Guilt By Degrees

24

Johnnie was reluctant to let us take the vase.

“Right now, this is our only link to his identity. We might need to show it to other witnesses, have it analyzed for prints, compare it to other pottery. Until we’ve got his identity nailed down, we have to hang on to it,” I said. “I’ll get it back to you. I promise.” I looked at him intently, wanting him to understand how important this was.

Johnnie returned my gaze, then looked away. Finally, after a few long moments, he responded, “I guess if it’ll help y’all find his killer…”

“I can’t promise we’ll get the killer-but I can promise we’ll try.”

“And I give you my word we’ll bring it back,” Bailey said.

Johnnie nodded slowly. “Then you go ahead and take it,” he said quietly. “But no matter what happens, you bring it back, you hear? A man needs to be remembered. I believe Simon gave it to me because he intended for me to remember him.” Johnnie lifted his chin and looked me in the eye. “That’s what I mean to do.”

The words, softly spoken, were powerful. I held his gaze for a beat. “You have my word.”

Minutes later, we were speeding down the freeway toward downtown. It wasn’t even eight o’clock, but it felt like midnight. I yawned, leaned back in my seat, and watched the lights in the skyscrapers grow brighter as we neared the Civic Center.

“You still going to make it to dinner with Drew?” I asked, glad I hadn’t made similar plans with Graden for tonight.

“Yeah,” Bailey said, sounding as tired as I felt. “But it’s going to be a short one.”

We rode in silence, both of us exhausted but happy. Bailey raced down the off-ramp at Broadway. “It’s unbelievable how we pulled this off,” she said.

“See?” I remarked. “We’re good and we got lucky. Just goes to show ya…”

Bailey laughed and held up her fist, and I bumped it with mine as we pulled into the circular drive in front of the Biltmore. But one question nagged at me.

“It’s a ridiculously long walk from Boyle Heights to downtown,” I pointed out. “How did our victim do it?”

Bailey nodded in agreement. “Good question. But now that we have his ID, we just might be able to figure that out.”

“And maybe this’ll buy me more time on the case,” I replied. “Not a bad day, huh, Keller?”

“It’ll do,” Bailey said with a grin. “I’ll run Simon Bayer’s name in the morning and call you with the results.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” I said. “After all this, I’m going to be there when you find out. Call me before you do anything.”

“Then get your ass up on time for once,” she retorted.

“I will. Just promise-”

“I’ll call. Now get out.” Bailey laughed. “You’re getting in the way of my love life.”

“Give Drew my best,” I said.

“I’ll do better than that-I’ll give him mine.” She sped off.

I trotted through the lobby, got into the elevator, and ordered dinner from room service on the way up. Chicken breast with steamed broccoli. No bread. But that wasn’t celebratory enough for the occasion, so I added a bottle of Deep Sea Pinot Noir.

The wine, which was delicious, made my virtuous dinner a lot more palatable. When I’d finished, I pushed the room service cart into the hall and took my glass of wine out to the balcony. The city lights cast a soft glow against the cloak of night that flatteringly covered the streets. Above, the stars sparkled in the cloudless black sky. For this one moment, all felt right with the world. I eventually put myself to bed and slowly drifted off, feeling as though I were falling through a cloud.

The next morning came sooner-and noisier-than I’d expected, with the jangling ring of the hotel phone. Only three people ever used this number. By the fourth ring, after my brain stopped swirling, I’d narrowed the possibilities down to one.

“Yeah,” I said, doing my best to sound sharp.

“Don’t bother,” Bailey barked. “I know I woke you up. You want to be here when I run the name, get your ass over here.”

“Jeez, put down the coffeepot,” I groused. “I’ll be there in-”

A loud dial tone told me there was no point in finishing the sentence. I glanced outside. It looked sunny, but I decided to do layers for safety’s sake. It was unlikely I’d be out in the world for long, and I knew for sure that I had to go into the office to tell Eric about our latest break in the case, so I’d have to wear “real” clothes. I quickly threw on wool slacks and heels, a white blouse, and a black wool blazer.

Riding the high of having managed to identify our victim last night, I’d been optimistic about my chances of holding on to the case. Now I wasn’t so sure. If Hemet was bound and determined to cause trouble, the fact that I’d been able to put a name to the face might not matter as much as I’d hoped.

I considered skipping makeup, then thought better of it. I might run into Graden. Hating myself for caring, I nevertheless took a few minutes to dust on bronzer and apply eyeliner and mascara. Never mind the lipstick-I was going to pick up coffee on the way, and it’d be gone before I even got to Bailey’s desk. I pulled on an overcoat, dropped my.22 Beretta into the pocket, and at the last minute grabbed a cashmere muffler. I speed-walked all the way to the Police Administration Building, stopping only to pick up a cup of coffee from a churro cart, and jumped into a conveniently open elevator just before it closed.