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“Apparently Ford had just arrived home carrying what was left of a six-pack of beer and some fried chicken,” Salzman added. “The receipt showed he’d paid for three pieces, but there were only two in the box. We think the Lady in Red had dinner on him.”
Pam nearly shrieked. “Are you saying she sliced up Ford and then walked off chewing his chicken?”
Garcia nodded. “Real cold bitch, isn’t she? But Ford’s girlfriend, Violet Simms, hasn’t been seen for several days, and we’ve learned she often came here. By some extraordinary coincidence, she fits the description of the Lady in Red.”
Luke’s response was a particularly inventive curse, but he quickly apologized. “Look, I took Violet to a battered women’s shelter last Monday morning. I’ve called to check on her every day, and she’s still there. She’s not your killer.”
“We’d still like to speak with her,” Salzman insisted.
Luke shook his head. “Shelters don’t advertise their location to protect their residents, and I’m not telling you where she is.”
Garcia did a quick survey of the room. “We know where the shelters are, and we’ll track Violet down eventually. Anyone care to point us in the right direction?”
Catherine shrugged helplessly. “I’ve no idea where she is.”
“Neither do I,” Pam added.
“I just mow the lawn here,” Dave insisted.
“We’ll find her,” Salzman assured them. “But if Violet isn’t the Lady in Red, then it’s someone who knew her and knew Ford abused her. That leads us right back here to Lost Angel. One of you must know a whole lot more than you’re telling. If you don’t speak up soon, you stand the risk of being named an accessory to murder.”
“Let’s remember who we’re talking about here,” Luke advised. “Felix Mendoza, and Bobby Clyde Flowers, who pimped underage girls, and Ford Dolan, who got his kicks punching Violet Simms around. Most of the public would be honored to be named an accessory in those murders.”
“Don’t try the victims. We’re not in court,” Garcia cautioned. “We’ll find Violet and have a nice little chat, but something tells me we’ll be back here before the day is out.”
“The office closes at five o’clock,” Pam offered agreeably.
“Wait a minute,” Catherine interjected. “Violet has an alibi, but it’s possible Ford was lonely without her and hit on a prostitute. That she appears to have been the Lady in Red may be nothing more than a gruesome coincidence, rather than proof of a direct link to Lost Angel.”
“That’s really good,” Dave enthused.
Garcia responded with a low chuckle. “That’s precisely why I insisted you be here, Mrs. Brooks. I knew you’d come up with a theory no one else would.”
“It’s actually quite logical,” Luke argued. “Ford couldn’t speak without insulting anyone within earshot. If he approached a prostitute, then it’s likely he did it with language several notches below crude.”
“Nothing surprises the whores in this town,” Salzman countered, “so I doubt that Ford could.”
“But you didn’t know him,” Catherine insisted. “We did.”
“That’s not a point in your favor,” Garcia warned, and after a nod to his partner, the detectives left.
“I refuse to believe it’s one of the kids,” Luke exclaimed.
“So do I,” Dave agreed. “But it makes me real uneasy to think that it might be.”
“The kids stick together,” Pam reminded them. “If they wanted to kill someone, they’d hunt him down in a vicious pack.”
Luke nodded. “You’re right. Now, while you’re all here, I need to tell you what Pam and I were discussing before the police arrived. Dave, you’ll leave for a better job soon, and Mrs. Brooks plans to teach in a high school in September. I’m seriously considering an offer from an Ivy League university that’s shown a flattering interest in me over the years. Pam won’t remain here without me, which means in a few months, all of us will be gone.
“If the Lady in Red hasn’t been caught, our intrepid detectives are sure to consider our mass exodus suspicious, so for the time being, let’s not discuss our plans with them.”
Catherine was too stunned to speak. There were tears in Pam’s eyes, but Dave reacted with anger.
“What’s going on here?” he cried. “A week ago you and Cathy were a couple, and now you’re considering job offers back east without telling her? I don’t believe you, man.”
Dave slammed the door on his way out, and unable to remain in the same room with Luke, Catherine followed. Feeling unsteady, she sank down on the steps and tried to think what to do. It had never occurred to her Luke might leave Lost Angel, let alone the state.
Hearing the door close a second time, Dave turned around and came back. “That rotten son of a bitch,” he yelled. “I’ll bet anything you name that he knew he was leaving the whole time he was with you. You know that, don’t you?”
