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Street gang. So was Joe Pine. Did you know that?
A nod.
You knew Joe was an ex-gangbanger?
A nod.
Did you know that Guy Kaffey hired other ex-gang members supposedly rehabilitated gang
members as guards?
A nod.
I think that s crazy.
Martin muttered something. Decker leaned in close.
Few&
A few what?
The response was delayed. A few gang&
Decker put the pieces together. There were only a few gang members in the group?
A nod.
We found more than a few with felonies. Decker checked his notes. This one guy, Ernesto
Sanchez, was also a former Bodega 12th gang member. He had been arrested and served time for
two assaults. Did you know him?
A nod.
Rondo& if you close your eyes& and think about the other people who invaded the Kaffey house&
close your eyes and picture the scene.
He cooperated, wincing as some vision coursed through his brain.
Could one of those men at the scene be Ernesto Sanchez?
A shake of the head. That made sense because Sanchez was at a bar. Messing had talked to several
people who remembered seeing him. So far, Martin appeared credible.
The woman in scrubs walked in. She stopped and folded her arms across her chest. Her name tag
identified her as Chris Bellows, MD, surgical resident. Her eyes were intelligent and annoyed, but she
managed a fleeting smile. You need to wrap this up. It s time for Mr. Martin to receive his
medications. He needs to sleep.
Five more minutes?
How about one? Her face told him that she wouldn t brook any argument. She glanced at her
watch. Starting now.
Decker sighed. Okay. This is what I m going to do, Rondo. I m going to read a list of the guards
who worked for the Kaffeys and you tell me by nodding if I should be investigating them.
A nod.
There are about twenty-two names. I ll have to go a little fast because I have to leave soon.
Thirty seconds, the doctor told them.
Decker said, I m reading them off in alphabetical order.
A nod.
Doug Allen.
Nothing.
Curt Armstrong.
No response.
Javier Beltran.
Nothing from Martin.
Time s up.
C mon. All he s doing is nodding. How about Francisco Cortez?
There was no response from Martin.
You re not only stressing him out, you re stressing me. Good-bye, Detective.
When can I come back?
Tomorrow, if he s doing better.
There was no sense bucking authority. He almost got himself shot with that approach this morning.
As Decker started to put away his notes, his eyes swept over the next name on the list. His brain
suddenly leaped into overdrive.
Decker spoke a final name aloud.
Martin s eyes got very wide. His blood pressure skyrocketed and machines started beeping.
The doctor glared at him. Leave now!
I m out of here, Decker said.
But he was smiling.
He had found his missing link.
THIRTY-THREE
THE LOS ANGELES Unified School District was a dinosaur: a brain in its head as well as in its tail.
The head part was the wealthier districts Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Westwood, Encino, and Pacific
Palisades while the caudal portion administered to the less-endowed schools in East L.A., South L.
A., and the poorer sections of the San Fernando Valley. Pacoima definitely qualified as a tail.
The dropout rate is probably higher than the graduation rate, the guidance counselor told them.
Her name was Carmen Montenegro, a woman in her midthirties with mocha skin, almond-shaped
brown eyes, and a wide mouth with her lips painted deep red. She wore a red shirt under a black
suit with no stockings. We do the best we can with what we have, which isn t much.
Marge and Oliver followed Carmen as she trotted down a hallway lined with lockers, her heels
clacking on yellowed, institutional floor tiling. School had let out a half hour ago, but students were
still milling around, heavy backpacks dragging on their sloping shoulders. The teens were dressed in
baggy jeans or sweats for the boys, and jeans, sweats, or short skirts for the girls.
Carmen took a sharp right into the admissions office, pushing past a saloon door that almost caught
Marge in the stomach. Her office was tiny and looked out over the school s parking lot. A computer
was surrounded by stacks of papers on her desktop with more piles spilling on the floors.
Overflowing bookshelves lined two of the walls.
Sorry about the mess. The administrator began hunting through yearbooks. She pulled one out.
This is from two years ago. He would have been a freshman, right?
Right, Oliver answered.
Esteban Cruz& Esteban Cruz& Esteban& Here he is. She showed the picture to Marge. Looks like
the picture you showed me.
Marge said, He hasn t aged much.
Yeah, he looks kinda small. You want a copy of the picture?
Yes, that would help.
Hold on. She whisked past them and came back a few moments later with ten copies. Here you
go& Anything else?
Marge said, Would you mind if I looked through the book to see if he was involved in any activities?
No problem. Carmen handed her the book. Sit at my desk. Makes it easier to sift through the
pages. The administrator s eyes skipped over Oliver s face. She gave him the briefest of smiles.
Probably, he wasn t involved in much. The ones who drop out are just marking time.
Oliver s eyes went to her hands. No wedding ring. Do you have any recollection of him?
She looked at the picture again. We have so many kids going in and out of the system. I don t
remember him as being a troublemaker.
He told us he likes to read a lot, Marge said. Do you have a record of his grades and his
teachers?
I can get both for you, but I need my computer.
Marge stood up, yearbook in hand. She showed it to Oliver, and the two of them studied the pages
as Carmen looked up the former student. Esteban Cruz& here we go. He was passing& C s, a few B s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
Street gang. So was Joe Pine. Did you know that?
