Milo took Channel Road down toward the coastline.“There’s time till the class at the PlayHouse. How about we grab a couple ofbeers at a place I know.”
“Coronas?”
“Good brand.”
“As long as Brad Dowd’s not offering.”
“Never fraternize with the citizenry. What’d you think of our grown-upsurfer dude?”
“You saw the knots, too.”
“And the board.”
“He’s the family guardian, takes well to the job.”
He reached PCH, stopped at the long red light that can keep you there forwhat seems to be hours. The ocean’s always changing. Tonight the water was flatand gray and infinite. Slow, easy tide, steady and metallic as a drum machine.
“Maybe I’m making too big a deal out of this, Alex, but Brad’s parting wordsseemed off: asking me to keep both Nora and Billy out of the investigation.We’d been focused on Nora, why bring in Billy?”
“Could be force of habit,” I said. “He lumps the two of them togetherbecause they both need protection.”
“Maybe that’s it.”
“Billy interests you?”
“Adult male with immature social skills who needs to be supervisedcovertly?” As we waited, he ran a DMV check on William Dowd III, hung up beforethe light changed. “Wanna guess how many vehicles are registered to Billy?”
“None.”
“And just like Peaty, never had a license.”
“Tagging along with Brother Brad,” I said. “When Brad drops in at thePlayHouse, Billy’s right there with him. All those good-lookingstarlets-in-training.”
“Getting an eyeful of girls like Michaela and Tori Giacomo, could beoverstimulating.”
“Billy seemed gentle,” I said. “But crank up the id and who knows?”
“What if the real reason Brad didn’t want to talk to us in front of Billywas because he was afraid Billy would give something away? And here’s somethingelse: Billy lives in an apartment in Beverly Hills. Reeves Drive, just off Olympic.”
“Couple of miles from Michaela’s place.”
“A guy with no wheels could walk it.”
“Same problem as Peaty,” I said. “How to transport a body. And I don’t seeBilly getting away with an unregistered ride. Not with Brad that protective.”
That turned him silent until we reached Santa Monica’s gold coast. Beachsidemansions, once private enclaves, were now exposed to the clamor and the realityof the public sand that fronted them. The clapboard monster William Hearst hadbuilt for Marion Davies was ready to crumble after years of Santa Monica city council dithering. A momentlater, the exoskeleton of the pier came into view, lit up like Christmas. TheFerris wheel rotated, slow as bureaucracy.
Milo drove the ramp up to Ocean Front, continued onto Pacific Avenue, crossed into Venice. “So now I’ve gottwo strange guys with access to the PlayHouse.”
I thought about that. “Billy stopped living with Brad two years ago, rightbefore Tori’s disappearance.”
“Why would Brad get Billy out of his house at this point in their lives?These guys are middle-aged, all of a sudden it’s time for a change?”
“Brad wanted to keep his distance from Billy? But if he suspected something,he’d tighten the leash.”
“So what’s the answer?”
“Don’t know.”
“For all we know,” he said, “Brad did try to clamp down and Billy’s a lotmore difficult than he seems. Hell, maybe Billy insisted on breaking away. Bradpays some nice lady to ‘look after him,’ because he knows Billy bears watching.Meanwhile, if something does happen, he’s across town in Santa Monica Canyon.”
“Less liability,” I sa............