False Prophet (50 page)

Marge slumped down in her chair and placed her chin in her hands. Decker groaned and handed her a message slip.

“Just when I thought I was out of deep water,” he said.

“Sun Valley Pres,” Marge said. “Lilah must not have been transferred yet. Are you going to call her back?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“You can put it off until Monday.”

“Right. Then she’ll croak over the weekend and I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life.” He picked up Marge’s phone and dialed the number on the slip. “I hate this.”

Marge gently patted his back. “Ain’t it a drag to have a conscience?”

Decker said, “Damn it, it’s ringing. Maybe she’ll hang up on me.”

Lilah answered hello, her voice low and sultry. Decker felt his stomach tighten. “Lilah, it’s Detective Sergeant—”

“My mother just phoned me not more than ten minutes ago! Do
you
know what she told me?”

“Lilah—”

“She told me you had her brought down to the station house for questioning!”

“Li—”

“She
told
me the press was crawling all over her. Snapping pictures of her inside a
police
car! She told me you were tearing her room apart.”

“We had a warrant—”

“Looking for ways to
ruin
her—”

“Not at all—”

“That you were spreading
lies
about her!”

“I’m not spreading anything—”

“Lies about her, lies about
me
, lies about
Kingston
!”

“Lilah—”

“Then she said that you said that I had stolen her jewels. Did you say that, Peter?”

“Lilah—”

“I’d never seen her so furious! She was outraged! Screaming and ranting and raving!”

“It is not our intention to—”

“Don’t give me that garbage! Are you out to ruin her good name?”

“We were—”

“Just hold on a second, Peter. I have a visitor.”

Decker heard mumbling in the background.

“I’ve got to go now, Peter.”

Her voice had turned treacly sweet.

“My dear brother John is here to visit me,” Lilah purred. “My God, I haven’t seen him in
ages
! He brought me orchids, the dear man.”

So the
good
brother had come a-calling. Was he trying to clear his conscience for not visiting Lilah after she was supposedly raped or had Davida somehow roped this poor guy into the family as Kingston’s replacement? The heck with it, Decker told himself. None of it was his business. “Have a nice visit, Lilah.”

“You’re turning Mother into a
basket
case, you know.”

“It’s unintentional,” Decker said.

“That may be true, but that’s what you’re doing!” She suddenly giggled. “God, it’s great to see the bitch suffer.
Do
keep up the good work, Peter!”

She hung up. And so did Decker.

No one was
home but the table was set — starched white linen, bone china, sterling, and crystal stemware. In front of his place setting were two braided loaves of egg bread covered by a dark-blue velvet cloth embroidered with silver and gold thread. A table fit for a king but meant for him.

He took a quick shower, then shaved. When he came out, the house was still empty. Where was everyone?

He listened and heard yapping noises outside. He went out the back door and found Rina sitting on the patio. She was wearing a loose housedress and had mules on her feet. She was trying to comb out long strands of wet black hair and was meeting resistance. She muttered fiercely each time the teeth fought with a tangle. The boys were whooping it up on horseback. They shouted hellos to their stepfather, and Decker smiled and waved. Rina looked up.

“One day, I’m just going to chop it all off.”

“Go ahead.” Decker sat next to her and kissed her cheek. “I’ll love you bald.”

She attacked her tresses and didn’t answer.

Decker said, “You look tired, darlin’. Hard day?”

“No, just another hot,
pregnant
day.” She kissed Decker on the lips. “I promise I won’t take it out on you.”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for.”

She loosened a snag and smiled victoriously. “You’re home reasonably early.”

“What can I do you for?”

“Nothing. Everything’s under relative control.” She put down the comb. “I saw your captain on the five o’clock news. He looked uptight.”

“He probably was.”

“Is Davida being charged with the murder?”

“Nope.”

“Then why the hoopla?”

“It wasn’t necessary. I told her I was going to bring her in for further questioning. Not that I really had much on her, but I just… I don’t know. I wasn’t going to let her get off easy. Then she got mad and called the press. So I called Morrison, who said he’d handle it. Big stories, big brass. It was fine with me.”

