RINA POURED THE coffee. “Who were you talking to in the closet last night?”
Decker hid his face behind the newspaper. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard you get up, close the closet door, and speak in low tones.”
Busted. “A snitch.”
Rina grinned. “Sure you weren’t playing virtual life behind my back?”
“Check my computer,” Decker said. “If there’s anything racier on it than the Porsche Turbo convertible, I plead guilty.”
Rina sat down. “First of all, why would you be speaking to a snitch? And second, why was your snitch calling you so late?”
“In answer to your first question, I’m working on an actual homicide instead of doing paperwork like a normal lieutenant. A lot is riding on a solve and I need help. Second answer is, snitches don’t keep banker’s hours.” He looked at her and smiled. “Any other questions, Ms. Curious?”
“Just one. Do I have to be careful?”
Decker looked at his wife’s face—a mask of concern. “About what?”
“About weird people showing up on our doorstep.”
“No. The snitch lives three thousand miles away, and there’s not a chance in the world that he’ll hurt you.”
“Oh…” A pause. “Him.” Rina tried to appear calm, although she wasn’t. She couldn’t imagine why he’d be using Donatti as a source of information. She changed the subject. “Cindy called. They’re coming over for Shabbos. She also said for you to phone her when you get a chance.”
“Like in right away?”
“Like in when you get a chance…which could mean right away.”
He checked his watch. “Do you mind if I give her a buzz now? Maybe I can get her before she starts work.”
“Of course not. I’ll wake up Sleeping Beauty. Can you take her to school?”
“Sure. If you have time for lunch, I could probably get away for an hour.”
“I think that’s a go.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave her husband a peck on the cheek. “Give me a call if you don’t get swamped with work. And please, please, please, be careful. Your snitch may be able to provide you with a wealth of information, but it also means you’re swimming with a great white.”
Decker didn’t answer right away. Rina was swift in the logic department, but then again how many sources did he have three thousand miles away? “I’m always careful,” he reiterated. “I know whom—or what—I’m dealing with.”
“I hope so.” She bit her lip. “Just make sure that if anyone is chopped-up chum, it’s him and not you.”
Decker gave her a confident thumbs-up. As soon as she left the kitchen, he dialed his elder daughter’s cell. “Hey, I heard you called.”
“I did. Hold on.” The line went quiet but not dead. In the background was the roar of traffic. “Can you hear me?”
“You’re outside. Are you at the station house?”
“Yes, so I’ll make this quick. Rip Garrett got wind of your poking around the Ekerling case. He and Tito are grumbling. Thought you might like to know.”
“Are you getting flack?”
“No, because I’m acting like I’m on their side. When they pointedly asked me what was going on—and you knew that I was going to be called on this—I immediately offered to call you up and ask what you were doing. Of course, I knew what you’re doing. Later I told Rip and Tito that you said you were working on a cold case, but you were playing it close to the vest. Then I said something like ‘That’s my dad’s style, sticking his nose into everything. Is there anything you’d like me to say to him?’ And then they said something like, ‘Tell him if he has questions to give us a call and stop hotdogging it.’ Hence the call.”
“There’s nothing in the file that I couldn’t have gotten from Marilyn Eustis.”
“Who, by the way, is the one responsible for your grief. She contacted Rip and told him you were looking at suspects other than Geraldo Perry and Travis Martel. She wanted to know what was going on. It didn’t settle well with him.”
“I’ll call Garrett and Diaz to let them know what I’m doing. Thanks for the heads-up. I’m sorry I got you involved in this mess. I’ll take it from here.”
“I sure hope so. I’ve got to work with these guys. If some sleazeball holds a gun to my head, I don’t want to wonder if my partner likes me or not.”
MARGE WAS NOTHING if not efficient, having downloaded her notes from the airport in Ohio at six in the morning EDT. By the time she arrived at Decker’s office, he had already read them twice and had made his own marginal notes. He looked at his favorite sergeant clad in a blue jacket, vanilla top, brown slacks, and flats. Her face was clean and bright, and she appeared downright perky for someone who had been up since one in the morning PDT.
“I slept on the plane,” she explained. “I took two Benadryls as soon as we took off and didn’t wake up until we were landing. Drugs have their purpose…legal ones.” She pointed to the notes. “What do you think?”
“Several things come to mind.”
“Shoot.”
“Why did Darnell say that he was in the school’s chorus with Rudy Banks when their time in high school didn’t overlap?”
“An obvious blip in the man’s honesty radar or a simple mistake.”
“And you’re sure your dates are correct?”
