THE CONVERSATION WENT like this: ‘The case is fifteen years old,’ I say. Then Mackinerny responds, ‘Strapp, I don’t give a solitary fuck if it’s from the Jurassic era; there’s a seven-figure endowment riding on this solve, and you’re going to make it happen.’ I respond, ‘Not a problem, sir.’”
“Good comeback.”
“I thought so.”
Lieutenant Peter Decker regarded Strapp, who within the last ten minutes seemed to have gained a few more wrinkles from frowning. He was turning sixty this year, but still had the bull frame of a weight lifter. The man had a steel-trap mind and a matching metallic personality. “I’ll do what I can, Captain.”
“That’s the idea, Lieutenant. You’ll do what you can. I want you to handle this personally, Decker, not pass it off to someone in Homicide.”
“My homicide squad is more up to date on the latest techniques and forensics. They’d probably do a better job since most of my time is spent doing psychotherapy and scheduling vacations.”
“Horseshit!” Strapp rubbed his eyes. “Last summer you spent way more time in the field than in your office, judging from the amount of overtime you racked up flying Southwest to San Jose and to Santa Fe. Surely you got a couple of free trips out of that.”
“We cleared two homicides.”
“One of which was twenty-five years old, so this one should be a snap. We’ve got a hell of lot riding on this solve.”
A potential seven-figure gift could lift LAPD into state of the art. Equipping the department with the newest in forensic machinery could potentially put more felons behind bars. Still, Decker has found that in the end, it was always the human factor: men and women sweating hours on end to extract confessions, noticing a detail that was overlooked, doing just one more interview.
Not that technology didn’t have its place. And with a big endowment…
Money talks, etc.
“What prompted the call?” Decker asked Strapp.
“She read about the Primo Ekerling carjacking in Hollywood and it reminded her of the unfinished business with the Little case.”
“Doesn’t Hollywood have a few cholos in custody for that one?”
“It does, but that’s not the point. The parallels were similar enough to strike a chord in her very wealthy mind.”
“What’s her connection to Little other than the fact that he was her guidance counselor?”
“I think it’s as simple as that. She told Mackinerny that Little was the only one who had been kind to her during her awkward years, and now she has enough money to get people to jump,” Strapp said. “We were both in Foothill when the Little murder happened. From what I remember, he was a good guy.”
Decker hadn’t followed the details closely. He did recall that the case had occupied space in the local newspapers. “How soon do you want me on this?”
“How does yesterday sound, Lieutenant? Top priority. Got it?”
“Got it, and over and out.”
THOUGH HE COULDN’T delegate the thinking, Decker could certainly dole out the grunt work. He assigned one of the newest detectives the necessary but excruciatingly frustrating task of driving from the West Valley to downtown to pick up the Little file. In morning rush-hour traffic that was a heavy one-to two-hour commute, depending on the amount of Sigalerts on L.A.’s arteries. In the meantime, Decker went over his current assignments, clearing most of his paperwork to devote his attention to the Little case.
The department had detectives who worked cold cases routinely, and why they didn’t pick this one up was anyone’s guess. Decker suspected that if West Valley got the solve, a substantial slab of the coveted cash would be directed to Strapp. Also, it was logical that the local detectives might have better luck concluding a case that happened in their own backyard.
By the time Decker could actually turn his attention to the six boxes that had been checked out from storage, it was after six in the evening. Too many miscreants had occupied the day, and if he was to get anywhere, he needed solitude to read and think. He decided to work from his home office, and though it wasn’t proper procedure to carry out official material, it happened all the time.
The drive to his house took less than fifteen minutes, down Devonshire Boulevard to his ranch-style wood-sided house. Decker’s property was over a third of an acre, not nearly as big as the ranch he had owned when the Little case broke through to the media, but the space was large enough for him to spread out his workbench on a lovely spring day and play with his tools. The grounds had become a feast for the eyes since Rina had taken up gardening about two years ago. She had turned what had been a boring sheet of green lawn into lush gardens with riotous colors. Last spring, it had made the L.A. Garden list of places to visit. One entire Sunday had been taken up by troupes of gardening aficionados traipsing through his property oohing and aahing and congratulating Rina on a job well done.
