Twisted

CHAPTER 7

Eric, the most taciturn of men, sometimes mumbled in his sleep. But what woke Petra in the middle of the night was her own, internal voice- some kind of warning. She turned, stared at his face, saw calm. The faint, contented smile of a well-nurtured kid.

The second time she awoke it was just after noon and Eric was up and showering. By twelve-thirty Petra was cooking eggs. They ate and read the paper- Lord, wasn’t this domestic.

At one-thirty, Eric kissed her and headed for the door.

“I’ll drive you,” she said.

“I called a cab.”

He’d arrived with no luggage, was leaving the same way. Wearing pressed blue jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt, the same black windbreaker, the same crepe-soled shoes. Fresh duds selected from the clothing he’d left in her guest closet.

Zipping halfway across the world with nothing but a wallet. Like it was a jaunt to the market.

Here and back. To see her.

She said, “Cancel the taxi. I’m taking you.”

She hung with him in the cozy, turquoise, modern coffee shop above the Jet Blue terminal until a young man stuck his head in and announced the flight’s imminent departure.

Eric got up, shrugged, looked embarrassed. Petra gave him the most intense hug she could muster. One more kiss and he was gone. She left the terminal with aching eyes.

Traffic on the 405 was ominous and she didn’t arrive at the Hollywood station until six twenty-five P.M. Two D’s were at their desks- Kaplan and Salas- and greeted her with nods.

No messages from Mac Dilbeck or anyone else on the Paradiso case. She headed for a free computer and tried some national databases for missing kids that she’d already contacted, not really expecting anything. Not getting anything.

What to do, now?

A voice from across the room said, “Detective Connor.”

Isaac Gomez, wearing an olive suit, yellow shirt, green-and-red rep tie, hair parted and shiny and brushed flat to his scalp, toted his briefcase toward her desk.

“Very spiffy,” she said. “Heavy-duty meeting?”

The predictable blush darkened his neck. “Not really. Have you had a chance to consider my hypothesis?”

Changing the subject too quickly. That pushed Petra’s mischief button. “C’mon, tell me about it. You get honored again by Councilman Reyes?”

“Not hardly.” Mumbling. Tugging at his tie knot.

“Something better than being honored?”

He kicked one shoe with the other.

“C’mon, Isaac,” said Petra. “We common folk don’t get the chance to hobnob with the powers-that-be. I’m living vicariously through you.” She cupped her hand around her mouth. “Is it true what they say about Reyes? Is there a slight flatulence problem?”

Isaac smiled weakly.

Petra said, “What can I do? Mr. Gomez is the soul of discretion.”

He laughed loud enough to make Kaplan and Salas turn. Then he grew serious. “A date,” he blurted. “I had to go on a lunch date.”

“Had to? You make it sound like homework.”

Isaac sighed. “In a sense it was. I was assigned by my mother. She thinks I need to get out more.”

“You disagree.”

“I’m social enough, Detective Connor. I just don’t need- The problem is my mother was of the firm belief that once I entered college, some golden gate of sociability would open. Sometimes I think she’s more concerned about that than academics.”

“Mothers care,” said Petra. What did she know? Her own had died pushing her out.

“They do- she does, but…” Isaac rubbed his cheek. When his hand dropped, Petra saw a red, raised spot. Fulminating zit. Brains or not, he was clinging to adolescence.

He said, “My mother’s notion of maximal personal success is that I meet a girl who elevates me socially. She was never comfortable visiting my school- it was an upscale private school. She felt herself inferior, which was nonsense, she’s an incredible woman. But I couldn’t convince her, so she refused to have anything to do with the parents of my classmates. But I believe part of her would have liked me to hook up with one of those girls. It’s the same with her employers. They’re doctors, they’ve been mentoring me. They think she’s fabulous but she won’t step out of the servant role… there’s a whole Pygmalion thing going on. It’s complicated and I’m sure you’re not interested.”

