"I heard her. Don't let her leave until I get there. Do you understand that?"
"Sure," Chagra said. The phone clicked.
Bailey returned to the bathroom, where he dried off completely. Moving to the bedroom closet, he dressed slowly as he thought about what Amanda Kennedy had told him when he interviewed her at the Women's jail. He relived his confrontation with Carr. Dressed in slacks and a sport shirt, he combed his hair for a long time. He shoved a snub-nosed revolver, which he always carried off duty, in the waistband of his trousers.
"I want to go out to dinner," Delsey said when he came out of the bedroom. She remained lying on the floor where he'd left her.
Wordlessly he stuffed his car keys into a pants pocket and headed out the door.
Answering the knock, Bones Chagra let Bailey into his apartment. Amanda Kennedy sat on the sofa with her hands folded across her chest. The walls of the spacious apartment were covered with barroom photographs of Chagra in his bartender's outfit, posturing with smiling movie and television stars. In the corner of the room was a metal, chair-like device with two padded bicycle seats facing each other at different elevations. A plastic vibrator rested on one of the seats.
Bailey moved casually to the sofa and took a seat.
Amanda Kennedy stared straight ahead. "Are you aware that he brought me here against my will?" she asked. "When he picked me up at the jail, I asked him to take me home. He refused and drove straight over here. You're a policeman. Isn't taking someone against their will a crime? Isn't it called kidnapping?"
Bailey frowned at Chagra. "I apologize," he said. "Bones isn't the most diplomatic person in the world. Could we just chat for a few minutes before I drive you home?"
"There's nothing to chat about. I told him the same thing I'll tell you. If my case is not dismissed … and I mean dismissed, not just fixed to probation, you people are in trouble. I don't know what happened to Lee Sheboygan but I have a pretty good idea. We were friends and he told me all about you." She turned to Bones. "And you."
"How do I know what you're telling me is true?" Bailey said.
"Lee told me that you and some guy that's a stage hypnotist gave him the addresses and that he and Bones did the rest. He said that some of the biggest jewelers in Beverly Hills bought the stolen diamonds and gold and that the paintings went to two art galleries on La Cienega Boulevard. Now do you believe me?"
Bailey felt a tingling sensation in the tips of his fingers. "I believe you," he said, forcing a wry smile.
"And?"
"And I've got the right contacts at the courthouse. Your case is as good as washed."
"And what exactly do you mean by washed?"
"You won't have to go to court. You won't have to go back to jail. Your bad experience is ended."
"How do I know you're not just saying that to pacify me?"
"I can show you the paperwork tomorrow, if you like. I have a friend in the District Attorney's office. I did a little checking and found out that the owner of the necklace Lee gave you passed away a few weeks ago. Therefore, there's no victim to testify. It was easier than I thought. You have my personal word that the case will be dismissed. You'll never hear another word about it."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Amanda Kennedy leaned back on the sofa. "Thank God," she said to the ceiling, then sat up again. "I was worried to death. All I could think about in there was serving time for something I didn't do. Something I had nothing to do with. All I did was accept a gift."
"It's over now," Bailey said. "Can't we have a drink?"
"I can use something more than a drink." The remark was obviously more than in jest.
Like a dutiful waiter, Bones winked and rushed into the kitchen.
"The night they booked me, the matrons searched me, fingerprinted me and shoved me in a cell. It happened so fast I didn't know what hit me. All of a sudden, I'm sitting in this jail cell. It was unreal. I mean unreal. It wasn't as if I was doing dope or something and got caught selling to the man. I was sitting in a jail cell simply because I had been given a necklace. Unreal."
Bones returned from the kitchen carrying a pocket-sized mirror and a small glass vial of white powder. He set the mirror down on the coffee table in front of Amanda. Having unscrewed the top off the vial, he tapped out a small line of cocaine onto the mirror. From his shirt pocket, he removed a red cocktail straw and handed it to her. "This'll make you feel better."
Blankly, she glanced at the two men. Then she leaned over the table and touched one end of the straw to the cocaine and the other end to her right nostril. She inhaled through her nose as she moved the straw along the line of coke, dropped the straw and leaned back. With her eyes closed, as if in ecstasy, she inhaled deeply a few times.
Bones stared at her tits while Bailey stepped to the bar. He mixed a strong drink and a weak one.
Amanda Kennedy opened her eyes.
"How is it?" Chagra asked.
"Lovely. Really lovely."
Bailey handed her the strong drink.
"I hope you don't think I was trying to be unreasonable about this thing," she said, taking a sip, "but I have to look out for myself."
"No hard feelings." Bailey hefted his glass and they both drank. Her eyes looked dope-hazy.
Bones went over to a wall unit, where he flipped some switches. Soft music filled the room.
"Mellow," she said. "This is the first mellow feeling I've had since they arrested me. Uptight City. That's what they should call jail. Uptight City. I couldn't sleep a wink. The lights were on all the time. It was like a fucking movie. Unreal." She took a big sip of the drink. "Ummmm."
Bones Chagra sat down next to her. "Really."
Amanda glanced at her blouse and gave it a little tug. "Totally wrinkled."
"You still look great," Chagra whispered.
Travis Bailey walked to a wall phone in the kitchen. He lifted the receiver and dialed. Delsey Piper answered. "If anyone calls for me tonight, just say I'm in the shower and I'll call them back. Then leave the phone off the hook."
"What's going on?"
"An informant thing," he said, lowering his voice.
"Will you be home tonight?"
"It depends."
"You never give definite answers."
He hung up the receiver and returned to the living room.
Chagra and Amanda Kennedy had left the sofa. The bedroom door was only partially shut, and he could hear Amanda giggling. The cocaine and paraphernalia were gone from the coffee table. He turned on the television, looking for some diversion. For the next hour or so he stared at a courtroom drama starring an actor who he knew had once been arrested for molesting a twelve-year-old girl. As the screen credits were shown, Bones Chagra came out of the bedroom. He was naked.
"You want some?" he said, pointing a thumb at the bedroom door.
Travis Bailey shook his head. "It's getting late."
Bones nodded and returned to the bedroom.
Bailey stared at a quiz show in which the contestants jumped up and down. The audience applauded intermittently.
Chagra came out of the bedroom again, this time with his arm around a staggering Amanda Kennedy. Sloppily, she tucked in her blouse.
Bailey stood up.
"How about another little drink?" Chagra asked her.
"I think I'd better go," she said, slurring her words. "You still here?" she said as she noticed Bailey.
"Just leaving," he heard himself saying. "Can I give you a lift?"
Chagra stared at Bailey as if he wanted to say something.
Amanda pulled Chagra by the arm. "Why don't you give me a ride home?" she said drunkenly.
"Uh, my car's in the shop."
Travis Bailey walked to the front door and opened it. "My radio car is downstairs."
Amanda giggled as Bones tried to keep her from losing her balance. "I guess I can't walk home."