Marcia Peaty switched the subject and Milodidn’t stop her.
Procedural questions about how to take possession of her cousin’s body. Hisrundown wasn’t much different from the one he’d given Lou Giacomo.
She said, “Paperwork aerobics. Okay, thanks for your time. Am I wasting mytime asking you to keep me informed?”
“Something resolves, we’ll let you know, Marcia.”
“If, not when? You have any serious leads?”
He smiled.
She said, “That’s why I never did Homicide. Too much effort getting theoptimism meter up.”
“Vice can get sketchy, too.”
“That’s why I didn’t do Vice for long. Give me a nice boosted set ofwheels.”
“Chrome don’t bleed,” said Milo.
“Ain’t that the truth.” She reached for the check. Miloplaced his hand on it.
“Let me pay for my share.”
“On the house,” said Milo.
“You or the department?”
“The department.”
“Right.” She put down a twenty, slid out of the booth, shot us a tightsmile, and hurried off.
Milo pocketed the cash and pushed crumbsaround his plate. “Ol’ Brad’s been a baaad boy.”
“Young blondes,” I said. “Too bad Tori dyed her hair.”
“Amelia, the whole platinum bombshell thing. What, he’s killing Stepmommyover and over?”
“His own mother abandoned him, handed him over to someone who didn’t evenpretend to care. He has lots of reasons to hate women.”
“He was in his thirties when Julie the Showgirl disappeared. Think she washis first?”
“Hard to say. The main thing was he got away with it, built up hisconfidence for the move back to L.A.After Amelia and the captain died, he managed to take over the family realestate empire. Cared well for Billy and Nora because happy sibs don’t complain.Maybe the PlayHouse is a tax dodge and a sop for Nora, but it was good for him,too. Start an acting school, who shows up?”
“Gorgeous mutants,” he said. “All those blonde auditions.”
“And rejects like the Gaidelases. Normally, Brad would ignore people likeCathy and Andy but they reminded him of Amelia and the captain, down to thecaptain’s effeminate manner. How’s this for a scenario: He ran into themleaving an audition. Or waiting for a tryout. Either way, it had to feel likedestiny, he played nice guy, promised to help. Told them meanwhile enjoy yourvacation. Do some hiking, I know a great spot.”
“Billy’s acreage in Latigo.” He folded and unfolded his napkin. Snatched uphis phone, got Harold Fordebrand’s number from Vegas 411, called, left amessage. “Guy sounds exactly like Ed.”
I said, “The Kolor Krew was a quartet.”
“Who?”
“The kiddie-pop group Amelia tried to market.” I described the publicityshot on the PlayHouse wall. “The Dowd kids plus one. Maybe there’s someone elsewho can fill us in about the good old days.”
He said, “You feel like researching the history of bubblegum music, be myguest. I need another face-to-face with the sib who really ain’t one. Startingwith a drop-in at the BNB office. If Brad’s not there, it’s over to his house.Eventually, a day at the beach will be on the agenda.”
I said, “Think Billy even knows he owns the Latigo property?”
“Brad bought it and put it in Billy’s name?”
“Brad lives near the ocean, has surfed enough to grow knots on his knees.Meaning he knows Malibu.A nice, secluded oceanview lot on the land-side might appeal to him, especiallyif it was paid for with Billy’s money. Being in charge of family finances, Bradcould get Billy to sign on the dotted line. Or just forge Billy’s name.Meanwhile, Billy pays the property tax and doesn’t have a clue.”
“The assessor says there are no structures on the lot. What would Brad useit for?”
“Meditation, planning a dream house, burying bodies.”
“Billy pays, Brad plays,” he says. “Nora’s no business type, either. MeaningBrad can basically do what he wants with all the money.” He rubbed his face.“All this time, I’ve been looking for Peaty’s stash spots, but Brad has accessto dozens of buildings and garages all over the county.”
“He came right out and told us he stores his cars in some of theproperties.”
“He did, indeed. What was that, playing mind games?”