He bit his lip. One eyelid ticced. Poor kid was under real pressure. Petra felt bad about ribbing him.

“Hey,” she said, “you’re smart in all kinds of ways. You’ll do what’s best for yourself.”

“I try to tell my mother. My plate’s full enough, I’m not ready for a relationship.”

Petra pointed to the chair alongside her desk. He sat down heavily.

“Lousy date, huh?”

He grinned. “I’m that obvious.”

“Well,” she said, “I figure Mom sets you up with a high I.Q. beauty queen, maybe you’d forget about your plate.”

“The girl was nice enough, but not- We had absolutely nothing in common. Her family’s new in our church. She’s religious and modest, and for my mother, that’s enough.”

“No beauty queen,” said Petra.

“She looks like a mastiff.”

“Ouch.”

“That was cruel,” said Isaac. “But so what? She was also aggressive. Sweet in church but take her to dinner and watch out.” He shook his head.

“Aggressive about what?”

“Everything. She had opinions on matters about which she knew nothing. Religion really got her going. Nuclear-strength dogma. We’d barely sat down and she was telling me I needed to go to church more often. Instructing me what to believe. And not with any particular theological elegance.”

“Oh, boy,” said Petra. “You’re not even married and she’s running your life.”

He laughed again. “You sound like a guy. I mean, that’s something one guy would say to another.” Blushing deeply. “Not that you’re not feminine, you’re very feminine, it’s just that- Are you married?”

“Used to be. It didn’t end because I tried to run his life. I was the most perfect spouse in the universe but he was a lout.”

He said, “You’re joking but I bet that’s true.” He looked at her, helplessly.

“In terms of sounding like a guy,” she said, “I grew up with five brothers. You pick stuff up.”

“That must help in terms of working here- the predominantly male environment.”

Somehow the subject had changed. She said, “It does help.”

He said, “Anyway… about those June 28 cases. I neglected to mention that four of six took place here, in Hollywood Division. I’m not sure yet if it adds another layer of statistical significance to the- ”

“We’re a high-crime district, Isaac.”

“Several divisions have higher homicide rates. Ramparts, Central, Newton- ”

“Maybe you’ve got a point, Isaac. I promise to take a look, but right now I’m kind of tied up.”

“The Paradiso shootings.”

“Exactly.”

“Has that girl been identified?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay. Sorry for- ”

“She had an abortion within the last month or two. That say anything to you?”

“The obvious thing,” he said, “is a possible source of conflict. With the father.”

“Over the abortion?”

“I was thinking of the pregnancy itself. In certain situations, an unwanted pregnancy would be a pretty robust motive for homicide, wouldn’t you say? Theodore Dreiser wrote a wonderful book about it- ”

“She terminated the pregnancy, Isaac.”

“But maybe she kept that fact to herself.”

Petra considered that. Why not? “It’s an angle. Thanks. Now all I have to do is figure out who she is.”

She flashed him a smile and turned back to the mess on her desk.

“Detective Connor…”

“Yes?”

“Would it be feasible for me to ride with you? To observe what you do firsthand? I promise not to be intrusive.”

“It’s pretty boring, Isaac. Lots of routine, lots of dead ends.”

“That’s okay,” he said. “The longer I’m here, the more I realize how ignorant I am. Writing a dissertation about crime and I don’t know the first thing about it.”

“I’m not sure riding along will help you much.”

“I think it will, Detective.”

A trickle of sweat made its way down his left hairline and reached his ear. He swiped at it. How long had he been building up the courage to ask her? Behind the precocious pronouncements was so much anxiety.

“Okay,” she said. “Tomorrow morning, when I recontact some of the witnesses on the Paradiso case, you can come along. But only on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Start calling me Petra. If you don’t, I’ll start calling you ‘Dr. Gomez.’ ”

He smiled. “I’m a ways off from earning that.”

“I’ve earned my title but I’m forgoing the honor,” she said. “You’re making me feel old.”