?"
"McDonald's. I'd kill for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese."
"Me, too."
Over lunch, I said, "Twenty-two months. What'd you do with your time?"
"I learned computer programming. That's a hoot and a half. Also, I memorized prison stats," she said.
"Sounds like fun."
She began dunking her fries in a lake of ketchup, eating them like worms. "Well, it was. I spent a lot of time in the library reading all the studies they've done on female inmates. Used to be, I'd pick up an article like that and it had nothing to do with me. Now it's all relevant. Like in 1976? There were eleven thousand women in state and federal prisons. Last year, the number jumped to twenty-six thousand and you want to know why? Women's Liberation. Judges used to take pity on women, especially those with little kids. Now it's equal-opportunity incarceration. Thank you, Gloria Steinem. Only something like three percent of convicted felons do any prison time anyway. And here's something else. Five years ago half the killers released from prison had served less than six years. Can you believe that? Murder someone and you're back on the street after six in the can. Most parole violations, you end up doing a bullet, which is a lot if you look at it proportionately. I flunk one drug test and I'm back on the bus."
"A bullet?"
"A year. I'm telling you, the system's really screwed. I mean, what do you think parole's about? You serve your sentence on the street. What kind of punishment is that? You have no idea how many vicious guys you got walking around out here." She smiled. "Anyway, let's go meet my PO and get it over with."
5
Parole offices were housed in a low yellow brick building of a style popular during the sixties-lots of glass and aluminum and long horizontal lines. Dark green cedars grew under an overhang that ran the length of the fa‡ade. The parking lot was generous and I found a spot without difficulty. I shut down the engine. "Want me to go with you?"
"Might as well," she said. "Who knows how long I'll have to wait. I could use the company."
We crossed the parking lot and hung a right, moving toward the entrance. We pushed through the glass doors and found ourselves facing a long drab hallway lined with offices on both sides. There was no reception area that I could see, though at the far end of the corridor there were a few folding chairs where a smattering of men were seated. As we entered, a big woman with red hair and a fat file in hand peered out of an office and called to one of the guys loitering against the wall. A sorrowful-looking man in his sixties stepped forward, dressed in a shabby sport coat and pants that were none too clean. I'd seen guys like him sleeping in doorways and picking half-smoked cigarette butts out of the sand-filled ashtrays in hotel lobbies.
She glanced over at us, catching sight of Reba. "Are you Reba?"
"That's right."
"I'm Priscilla Holloway. We spoke on the phone. I'll be with you in a sec."
"Great." Reba watched them depart. "My parole officer."
"I figured as much."
Priscilla Holloway was in her forties, strong-featured, big-boned, and tan. Her dark red hair was pulled back in a French braid that extended halfway down her back. Her dark slacks were Wrinkled from sitting. Over them she wore a white shirt, hem out, and a zippered red knit jacket that was open down the front, discreet concealment for the firearm she wore holstered at her side. Her build was athletic, and my guess was she played the fast, hard-sweating sports: racquetball, soccer, basketball, and tennis. When I was in grade school a girl her size would have scared the crap out of me, but I learned, in those days, that if I cultivated a friendship, I'd end up with playground protection for life.
Reba and I staked out our claim on a tiny section of the hallway where we variously leaned and slouched, trying to find a comfortable position in which to wait. There was a pay phone mounted on the wall nearby and I could see Reba's focus sharpen at the sight of it. "You have any change? I need to make a phone call. It's local."
I opened my shoulder bag and did a quick search along the bottom, fishing for stray coins. I passed her a handful of change, watching as she moved to the phone and picked up the handset. She dropped in the coins, punched in a number, and then turned her body at an angle so I couldn't read her lips while she talked. She was on the line for three minutes and when she finally put the handset back in the cradle, she was looking happier and more relaxed than I'd seen her so far.
"Everything okay?"
"Sure. I was touching base with a friend." She sank down along the wall and took a seat on the floor.
Ten minutes later, Priscilla Holloway appeared, walking her fusty-looking client to the front door. She issued him an admonition and then turned to Reba. "Why don't you come on back?"
Reba scrambled to her feet. "What about her?"
