Cass was still sleeping when we returned with a bag of pan dulce. Angel curled up at my feet while I called Lowrie. “How are you, son, you doing ok?” he asked after telling me he had no news on Kelly’s case.
“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” I said.
“I’m booked full up, narcotics pulled three detectives from our division, new mayor has the war on drugs on the brain. So we’re pulling doubles. I haven’t seen my wife in a week.”
“I need to see you.” There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. He finally let out a sigh.
“You know the Denny’s on Santa Monica?” he said.
“Yeah, off Cherokee?”
“Be there at eleven.” He hung up without even saying goodbye. Angel’s head popped up, I turned to see Cass standing in the doorway, wiping grains of sleep from her eyes. Angel jumped up and ran to Cass, leaping at her bare legs. It was the first time she had left my side since I had picked her up.
“Who’s your friend?” Cass asked, scratching Angel behind the ear.
“Angel, she was Kelly’s.”
“And you took her in? You’re not a big tough guy after all, are you?”
“No, I’m a big sissy, afraid of the dark, my turn-ons are puppy dogs and long walks on the beach, my turn-offs are cheeky girls who sleep in my bed without so much as a thank you.” I said with a grin.
“Thank you, Moses, you got anything to eat?” I poured the Mexican pastries onto a plate and got her a mug of coffee. She ate four of the crumbly treats in big bites. Angel danced around her feet, hoping to catch falling crumbs. A dark cloud drifted across Cass’s eyes. It was as if for a brief moment she had stepped out of her life, and now memories had sucked her back in.
“I have to go into Hollywood.”
“Can I come with you?” Fear shadowed her face.
“Not this time, baby girl. I’m meeting a cop who might see it as his duty to ask you questions neither of us wants to answer.”
“Come on, big boy, I can handle some cop.”
“No. You’re safe here. Just don’t…”
“Open the door for anyone, I know the drill.” Like a petulant teenager she sulked out of the room to go take a shower. Again she left the door open, and made sure the curtain parted enough so that I could get a good eye full of her as water splashed down over her firm young body. Maybe she hoped her nakedness would be enough to keep me from leaving. It almost was.
The Denny’s was a few blocks from the Hollywood police station. It looked like every Denny’s in the world, purple, orange and ugly. I slid into a bright naugahyde booth and ordered coffee, it was weak and bitter but I needed the caffeine. At eleven on the dot Lowrie walked through the door. His eyes were ringed with dark circles. “Son you look as tired as I feel,” he said as he sat down. He ordered a fried egg sandwich and a cup of coffee, decaf. “Doctors orders, no more coffee, no cigars, what is the world coming to, huh?”
“Do you know anybody in the FBI?” I asked.
“Paulson, he’s the liaison with our department, good man, bit too by the book like most of the feds. Why, you in trouble? “
“Yes, but not how you think. I need some answers and I don’t know where to turn.”
“This about Kelly? I told you to leave it alone.”
“Yeah, you also told me you’d stay on the case, but what do you have? Nothing right? Well nothing doesn’t cut it with me. So I did some digging.”
“Do you know why they gave me a gold shield and a gun? Because I’m a trained investigator. My job is to build a case so that when I take down the bad guys, they stay down. Now when you go running around tainting evidence, muddying the water it just makes my job that much harder. Not to mention, you up your own odds of winding up as an unsolved homicide. Another case I have to handle.”
“You want to hear what I found, or do you want to keep running your mouth?”
“Do you know the most common phrase said before a victim is killed? No? Well I’ll tell you. It’s ‘Go ahead and shoot me then.’ Or some variation on the theme. And you run through life like it’s your mantra. That said, what have you got?” The waitress delivered his sandwich but he didn’t touch it. I told him the whole story, leaving out the dead soldiers in the desert. I told him about Gino and my suspicion he was mobbed up. I knew the feds were looking for him and that he had dropped off the radar. When I told him about the web tapes, he pushed his plate away, his appetite ruined. “You destroyed the evidence? Damn it Moses what were you thinking? There’s no way to bust the prick now.”
“He won’t be peddling his crap on the web anymore, I saw to that. Plus I sent his wife a letter and one of the tapes. By the time I’m done he’ll dream about the fine and slap on the wrist the court would have given a straight squid like him.”
“If you don’t believe in the system, why the hell did you come to me? What do you want, absolution? You want me to say you did the right thing? You didn’t, you let this scum skate, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“I think the guys trying to kill Cass are mobbed up.”
“Bring her in, we’ll put her in protective custody.”
“You mean jail her? We both know the mob can reach in there with the snap of a finger. No thanks Lowrie. I’ll keep her safe, I just need to know the score.”
“Why should I help you?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do and you know it.”
“No, it’s not. But you’ll go ahead with or without my help… I’ll make you a deal, I’ll look into this Torelli matter, but you have to promise that if you find the mutts who dropped the girl you’ll let me take them down. I want your word.”
“I can’t promise how it will play out.”
“Then I can’t help you,” he said starting to rise.
“Wait, my word, if at all possible I’ll let you have these pukes. That’s the best I can do Lowrie.” I stretched out my hand, he looked at it for a moment then shook it.
“I’ll be in touch.” And he was gone. I paid the bill and headed for home. Lowrie was a good cop, better than most but he was out of touch with the streets. If I had waited for his system to work Cass would be dead and buried by now, and I’d be left with my thumb up my ass wondering if I could have stopped it. I would be true to my word, if I saw a way to have Kelly’s killers busted I would. I also knew I wouldn’t hesitate to drop a hammer on them if that’s what was called for.
Walking up to my crib I was afraid Cass would be holding a grudge for leaving her behind. Instead I found her smiling, curled up on the sofa with Angel’s head on her lap. She had cleaned up the house, it looked nice. She even cut a rose from the garden and put it in a water glass on the coffee table. She had draped one of my Mexican blankets over the sofa, two or three little touches and it almost looked like someone could live here.
“Hi dear, how was your day?” Rising up onto tiptoes, she gave me a peck on the cheek.
“Still going on. You want some lunch?” Her eyes sparkled at that.
“Always.” We went down to a small taco stand, she ate three carne asada soft tacos, a plate of rice and beans, and a diet coke. I told her about Lowrie and his offer of police protection.
“Are you trying to dump me? Did you make a deal with him?” Fear flickered down deep behind her eyes.
“No, just giving you your options.”
“I’m staying with you,” she said firmly taking my hand in hers. “I’ll be a good girl, I’ll do just what you say. I promise.” I was her lifeboat and the storm clouds were brewing all around us.
Walking up the block toward my house I spotted a dark sedan parked across the street, a G-man in a cheap dark suit and Raybans was leaning against the front fender.
I pulled Cass back around the corner before the fed could see us. “Go in the back, through the alley, ok, baby girl?” I said, she started to say something then caught herself and complied. I crossed the street and walked up to the G-man. His partner sat behind the wheel, reading a file. They both looked bored. “You looking for me, or do you just like my house?”