Upon arriving home, Decker could smell garlic coming from the kitchen. His wife’s cooking skills even surpassed her eminent prowess as a landscaper. Balancing three of the boxes while fiddling with the front door key, he managed to make an entrance, place the boxes on his dining room table, and not fall on his ass. It was a good sign.
Rina emerged from the kitchen, her hair maddeningly black without a hint of gray even though the woman was in her forties. Her lack of aging never ceased to painfully remind Decker that he was in his fifties and had a head streaked with silver. The follicles that retained the most of Decker’s original carrot red coloring were embedded in his mustache. The facial hair was maybe a bit out of style, but Rina claimed it made him look very masculine and handsome, and she was the only one he was still trying to impress.
Rina wiped her hands on a dish towel. She pointed to the boxes. “What’s all that about?”
“I got saddled with another cold case, only this one needs a quick solve.”
“See what happens when you’re too successful?”
Decker smiled. “Aren’t you my good friend. What smells so good?”
“Chicken cacciatore over pasta. I’ve loaded it with garlic trying to stave off the current flu bug. My plan is to make it uncomfortable for anyone to get too close to us. But we’ll be okay with each other because we’ll both eat the same entrée.”
“What about our progeny? Will she be able to come close?”
“Hannah is irrelevant since I basically haven’t seen her in three days—the consequence of a driver’s license. She’s at Lilly’s studying for a chemistry test.”
Decker brightened. “So we’re all alone?”
“Yes. How about if you clear off the table and I’ll open the wine. I’ve picked out a Sangiovese that I found on KosherWine.com.”
“Sounds wonderful but just a single glass for me, darlin’. I’ve got to work.”
“Hence the boxes.”
“There are still three more in the car.”
“Yikes. Can I help?”
“No, just leave these on the table for a moment, and I’ll drag everything into the office. Then we can have dinner before I plow my way into ancient history. How’s your day been?”
Rina’s eyes twinkled flashes of blue. “The same as always. I try to teach resentful kids something that they have no interest in learning.”
“Charming. For what they pay you, you can walk away.”
“I could…” Again she smiled. “But then life wouldn’t hold any challenges. As much as I love gardening, a plant is no substitute for a surly teenager. And honestly, I really do like the kids.”
“The cold case I’m working on was a teacher.”
Rina turned serious. “Who?”
“It happened fifteen years ago. A history teacher at North Valley.”
“Bennett Little. Found in the trunk of his Mercedes, shot execution style.”
“What a memory.”
“It was a big case. You were still at Foothill and we were living at your old ranch.” She smiled. “I miss the ranch sometimes, even though it was a two-and-a-half-mile walk to shul.”
“I miss the ranch, too, although I do not miss cleaning horse stables. My hands are dirty enough as is. I’m really impressed with your memory, although it makes sense. At your age, I had a pretty good memory as well.”
“I know, Peter, you’re ready for the glue factory.”
“What else do you recall about the Little case?”
“In the end, the ruling was that it was probably a carjacking.” She frowned. “Am I wrong or isn’t there a current Hollywood case similar to Little that actually is a carjacking?”
“Indeed there is. Two sixteen-year-old punks have been arrested.”
“Are the two related?”
“Fifteen years apart?” Decker shrugged. “Doubt it, but without knowing the specifics of either case, I can’t say.”
“Did they open the Little case because of the Hollywood case?”
“Indirectly, yes.” Decker blew out air. “I’ll explain it over dinner. Let me get those other boxes inside. Then I’ll clear the table and we can eat. I’m starving.”
“Are you sure I can’t do anything else for you, Peter?”
“You can bring out the candles. As far as I know, a little atmosphere and romance never hindered anyone’s investigation. And I suppose you can make a strong pot of coffee. I’m going to need it tonight.”