"She can join us in a bit. We've got a couple of things we need to talk about first. I'll come get you in a minute," she said to me.
The two moved down the bleak hallway, Reba looking half Holloway's size. Reconciled to the wait, I leaned against the wall, my shoulder bag on the floor. The glass doors opened and Cheney Phillips came in, passing me on his way down the hall. I saw him tap on Priscilla Holloway's open door and stick his head in. He chatted briefly with her and then turned, walking in my direction. He still hadn't recognized me, which gave me a moment to study him.
I'd known Cheney for years, but we hadn't had occasion to interact until a murder investigation two years before. Over the course of several conversations, he'd told me he'd grown up in circumstances of benign neglect and fixed his sights early on a career in law enforcement. He'd been working undercover vice the last time our paths crossed, but by now his face was probably too well-known for anything covert. He was dressed to the nines, as usual: dark slacks and a pi
n-stripe sport coat, wide in the shoulders and nipped at the waist. His dress shirt was midnight blue worn with a midnight blue tie with a sheen of lighter blue. His dark hair was curly, his dark gaze revealing a curious mix of cop-think and come-hither. When I heard he'd gotten married, I'd moved his name, in my mental Rolodex, from a prominent place near the front to a category I labeled "expunged without prejudice" near the back of the file.
His gaze connected briefly with mine and when he realized it was me, he stopped in his tracks. "Kinsey. I don't believe it. I was just thinking about you."
"What are you doing here?"
"Getting a bead on a parolee. What about you?"
"Babysitting a gal until she gets on her feet."
"Missionary work."
"Hardly. I'm getting paid," I said.
"When I ran into you Saturday I meant to ask why I haven't seen you at CC's. Dolan told me the two of you were working a case. I figured you'd be in."
"I don't 'do' bars at my age except for Rosie's," I said. "What about you? Last I heard, you were off in Las Vegas getting married."
"Geez, word gets around. So what else did you hear?"
"That you met her at CC's and only knew her six weeks before the two of you ran off."
Cheney's smile was pained. "Sounds so crass when you put it that way."
"What happened to your other girlfriend? I thought you'd been dating someone else for years."
"That wasn't going anywhere. She realized it before I did and dumped my sorry butt."
"So what'd you do, marry on the rebound?"
"That would cover it, I guess. What about you? How's your friend Dietz?"
"Kinsey, would you like to join us?"
I glanced up to see Priscilla Holloway approaching.
Cheney turned his head, following my gaze. His eyes flicked from the parole officer to me. "I better let you go."
"Nice seeing you again," I said.
"I'll give you a call as soon as I'm free," Priscilla said to him as he turned to go.
I glanced back, watching him as he pushed out the glass doors and turned toward the parking lot.
"How do you know Cheney?" she asked.
"Through a case I worked. Nice guy."
"He's good. Did the drive go okay?"
"Piece of cake, but it was hot down there."
"And way too many bugs," she said. "You can hardly open your mouth without swallowing one."
Her office was small and the furniture was plain. A window overlooked the parking lot, the view cut into slices by a dusty venetian blind. There was a Polaroid camera resting on the windowsill and two instant photos of Reba lay on top of a stack of thick files. I assumed Priscilla kept current photos in the file in case Reba took off without notice. There were file cabinets on her side of the desk and two metal chairs on ours. Reba sat in the one closest to the window. Priscilla took a seat in her swivel chair and looked at me. "Reba says you'll be squiring her around town."
"Just for a couple of days, until she's settled."
Priscilla leaned forward. "I've been over this with her, but I think it bears repeating so you know the score. No drugs, no alcohol, no firearms, no knife with a blade longer than two inches, except knives in her residence or in her place of employment. No crossbow of any kind." She paused to smile, directing the rest of her remarks to Reba as though for emphasis. "No consorting with known felons. Any change of residence has to be reported within seventy-two hours. No traveling more than fifty miles without authorization. You will not be out of Santa Teresa County for more than forty-eight hours and not out of California at all without my written consent. Cops pick you up and you don't have the magic piece of paper, you'll be back in the clink."
"I'm cool with that," Reba said.
