Kill the Messenger

18

Abby Lowell lived outside the lines of Central Bureau. Parker flashed his badge to the uniforms standing in the foyer of the building. One nodded him past. The other was engaged in conversation with a potbellied older guy who was expounding on his theory regarding the downfall of our once-great nation.

A pair of detectives from West Bureau, Hollywood Division, stood in Abby Lowell’s living room, looking around like they were sizing up the place to redecorate. Everything was everywhere. The living room had been tossed like a salad. A Latent Prints guy Parker knew was dusting.

“Some party,” Parker said. “Mind if I join the fun?”

The older of the two Hollywood cops, a square-headed guy with a Marine buzz cut, curled his lip like a dog about to growl.

“What are you doing here, Parker? I thought they had you writing parking tickets.”

“Your vic called me in. Apparently you failed to impress her with your commanding presence.”

“Crawl back in your hole, Parker. This is ours. We’ll send you a copy of the reports.”

Parker curled his own lip and took a step forward. “You think I want your fucking lousy B&E? File all the paper you want, then go chase some 7-Eleven bandits, go scare up some wannabe starlets moonlighting on their backs. Do whatever it is you people do over here.” He twirled a finger around, indicating the room. “This is part of my homicide, ace. You can’t piss the fence higher than I can.”

“The always-charming Detective Parker.”

Abby Lowell stood in the archway leading to the private rooms of the apartment, leaning one shoulder against the wall. She was still dressed in the same sapphire knit outfit she’d had on that morning, but had pulled on an old oversized gray cardigan. She was hugging the sweater around her. Her hair was mussed. Her mascara was smudged beneath her eyes as if she had been crying.

Parker went to her. “You’re all right?”

The smile was wry, fragile, quivering at the corners of her mouth. She looked down just to the right of his feet, and combed a strand of hair back behind her ear with a trembling hand.

“He didn’t kill me, so I’m better off than the last Lowell he ran into.”

“Where do you keep your booze?” Parker asked.

“In the freezer. Grey Goose. Help yourself.”

“Not my poison,” he said, picking his way over the aftermath of the ransacking as he went into the kitchen. He found a glass, poured some of the vodka over ice, and handed it to her. “How long ago did this happen?”

She sipped the drink, leaning her hip against the counter. “A couple hours, I guess. I didn’t realize this was out of your area until they showed up. They didn’t want me to call you.”

“Don’t worry about them. You did the right thing. Besides, I’m like a wolf. I’ve got a big territory. What happened?”

“I came home, walked in, the place looked like this. I went down the hall, went into the bathroom, and he grabbed me.”

“Did he have a weapon?”

She shook her head.

“What’d he look like? Tall, short, black, white . . . ?”

“Not as tall as you. Blond. Young. White. He looked like he had been in a fight or something.”

“I’ll need you to get with our sketch artist first thing tomorrow,” Parker said. “How did you know he was the bike messenger?”

“He wouldn’t tell me who he was. But he said he knew my father, that he’d done some work for him, and I just knew it was him.”

“What did he want? Why would he come to you?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t want to find out. I was sure he was going to kill me. I ran, and he chased me, and I was almost to the door, and then he was on me. . . .”

The dark eyes glistened with tears. She leaned back against the counter and put a hand over her face. Parker watched her for a moment, then walked away from her and went down the hall. The bathroom was on the left. A small space with a tub/shower combo, a toilet, a pedestal sink. The mirror of the medicine cabinet above the sink was broken, with shards missing.

He squatted down and checked out a pale rust-colored smudge on the old octagonal tile. Blood, he figured. Some had seeped into the grout between the tiles, staining it dark.

He stood and looked closely at the broken mirror and the inscription someone had written on it in red lipstick. NEXT YOU DIE.

Why would the bike messenger want Abby Lowell dead if killing Lenny and stealing the money from the safe had been a crime of opportunity? He wouldn’t. Whoever was behind the murder, behind this, had a more complicated motive. And as far as Parker was concerned, that ruled out Damon.

Abby appeared in the shattered glass, a multitude of tiny, fragmented images, as if she was inside a giant kaleidoscope.

