The Prostitutes Ball

Chapter 43.

Stender Sheedv's house on Oakcrest was nestled up against the Bel Air hillside. It was one of those classic Georgian Colonials that dot these old Westside neighborhoods like flowering magnolias in a verdant southern landscape. There was at least an acre of rye lawn. Stone lion statues that looked appropriately fierce and majestic guarded the drive. It wasn't as nice a spread as Thayer Dunbar's, but it was pretty good for a man who had made his career by flushing the other guy's toilets.

I pulled the MDX up and parked on the street. It was still early, only a little past eight o'clock in the evening. There was a Mercedes S600 sedan parked in the drive with personalized plates that read BAR'STER. The lights on the ground floor were all festively lit.

I got out, walked by some expensive cars parked at the curb, and continued up the drive past Leo and Cleo. Neither of the stone beasts snarled at me, a hopeful sign.

I rang the bell and the door was answered by a slender middle-aged Chinese woman in a crisply ironed maid's uniform. According to my recent observations, the Chinese seemed to have cornered the Westside domestic services market.

"Yes?" she said hesitantly.

"I'm here to see Mr. Sheedy," I replied.

"He no come right now. Dey eat dinner."

"It's official business."

I showed her my badge and it was like I had just pulled a rattlesnake out of my pocket.

She took a quick step back and said, "Oh… oh."

"May I come in?"

She took another step back so I just followed.

"Wa Sun," she called out.

A Chinese man appeared in the entry hall. He was a little older than she, and when he spoke, there was no trace of an accent.

"This man with po-leece."

"How can I help you?" Wa Sun inquired.

"I need to see Stender Sheedy Sr."

"He's not available."

"I'm not looking for a place setting at dinner, but I'm also not going to stand around out here and wait."

I showed my badge. It had little effect on him.

"What's this regarding?" he said.

"At least five dead people, but it may actually be more because I'm keeping the count open."

"I suggest you make an appointment to see Mr. Sheedy at his office during business hours."

He turned and spoke harshly in Chinese to the woman who had let me into the house. I didn't have to understand Mandarin to know he was bitching her out for giving up the family threshold without shedding blood.

Enough of this, I thought. As he continued to berate her, I walked past them toward the dining room, which I assumed was down the hallway to my left. Wa Sun hurried after, calling out for me to stop.

I ignored him.

On my way I passed some magnificent rooms with expensive furnishings. The Sheedys leaned toward upscale European antiques with a sprinkling of early American maple. No dolphins in sight, but they usually reside in ornate marble or nautical settings. The oil paintings that lined the walls were rich and probably very expensive. The carpets thick and inviting.

I entered the dining room a few steps ahead of Wa Sun and found Stender Sheedy in mid-story, entertaining his wife and six dinner guests.

.. the odds were extremely long in the racing form, but since I had all six of that colts morning workouts " He stopped mid-sentence and looked up at me, a startled expression on his face.

'Tin sorry, sir. He pushed past me," Wa Sun said by way of explanation.

Everybody at the table was dressed expensively. It appeared I'd blundered into a high-toned dinner party. Sheedy was facing me at the far end of the room. There were three other couples having dinner, plus his wife, all of them seated in high-back Queen Anne chairs around a long mahogany table.

Mrs. Sheedy was at the near end, with her back to the doorway where I was standing. She craned her cosmetically peeled porcelain face around to study me. Silver hair, nice tight nip-and-tuck job, great blue eyes.

The other people varied in age. The youngest couple was midthirties and the husband was instantly hateable. One of those "ain't I cute" kiss-ass political ladder climbers that every business seems to have a few of. You can almost spot them by the way they comb their hair. There were two other older middle-aged couples seated around the table.

"You must leave," Wa Sun persisted, putting his hand on my arm.

"Back off or you're gonna be put under arrest," I said. He dropped his hand.

"Just what on earth is this?" Stender said, blundering to his feet as if about to protect his dinner guests with heroic feats of mortal combat.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Sheedy. Do you remember me?"

"Haven't a clue," he snarled. "Get out."

"At the Skyline Drive house. I'm the homicide detective you let in there a few days ago."

"Oh, good Lord. When will you people ever learn?"

Probably a pretty good question, but he wasn't going to get the answer from me.

"You will leave my house immediately," he blustered. "This is outrageous. I'm having a dinner engagement."

I crossed to him. "It's a police matter. However, there's no need for us to go to the mattresses. I only need a little of your time. Now happens to be extremely convenient for me, but if you disagree, I can start making phone calls."

"Absolutely preposterous! Get out!" he thundered, bobbing his head and waving his arm at me.

He was so used to pushing people around, he'd completely forgotten what it felt like forty years ago when he was still stuck in the mail room.

"Stender, who is this person?" Mrs. Sheedy asked.

He didn't answer. He looked at his wife and then at me. This intrusion and my refusal to leave embarrassed him in front of his guests, causing his temper to boil over. Then as I watched, he reined it all in.

He lowered his voice and said, "Come with me."