“You don’t feel usurped?”

“Not at all. I feel relieved to be rid of the bunch. I’ve got a brickload of current cases. It’s not as if I’m lacking for work.”

“Did you talk to Lilah?”

“I think she’ll be fine.” He paused. “I hope we won’t hear from her again.”

“It was a lousy week for you, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was. Really
unsatisfying
. That’s why I love horses. They’re honest.”

Rina kissed him. “I’m sorry.”

“S’right. At least I earned my paycheck.” He watched the boys and smiled. “They have the right idea.”

“Go join them.”

“Nah, I think I’d rather watch.” He kissed his wife’s cheek. “Rina, I promise I’ll wallpaper the spare room this Sunday.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ve got
nothing
else planned.”

“Peter, I think it would be better if you painted it instead of wallpapered it.”

“You spent seventeen bucks a roll on wallpaper. Now you want it
painted
?”

“It’s going to be Cindy’s room for the summer. Maybe lilac walls would go over better than pictures of Mickey and Minnie having a Sunday picnic.”

“That’s right. I haven’t even thought about Cindy. Some father I am.”

“You’re a
wonderful
father, Peter. Cindy loves you, the boys love you, I love you. Try loving yourself, okay?”

Decker smiled. “What are we going to do if the baby comes early?”

“We can set up a crib in our room.”

“You don’t mind?”

“What’s our choice? You can’t build another room in two and a half months.”

“Do you mind that Cindy is staying with us for the summer?”

“
Mind? Chabibi
, I wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s
family
!”

Family. After what Decker had seen this past week, he had forgotten what real family was all about — things like love and nurturance instead of torment and jealousy. “You’re a good kid, Rina.”

“Just one of a kind.” She got up. “As long as you’re supervising, I think I’ll go check on the food.”

“Sure. Then go put your feet up and rest awhile, darlin’. I’ll serve tonight.”

Rina mussed his damp hair. “Thanks.”

Decker watched her waddle to the house, waiting until she was inside before he broke into laughter. Click your heels together, Deck. There’s no place like home.

Living in Los Angeles, we’re influenced by regional cuisine as exemplified by Rina’s southwestern meal in
False Prophet
. Here is her personal recipe for Salsa Chicken. She might serve this entree with wild rice and a fresh avocado-and-grapefruit salad.

Enjoy!

Faye Kellerman

Serves 6

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomatoes, onion, green pepper, garlic, lemon juice, coriander, parsley, salt, and pepper. Set aside in refrigerator for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the dry mixture, then sauté in oil until the chicken turns slightly brown. Place the chicken in a shallow greased baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until done to taste. Remove the chicken from the oven and place on a serving platter. Decorate with parsley sprigs and lemon slices. Serve hot with salsa on the side.

FAYE KELLERMAN introduced L.A. cop Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus, to the mystery world nineteen years ago. Since then she has published fifteen Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus novels, including the
New York Times
bestsellers
The Forgotten
and
Stalker
. She is also the author of
Moon Music
, a contemporary thriller set in Las Vegas, and
The Quality of Mercy
, an historical novel of Elizabethan England. Ms. Kellerman lives in California with her husband, noted author Jonathan Kellerman, and their four children, three dogs, and fish too numerous to count.

R
ITUAL
B
ATH
*

S
ACRED AND
P
ROFANE
*

T
HE
Q
UALITY OF
M
ERCY

M
ILK AND
H
ONEY
*

D
AY OF
A
TONEMENT
*

F
ALSE
P
ROPHET
*

G
RIEVOUS
S
IN
*

S
ANCTUARY
*

J
USTICE
*

P
RAYERS FOR THE
D
EAD
*

S
ERPENT’S
T
OOTH
*

M
OON
M
USIC

J
UPITER’S
B
ONES
*

S
TALKER
*

T
HE
F
ORGOTTEN
*

^*
The Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novels