“No, I’m not positive, so I’m rechecking everything. As it stands, Rudy dropped out a year before Darnell entered high school.”
“Is it possible that they were in a community choir together?”
“Darnell didn’t mention anything about a community choir. The second thing that mars Mr. Arlington’s good citizenship record is a little white lie. How could he not remember Cal Vitton?”
“And it’s a really stupid lie because the interview is in the case files.”
“Clearly, he wants to really distance himself from the murder.” Marge scribbled some figures. “According to my math, Ben Little was murdered about five years after Rudy dropped out. At that time, Arlington was a senior, living in Ohio, and Rudy and Primo were in L.A. cutting albums as the Doodoo Sluts.”
Decker said, “If Darnell said Rudy Banks’s name sounds familiar, he damn well knows the guy. Being in high school chorus was the first thing Darnell could think of. So we’ve got to ask ourselves how the two really are connected and what, if anything, it has to do with Little’s murder.”
“Maybe music, maybe drugs, and maybe both,” Marge said. “Arlington admits selling drugs. Maybe he was a runner for the industry and that’s how he met Rudy.”
“But where’s the connection to Little?”
“Little knew Darnell was pushing. Maybe Little was going to expose the operation, leaving Rudy without his main supplier. So Banks had Little whacked.”
“Arlington was already gone when Little was whacked. Surely Rudy could have found another source.”
Marge mulled over the words. “Okay, how about this? Darnell was the pusher at North Valley, which is why he didn’t drop out of school. Let’s say Darnell got busted. Little managed to hush up the bust and get Darnell out of the picture. But then let’s say a few months later, Rudy takes over Darnell’s former turf and starts selling. Little finds out and gets in the way of Rudy’s operation.”
“That’s a leap—from buyer to seller.”
“Not really,” Marge said. “From what we’ve found out, Rudy’s pretty damn entrepreneurial.”
“Okay. For argument’s sake, let’s say you’re right. That would explain a connection between Banks and Arlington. How does Primo Ekerling fit in?”
“Maybe Ekerling and Banks were in it together. Maybe eventually conscience caught up with Ekerling. He hated Banks. Maybe he finally decided to do the right thing and report Rudy. So Rudy whacked him as well.”
“Fifteen years later?”
“Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense at all. Nor does it explain why Cal Vitton decided to commit suicide right after you called him up to ask about the Little case.”
Decker said, “While you were gone, Oliver’s been working on Little’s financials.”
“And?”
“He owned a lot of toys—a Mercedes, a small boat, a trailer, a camper…plus, he had a little money in the bank and there was a college fund for each of the boys. That might have come from insurance…or from other sources.”
“Ah…” She digested the new information. “So you’re thinking that maybe Little was running drugs?”
“We have no indication that he was anything but a straight shooter.”
“But we do know that his wife developed a big gambling problem after he died…meaning she probably had a little gambling problem before he died. Maybe Little needed some disposable income. A few hundred here or there can add up, especially since the income is unreported.”
“Who would he be selling to?” Decker asked. “I’m sure Little was smart enough not to foul his own nest.”
“Maybe Little got drugs from Darnell and sold them to Banks and his punk musician crowd. That’s why when Darnell was busted, Ben Little went to bat for him.”
Decker began to draw some diagrams. “Okay. This is what we have. We have a clear connection between Arlington and Little. And it feels like there’s some kind of connection between Arlington and Banks.”
“We also have a link between Arlington and Cal Vitton. Cal interviewed him.”
“Yeah, Arlington does seem to have a few fingers pointing at him.” Decker drew arrows. “We have Arlington and Little, Arlington and Banks maybe—and Arlington and Cal Vitton. Nothing so far between Arlington and Primo Ekerling.”
“We have Banks and Ekerling, Banks and Little, and maybe Banks and Arlington. But not Banks and Vitton.” Marge thought a moment. “And let me add something more to the mix. When Darnell was in high school, he hung out with a bum crowd. He gave me a list of his old peeps. His two best friends had hopes of becoming rappers.” She consulted her notes. “Jervis Wenderhole, who went by the name of A-Tack, and Leroy Josephson, who became Jo-King. I found out that Josephson died. I don’t know where Wenderhole is, but I do know that he cut a couple of demos. He wasn’t very successful, but Rudy wasn’t a very successful music producer.”
“I’ll look into it.” Decker shrugged. “I think we need to explore this Banks and Arlington link. At least those two are still alive. Now Banks isn’t returning my phone calls. I’ve got one more secret weapon. If that fails, I’ll start hitting the streets.”