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I said, Not hungry.
Good. This way I get two without looking like a pig. So Peaty s anextremely
bad guy. What does the globe mean?
The globe Dylan gave to Nora could ve been part of a duo. Or a collection.One
got left in Dylan s car because Peaty was bragging. The other he kept
formasturbatory memories.
Meaning, if you re Prudential, don t write a policy on Nora and Meserve.Any
guesses where to start looking for their bodies?
I shook my head. The van and the kit say Peaty could ve traveled
anywhere.They also provide a scenario for Michaela. He targeted her at the
PlayHouse,followed her home, found out she lived close to him. After that, it
was easyfor him to watch her from the van. When the time was right, he snagged
her,drove her somewhere secluded, and strangled her. Maybe even in the van.
He frowned. Abduction and seclusion sounds like bringing Dylan andMichaela s
hoax to life. You think that s what stimulated Peaty?
He d probably been watching Michaela for a while but the hoax clinched it.And
Michaela getting kicked out of class meant she spent more evenings at
homealone.
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Wherever he did her, Alex, he brought her back to the neighborhood.
What sthat, staying in his comfort zone?
Or just the opposite, I said. Whoever killed Tori Giacomo dumped her in
Griffith Park and concealed her body quiteefficiently. The park s miles from
Tori s apartment in the Valley and evenfarther from Peaty s. It s also a brief
freeway detour from the Valley toPasadena get off the 101 and take the 5 for
one exit, do your thing, get backon.
Dropping her off on the way to work, he said. Same way he stole the van.
But getting away with Tori could ve made him more daring with Michaela.With
everyone thinking he had no wheels, he didn t worry about the body beingtraced
back to him. So he left her right out in the open.
The no-wheels lie wasn t hard to uncover.
Wanting to brag overrode his caution, I said. He was no criminal
genius.Like most of them.
The pie arrived. He ate his, reached for mine. Maybe with Michaela, he
wasjust being lazy. Seeing as she lived so close to him, no reason to roam.
Toriwas in North Hollywood, no sense bringing herhome. So what about the
Gaidelases? Peaty s video collection is consistent withhis Peeping Tom arrest.
Good-looking young women.
I said, It s hard to square the Gaidelases with that, but like I saidbefore,
he could ve had other kinks. The car recovered in Camarillo s a tougher fit.
If he left his vannear the murder site and drove the Gaidelases rental to the
outlets, how d heget back to Malibu?
To me that s no problem. He hitchhiked, stole another set of wheels, took
abus or he never drove the rental in the first place. All he needed to do
wasleave it parked on Kanan Dume, windows wide open, keys in the ignition.
Openinvitation for some joyriding kid.
Joyride to the outlets? I said. Juvenile delinquents looking for bargains?
Why not? Shoplift some cool Nikes and hip-hop sweats. Any way you look atit,
having Mr. Peaty swept off this mortal coil is no loss.
True.
Several bites later: What s on your mind?
The scenarios we ve constructed depend on planning and patience. The wayPeaty
died not backing off from an armed man showed a lack of control.
He was drunk. Or Vasquez didn t give him a chance to back off.
Vasquez just went out there and shot him?
It happens.
It does, I said. But think about this: the Gaidelases bodies have
neverbeen found and their credit cards were never used. Plus someone took
thetrouble to phone utilities in Ohioand have their power shut off. That s
high-level calculation and discretion.Peaty was nabbed by a bystander watching
college girls while beating off. Hecontinued to stare openly at women and gave
them the creeps. That sounddiscreet?
Even morons learn, Alex. But let s put the Gaidelases aside for a moment.Are
you okay with Michaela and Tori as Peaty s handiwork?
I nodded.
Good, because stolen wheels, duct tape, rope, a knife, a loaded gun are
thekind of evidence I can write up. Basic gear from your local Psycho
KillerEmporium. He massaged a temple. Ate pie, drank coffee. Pushed the empty
plateback in front of me and called for a refill.
The waitress said, Boy, you guys were hungry.
Milo grinned. She thought it was sincereand smiled back.
When she was gone, his eyes clouded. Almost two years passed between Toriand
Michaela. The nasty old question resurfaces.
How many others in between, I said.
Peaty tags em at the PlayHouse. No curriculum, no attendance roster,people
drop in and out. It s a predator s dream. I thought maybe Nora was
beingevasive when she told me that. Now, with her looking more and more like
avictim, I believe her.
We found no additional trophies in Peaty s apartment or the van. So
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maybethere are no other victims.
Or he s got a storage bin somewhere.
Could be. I d start with the buildings where Peaty did janitorial work.
Grabbing freebie storage, he said. Maybe that explains stashing
Meserve sToyota inBrad s garage. It also fits big-time hostility toward
authority. All thoseproperties the Dowds own, Peaty doing the scut. Be hard
for Brad to monitorevery bit of space& so what were you calling me about before
I told you aboutPeaty?
Not important.
It was important enough to call.
I recounted the scene with Hauser.
You and Robin?
Yup.
He worked hard at stoicism. Guy s a shrink? Sounds like a nut.
At the very least he s an ugly drunk.
They arrest him?
Don t know, I said. They took him away in an ambulance.
You clocked him good, huh?
I used discretion.
He squinted, turned his hands to blades, chopped the air, whispered, Heeyah!
I thought you d given up on all that black belt stuff.
Never got past brown belt, I said. It s like riding a bike.
Hopefully the fool will wake up with a sore nose and realize the error ofhis
ways. Want me to get the reports?
I was hoping.
Any detectives show up?
Just uniforms. Hendricks and Minette. He-and-she team.
He phoned Pacific Division, asked to speak to the watch commander,
explainedthe situation, listened, hung up smiling. In the official police
record, youare treated as a victim. Hauser was booked for creating a
disturbance in apublic place and released. What kind of car does he drive?
Don t waste time cruising by.
A shrink, let s see& I m guessing Volvo, maybe some kind of Volkswagen.
Audi Quattro.
Right continent, he said. Yeah, I ll cruise by, you re welcome.
It s unlikely he ll persist, Milo. When hesobers up he ll realize another
disturbance will mess him up in civil court. Ifhe doesn t, his lawyer will
educate him.
If he was that smart, Alex, he d never have stalked you in the firstplace.
Don t worry about it, I said. I m okay and you ve got a full plate.
Interesting, he said.
What is?
He loosened his belt and suppressed a belch. Your choice of
gastronomicimagery.
CHAPTER 27
No sign of Hauser s Audi when I got home at two a.m. The bed was made up
andRobin was gone. I called her six hours later.
I heard you leave, she said. Went outside but you were driving away.
Whatkind of ugly are we talking about?
You don t want to know.
I do. The new me.
The old you was fine.
The ostrich s head has been lifted. What happened, Alex?
Someone got shot. An extremely bad guy. You could ve stayed.
I got antsy, she said. It s a big house.
Don t I know it.
Last night was good, Alex.
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