“What’s this guy looking for?” Parker asked, turning to face her.

“I don’t know.”

“Your place gets turned upside down, someone threatens to kill you, and you don’t know why?”

“No, I don’t,” she said, stiffening. “If Lenny was up to something, he didn’t include me in it.”

Parker cocked a brow. “Really? Isn’t it strange, then, that shortly before he was murdered, Lenny made a phone call to his own killer? And that after your father was dead, the killer called you to tell you about it? I find that strange. Why would Lenny feel free to give his killer your cell phone number and address?”

She wasn’t ready to cry now. She was getting pissed off. The brown eyes were nearly black. She didn’t like it that he wasn’t as sympathetic as she wanted him to be.

“Maybe he got it out of Lenny’s Rolodex.”

“But why? Why terrorize you if you can’t give him what he wants?”

“I shouldn’t have to remind you, Detective, I’m the victim here.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about your father’s safe-deposit box?” he asked bluntly.

Her breath caught in her throat. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

“What this killer is looking for—what he was looking for in your father’s office, what he was looking for here—am I going to find it in that box when I open it tomorrow?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m still looking for Lenny’s will and life insurance. I thought they might be in the bank.”

“I’ll let you know,” Parker said. “I’m not hindered by probate. As soon as I have the court order in hand, I get to find the prize in the Cracker Jack box.”

She had nothing to say about that, but neither did she look nervous. If Lenny’s will was in the box, it probably didn’t contain a paragraph beginning with In the event of my violent death, my daughter was in on it.

“I find it odd that you didn’t include a trip to the bank in your list of reasons to get away from me this morning,” Parker said.

“I wasn’t trying to get away from you. I have a lot to take care of.”

“I’m sure you do, Ms. Lowell. And how was your class, by the way?”

“I didn’t go.”

“What was the subject again?”

“I didn’t say.”

“Now’s your chance.”

She had that I-want-to-hurt-you look in her eyes. “What’s the difference? I didn’t go.”

“And which funeral home are you using?”

“I haven’t decided.”

“But you were at one today? After the bank, before you came back here?”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “If you don’t mind, Detective, I need to go lie down. I’m really not up to being interrogated tonight.”

“You should probably stay with a friend,” Parker suggested.

“I’m going to a hotel,” she said tightly.

Parker stood too close to her as he leaned toward the door. “Sleep well, Ms. Lowell,” he purred, holding her gaze with his, nearly close enough to kiss her. “Call me if you need me.”

“That’s not likely.” She didn’t blink, didn’t flinch. Hell of a poker player . . .

Parker edged past her through the door, and went back down the hall. Buzz Cut was on his cell phone, standing by the front door. Parker approached the younger detective, who was still making notes.

“Anybody see this guy get away?”

The guy tried to look around Parker to see his partner.

“You can answer me now, junior, or I can have my captain crawl up your captain’s ass, and we can all have a bad time. I don’t want to do that,” Parker said apologetically. “I got no beef against you, kid, but I’m working a homicide. I don’t have a lot of time to screw around.”

The big sigh. The look to the side. “One of the neighbors got a partial plate,” the kid said quietly. “A dark green or black Mini Cooper.”

“A Mini Cooper?” Parker said, taken aback. “What the hell kind of a crook drives a Mini Cooper?”

The shrug. The head cock. The kid flipped back a few pages in his notebook and showed his notes. “He got clipped by a minivan when he pulled a U-turn in the middle of the street. Knocked out some of the plastic from the Mini’s driver’s-side taillight and scratched the paint.”

“Did the driver get a good look at him?”

“Not really. All she could say was young, white male. It happened too fast.”

“You got a card?”

The young detective pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it over. Joel Coen.

“Thanks, Joel,” Parker said, jotting the tag number down on the back of the card. “If I get something, I won’t forget you.”

He stuck the card in his pocket and went to the Latent Prints guy to tell him they were looking for a possible match to prints found at the Lowell homicide. He told him to talk to Joanie.

Buzz Cut was closing his phone as Parker made his exit.

Parker tipped his hat and said sarcastically, “Thanks for the hospitality, Buzz. I’ll call as soon as I’ve solved it for you.”