“Or bragging about his collection. This is a guy who needs to feelimportant. I’m wondering if it could’ve been him watching Angeline Wassermanfrom that Range Rover.”
“Why would it be him?”
“Last time I saw him, he had on a nice linen suit. There were a bunch justlike it hanging from a rack at the Barneys outlet.”
“Snappy dresser,” he said. “Maybe a regular, just like Wasserman. Heobserves her, knows she’s absentminded, lifts her purse.”
“The goal was to get her phone, he couldn’t ’ve have cared less about themoney or the credit cards,” I said. “The more I think about that, the better Ilike it: well-dressed middle-aged guy who shops there all the time, no reasonto suspect him. Angeline might know his face but the Rover’s tinted windowswould’ve prevented her from realizing it was him. It was his ride sheconcentrated on, anyway—‘twinsie karma.’”
He retrieved Wasserman’s number from his pad and punched it. “Ms. Wasserman?Lieutenant Sturgis, again…I know you are but just one more question, okay?There’s a gentleman who shops at the outlet regularly, mid-forties,nice-looking, white hair—you do…oh…no, it’s more…maybe…okay, thanks…no, that’sit.”
He hung up. “‘That’s Brad, I see him all the time. Did he have something stolen,too ?’”
“Seeing him as a victim, not a suspect,” I said, “because he’s well-off andstylish.”
“You got it. ‘Great guy, terrific taste, you should see the gorgeous cars hedrives, Lieutenant, each time a different one.’ Turns out Angeline and ol’ Bradask each other’s opinions about outfits all the time. He’s always honest but hedoes it with ‘sensitivity.’”
“Charming fellow.”
“You think his driving Nora’s wheels means Nora and Meserve are in on itwith him? Or tough luck for them.”
“Don’t know, but either way Brad had something to do with the calls toVasquez.”
“Setting up his own cousin.”
“The same cousin he put to work as a janitor and housed in a dump. GivenBrad’s background, blood ties could twist all sorts of ways. If Vasquez wastelling the truth about getting calls the previous week, the setup wasextremely well thought out.”
“Priming a murder,” he said. “How could Brad be sure Vasquez would blow andshoot Peaty?”
“He couldn’t, but he knew both parties and Mrs. Stadlbraun, played the odds.He told me he had bad feelings about Vasquez but rented to him anyway becausethere was no legal out. That’s nonsense. A landlord, especially one with Brad’sexperience, can always find a reason.”
“Game of chance,” he said.
“Brad lived in Vegas. One table doesn’t work out, move to the next one.”
“Okay, let’s assume he set Peaty up. Why?”
“With Peaty’s police record and pattern of creepy behavior, he’d be aperfect scapegoat for Michaela and Tori and any other missing girls who turnedup. Look what happened after the shooting: You got to search Peaty’s van,discovered the rape-kit stashed conveniently in back—no real effort to conceal.And, lo and behold, there was a snow globe in the toolbox. Just like the oneleft on the seat of Meserve’s Toyota.Which you knew about in the first place because Brad called you in a panicafter finding the car in one of his own parking spaces. If Meserve cut townwith Nora, why would he leave his wheels where they were sure to be discovered?At the very least, he could’ve put the Toyotain Nora’s garage—which, by the way, is empty—and avoided ticking off Brad.”
“By the way,” he said.
“Crowbar.”
He shook his head, drank.
I said, “Maybe Nora’s not the only one with theatrical interests. Onlyreason we knew about the snow globe in the first place was Brad brought it upwhen we talked to him at his house.”
“Painting Meserve as a gold digger. What was that? Another misdirect?”
“Or it was true and he had good reason to hate Meserve.”
He loosened his belt, crushed ice with his molars and swallowed it. Pickedup the check.
“On you or the department?” I said.
“For your information, I’m trying out that bumper sticker wisdom, spontaneousacts of kindness blah blah blah. Maybe the Almighty will reward me with a closeon this mess.”
“Never knew you to be religious.”
“There’s things that can get me praying.”
 
Walking to the parking lot, I said, &ld............