"One thing I forgot to mention. If you're seeking employment, a special condition of your parole prohibits a position of trust: no handling of payroll, taxes, no access to checks - "
"What if the employer knows about my record?"
Holloway paused. "Under those circumstances, maybe, but talk to me first." She turned back to me. "Any questions?"
"Not me. I'm just along for the ride."
"I've given Reba my number if she should need me. If I'm not available, leave a message on my machine. I check four and five times a day."
"Right."
"In the meantime, I have two concerns. The first is public safety. The second is her successful reentry. Let's not screw up on either count, okay?"
"I'm with you," I said.
Priscilla stood up and leaned across her desk to shake first Reba's hand and then mine. "Good luck. Nice meeting you, Ms. Millhone."
"Make it Kinsey," I said.
"Let me know if there's any way I can be of help."
Once we were in the car again, I said, "I like Holloway. She seems nice."
"Me, too. She's says I'm the only female she handles. Every other parolee she has is a 288A or a 290."
"Which is what?"
"Registered sex offenders. 288A signifies a child molester. A couple of 'em are considered sexually violent predators. Nice company. You'd never guess just from looking at those guys," she said. She took out a folded pamphlet with "Department of Corrections" printed on the front. I could see her scanning the information as she turned the page. "At least I'm not classified as High Control. Those guys really have to jump through hoops. I see her once a week at first, but she says if I behave myself, she'll move me to once a month. I'll still have to attend AA meetings and I'll be subjected to weekly drug tests, but that's just peeing in a jar and it's really not so bad."
"What about employment? Will you be looking for a job?"
"Pop doesn't want me to work. He thinks it stresses me out. Besides, it's not a condition of parole and Holloway doesn't care as long as I keep my nose clean."
"Then let's get you home."
At 2:30 I dropped Reba off at her father's estate, making sure she had both my home and office numbers. I suggested she take a couple of days to get settled, but she said she'd been cooped up, idle, and bored for the past two years and wanted to get out. I told her to call in the morning and we'd work out a time to pick her up.
"Thanks," she said, and then opened the car door. The elderly housekeeper was already standing on the front porch, watching for her arrival. Near her sat a big long-haired orange cat. As Reba slammed the car door, the cat stepped down off the porch and strolled toward her at a dignified pace. Reba leaned down and swept the cat into her arms. She rocked him, her face buried in his fur, a display of devotion the cat seemed to accept as his due. Reba carried him to the porch. I waited until she'd hugged the housekeeper and disappeared inside, cat tucked under one arm, and then I put the car in gear and headed back to town.
I stopped by the office and put in the requisite time returning phone calls and opening the mail. At 5:00, having taken care of as much business as I intended to do, I closed up the office and retrieved my car for the short drive home. Once there, I opened my mailbox and pulled out the usual assortment of junk mail and bills. I pushed through the squeaky gate, engrossed in an ad from a Hong Kong tailor soliciting my business. I had another offer from a mortgage company suggesting ready cash with one simple call. Wasn't I the lucky one?
Henry was in the backyard hosing down the patio with a steady stream of water as fat as a broom handle. With it, he forced leaves and grit across the flat stones and into the grass beyond. The late afternoon sun had broken through the overcast and we were finally experiencing a touch of summer. He wore a T-shirt and cutoffs, his long, elegant bare feet tucked into a pair of worn flip-flops. William, in his usual natty three-piece suit, stood just behind him, carefully avoiding any spatter from the hose. He was leaning on a black malacca walking stick with a carved ivory handle. The two were arguing but paused long enough to greet me civilly.
"William, what'd you do to your foot? I've never seen you with a cane."
The doctor thought it should help keep me steady."
; "It's a prop," Henry said.
William ignored him.
I said, "Sorry to interrupt. I must've caught you in the middle of a chat."
William said, "Henry's feeling indecisive about Mattie."
"I'm not indecisive! I'm being sensible. I'm eighty-seven years old. How many good years do I have left?"
"Don't be absurd," William said. "Our side of the family has always lived to be at least a hundred and three. Did you hear what she said l about hers? I thought she was reciting from the Merck Manual. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease? her mother died of meningitis. Of all things! Take my word for It, Mattie Halstead will go long before you."