He’d found her on Facebook. What would stop De Paine from doing the same thing?
Plenty of guns in Kyle’s house but he had no clue how to use them.
Despite his hero fantasies, he couldn’t be everywhere.
Tanya was a stubborn girl.
I pictured her leaving the library alone, late at night.
Small girl, huge campus.
So easy to-Stop.
Would Tanya really be safe with Kyle-STOP!
Fine, fine, but would Tanya really be safe-
Robin stirred.
I sank back down.
Facebook.
What would stop De Paine. Big campus.
Gunsstubborngirl-
One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight-there you go, this stuff works.
Seconds of respite.
Stubborn girl…what would stop…
The next morning I pretended to be rested.
When Robin got out of the shower, she said, “Did you have a rough night?”
“I was playing the sinus-tuba?”
“No, but you moved around a lot.”
“Maybe that’s the cure,” I said.
“Being restless?”
“Symptom substitution.”
“I’d rather you be peaceful.”
“I’m fine, babe.”
We dressed in silence. “Breakfast, Alex?”
“No, thanks, not hungry.”
“What’s on your mind, sweetie?”
“Nothing, really.”
She took my hand. “You’ve done what you can for her. With all those detectives looking, those creeps will be found.”
“I’m sure you’re right.”
“Let’s at least have coffee before I go.”
After she left for work, I drove to the U., parked in a pay lot on the south end, and walked to the science quad. Hordes of students and faculty crossed the square. No sign of Robert Fisk or Blaise De Paine. Or Tanya.
I drifted north to the inverted fountain, walked through the physics building. Exited at the back and continued along a tree-shaded pathway. Foot traffic was heavy for the summer. Seconds later I spotted a small, muscular, shaved-head guy among the students. Wearing all black; perfect fit to Fisk’s stats.
Sauntering along the outer edge of the crowded pathway.
I got closer, trailed him until the front steps of the anthropology building, where two young women in tight jeans ran up to greet him.
As he turned toward them, I caught a glimpse of his face. Mid-forties, clean-shaven.
One of the women said, “Hi, Professor Loewenthal. Could we talk to you about the exam?”
I bought coffee at a kiosk, strolled to the library, was just about to enter when my phone beeped.
Milo said, “Ballistics just came back on the bullets that killed Moses Grant. Perfect match to the slugs dug out of Leland Armbruster. Little Petey was real precocious. Lord knows what else he’s done that we haven’t uncovered. Talk to Tanya yet?”
“She’s moving in with Kyle.”
“Girl in a big house,” he said. “So now it’s Gothic. Think it’s a good idea?”
“It’s what they’ve decided.”
“Kyle playing Lord Protector. A few more years of living and he might conceivably be minimally qualified.”
“He’s green but motivated. The larger problem is he can’t be with her every second. What do you think about faxing the photos of De Paine and Fisk over to the unicops?”
“Sure, but don’t expect too much. First thing outta those guys’ mouths is always how understaffed they are. Let’s talk later about beefing up security for her. Meanwhile, we just might be getting a little closer to whatever happened ten years ago. Mary Whitbread left her house at nine thirty and Biro followed her. She’s still out, trying on designer duds at Neiman Marcus. Petra got to the neighborhood by ten fifteen, found someone on Blackburn who remembered the bad old days. Lives right behind Mary. He wouldn’t talk at his house or the station but Petra convinced him to meet over in Encino where his office is. One p.m.” He read off the address.
“Nervous fellow,” I said.
“Seems to be. Maybe he should practice what he preaches. He’s one of you guys.”
Before setting out for the Valley, I pulled Dr. Byron Stark’s stats from the psychology licensing board Web site. Twenty-eight years old, B.A., Cornell, Ph.D., University of Oregon, postdoc at the Portland V.A., freshly certified.
His building was a six-story mirrored cube on Ventura and Balboa that had all the charm of a head cold. The door said Advent Behavioral Group. Stark’s was the last of fourteen names. Six psychiatrists, eight psychologists, specialties in eating disorders, substance abuse, strategic management, career guidance, “life coaching.”
Stark’s single-window office and hard beige furniture fit his status.
He was midsized and narrow-shouldered, wore a blue minicheck buttondown shirt, maroon tie, and pressed khakis. A round, pink baby-face was topped by a beige crew cut. A fuzzy goatee looked glued on. Beneath the wisps, his small mouth seemed permanently pursed; the resulting look of disapproval wouldn’t serve him well with patients.
When I’d started out, I’d tried to ward off the Doctor, how old are you?s with facial hair. I have a heavy beard and sometimes it worked. Stark would need another source of gravitas.
Petra, Milo, and I crowded in front of his desk.
She said, “Thanks for meeting with us, Doctor.”
Stark said, “Byron’s fine.”
Boyish voice. Use the title, kid. Harness every bit of placebo.
“I didn’t expect a symposium, Detective Connor.”
Petra said, “It’s an important case. We brought our psychological consultant.” She introduced me.
He said, “What do you do for them, profiling?”
I shook my head. “Formal profiling’s pretty much useless when it comes to solving crimes. I weigh in on a case-by-case basis.”
“I considered a forensics fellowship until I read up on profiling and found it basically without merit. Talk about restricted sampling.”
We traded jargon for a while. Stark relaxed. When he broke to take a phone call-something about billing for inpatient services-Petra gave me a go-ahead nudge.
“Sorry,” he said, hanging up. “Still learning the system.”
I said, “We appreciate your talking to us about Peterson Whitbread.”
“It’s funny to hear you say that. I never thought this day would come.”
“Why’s that?”
“Right after the girls disappeared, my father called the police. They were totally unresponsive.”
“The girls…”
Stark’s mouth compressed to a pink bud. “You’re not here about that.”
Milo said, “We’re here to listen, Doctor.”
Stark laughed. “I agreed to this because I thought someone was finally going to investigate, like one of those cold cases on TV.” To Petra: “That was the clear implication you gave me, Detective Connor.”
“What I told you was the truth, Dr. Stark. We’re looking into Peterson Whitbread’s background. Our immediate focus is on several crimes he’s suspected of committing recently, but we’re certainly interested in anything he might’ve done in the past. If you have knowledge of a crime, you need to tell us.”
“Unbelievable,” said Stark. “So he’s suspected of something new. No big revelation, his tendencies were obvious even to me.”
“Even?”
“I was a senior in high school.”
I said, “You’re the same age as Pete.”
“I am, but we didn’t hang out. My parents were teachers who took out loans so my brother and I could attend Burton Academy and Harvard-Westlake. All my spare time was spent studying. Pete always seemed to be out on the street. I’m not sure he even attended high school.”