A nod.
You knew Joe was an ex-gangbanger?
A nod.
Did you know that Guy Kaffey hired other ex-gang members supposedly rehabilitated gang
members as guards?
A nod.
I think that s crazy.
Martin muttered something. Decker leaned in close.
Few&
A few what?
The response was delayed. A few gang&
Decker put the pieces together. There were only a few gang members in the group?
A nod.
We found more than a few with felonies. Decker checked his notes. This one guy, Ernesto
Sanchez, was also a former Bodega 12th gang member. He had been arrested and served time for
two assaults. Did you know him?
A nod.
Rondo& if you close your eyes& and think about the other people who invaded the Kaffey house&
close your eyes and picture the scene.
He cooperated, wincing as some vision coursed through his brain.
Could one of those men at the scene be Ernesto Sanchez?
A shake of the head. That made sense because Sanchez was at a bar. Messing had talked to several
people who remembered seeing him. So far, Martin appeared credible.
The woman in scrubs walked in. She stopped and folded her arms across her chest. Her name tag
identified her as Chris Bellows, MD, surgical resident. Her eyes were intelligent and annoyed, but she
managed a fleeting smile. You need to wrap this up. It s time for Mr. Martin to receive his
medications. He needs to sleep.
Five more minutes?
How about one? Her face told him that she wouldn t brook any argument. She glanced at her
watch. Starting now.
Decker sighed. Okay. This is what I m going to do, Rondo. I m going to read a list of the guards
who worked for the Kaffeys and you tell me by nodding if I should be investigating them.
A nod.
There are about twenty-two names. I ll have to go a little fast because I have to leave soon.
Thirty seconds, the doctor told them.
Decker said, I m reading them off in alphabetical order.
A nod.
Doug Allen.
Nothing.
Curt Armstrong.
No response.
Javier Beltran.
Nothing from Martin.
Time s up.
C mon. All he s doing is nodding. How about Francisco Cortez?
There was no response from Martin.
You re not only stressing him out, you re stressing me. Good-bye, Detective.
When can I come back?
Tomorrow, if he s doing better.
There was no sense bucking authority. He almost got himself shot with that approach this morning.
As Decker started to put away his notes, his eyes swept over the next name on the list. His brain
suddenly leaped into overdrive.
Decker spoke a final name aloud.
Martin s eyes got very wide. His blood pressure skyrocketed and machines started beeping.
The doctor glared at him. Leave now!
I m out of here, Decker said.
But he was smiling.
He had found his missing link.
THIRTY-THREE
THE LOS ANGELES Unified School District was a dinosaur: a brain in its head as well as in its tail.
The head part was the wealthier districts Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Westwood, Encino, and Pacific
Palisades while the caudal portion administered to the less-endowed schools in East L.A., South L.
A., and the poorer sections of the San Fernando Valley. Pacoima definitely qualified as a tail.
The dropout rate is probably higher than the graduation rate, the guidance counselor told them.
Her name was Carmen Montenegro, a woman in her midthirties with mocha skin, almond-shaped
brown eyes, and a wide mouth with her lips painted deep red. She wore a red shirt under a black
suit with no stockings. We do the best we can with what we have, which isn t much.
Marge and Oliver followed Carmen as she trotted down a hallway lined with lockers, her heels
clacking on yellowed, institutional floor tiling. School had let out a half hour ago, but students were
still milling around, heavy backpacks dragging on their sloping shoulders. The teens were dressed in
baggy jeans or sweats for the boys, and jeans, sweats, or short skirts for the girls.
Carmen took a sharp right into the admissions office, pushing past a saloon door that almost caught
Marge in the stomach. Her office was tiny and looked out over the school s parking lot. A computer
was surrounded by stacks of papers on her desktop with more piles spilling on the floors.
Overflowing bookshelves lined two of the walls.
Sorry about the mess. The administrator began hunting through yearbooks. She pulled one out.
This is from two years ago. He would have been a freshman, right?
Right, Oliver answered.
Esteban Cruz& Esteban Cruz& Esteban& Here he is. She showed the picture to Marge. Looks like
the picture you showed me.
Marge said, He hasn t aged much.
Yeah, he looks kinda small. You want a copy of the picture?
Yes, that would help.
Hold on. She whisked past them and came back a few moments later with ten copies. Here you
go& Anything else?
Marge said, Would you mind if I looked through the book to see if he was involved in any activities?
No problem. Carmen handed her the book. Sit at my desk. Makes it easier to sift through the
pages. The administrator s eyes skipped over Oliver s face. She gave him the briefest of smiles.
Probably, he wasn t involved in much. The ones who drop out are just marking time.
Oliver s eyes went to her hands. No wedding ring. Do you have any recollection of him?
She looked at the picture again. We have so many kids going in and out of the system. I don t
remember him as being a troublemaker.
He told us he likes to read a lot, Marge said. Do you have a record of his grades and his
teachers?
I can get both for you, but I need my computer.
Marge stood up, yearbook in hand. She showed it to Oliver, and the two of them studied the pages
as Carmen looked up the former student. Esteban Cruz& here we go. He was passing& C s, a few B s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]