To Die in Beverly Hills (20 page)

"Thanks for your time," Carr interrupted. He turned and strode out of the room. Bailey followed him down the hall to the stairway.

"I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from. I'm just following orders. So I hope there are no hard feelings."

"How long have you worked the burglary table here?" Carr asked.

Travis Bailey furrowed his brow. "Quite a while."

"Funny that you never ran across Lee Sheboygan. You'd think a good cat burglar like him would have come to your attention."

"Every cat burglar in L.A. takes at least one shot at Beverly Hills at one time or another. After a while it's hard to keep the names straight."

"Are you saying that you may have known him by another name?"

"No. I said I don't recall having any contact with the man. If you've got something to say, Carr, why don't you come right out and say it."

Carr lit another cigarette. He blew smoke on Bailey. "How about lunch?" he said with a smile.

Travis Bailey looked taken aback. "Yeah, I guess so. I'll get my coat." As he entered the door to the Detective Bureau, Carr opened the stairwell door. He took the steps to the parking lot, climbed in his sedan and drove to the Field Office.

Having traversed the hallway, stairwell and the downstairs parking lot looking for Carr, Bailey returned to the bureau. He shrugged off his coat and flung it on his desk angrily.

"What's the matter with you?" Delsey Piper asked.

"I have something I want you to do," he said, glaring at her for the dumb question.

In the Field Office mail room, Carr checked his message box. There was a message from Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. He called the number from his desk.

A woman answered. "Nursing station thirteen."

"This is Agent Carr."

"You still want us to notify you when visitors come to see Mr. Kelly?"

"Yes."

"A lady detective just called. She said she'd be over in an hour to visit Mr. Kelly. I told her it was okay. Just thought I'd let you know about it."

"Thanks a lot," Carr said. He rushed out of the office.

Carr sat in a vacant hospital room adjoining Jack Kelly's. He had wedged the door to Kelly's room open a few inches, and shoved a serving cart against it so it couldn't be opened. The door to Kelly's room creaked. The sound of footsteps.

"Jack Kelly?"

"That's me."

"I'm Delsey Piper, Beverly Hills P.D. If you feel up to it, I'd like to ask you a few questions about the shooting incident. I've been assigned to do the shooting analysis report for our department. It's sort of a follow-up we do anytime an officer uses his weapon."

"Would you mind cranking me up a foot or so with that thing at the end of the bed?"

A metal cranking sound. "How's that?" she asked.

"Better."

"Well, why don't you just tell me what happened?" She laughed nervously.

"I don't remember a damn thing," Kelly said. "Not a thing. I can hardly remember going over to Hartmann's house. The doctor tells me that this is common with people who get shot. The mind just blocks out the whole incident."

"You mean you can't remember even one single thing about how the shooting took place?"

"It's a complete blank spot in my mind."

"Wow," she said. "How weird." Neither spoke for a moment. "Do you think you'll be able to remember what happened if I come back in a day or two?"

"Hard to say. The doc said it could come back at any time, or maybe never."

"Ultraweird. Sort of like the Twilight Zone." A giggle. "Well, I guess I'll be going."

"Would you crank the bed down again for me?"

She complied with the request and Kelly thanked her.

"I hope you get well really, really soon," she said. The door opened and closed.

Carr waited awhile. Finally, he shoved the serving cart away from the door and went into the room.

"Do you think she's in with him?" Kelly said.

Carr shrugged. "Would you let her in on anything?"

"Hell no. I wonder why he sent her over here?"

"Because he's hearing footsteps."

Bailey unlocked the front door of his apartment. He stepped into the living room and closed the door behind him.

Unbuttoning her blouse, Delsey Piper stood in the bedroom doorway. "He didn't remember anything." The blouse came open.

Bailey approached her. "What do you mean he couldn't
remember
anything?"

She took off the blouse and tossed it on the floor. "Just what I said. He doesn't remember anything. The doctor told him it's like shock or something. He may never remember what happened."

"Who else was there?"

She gave him a confused look.

"Who else was in the hospital room when you spoke with him?" Bailey enunciated each word sarcastically.

"No one. What are you so uptight about?"

"I just want to know exactly what he said."

She unsnapped her brassiere and tossed it. "I asked him to tell me about what happened at Hartmann's house. He said he couldn't remember ... just plain couldn't remember. That was about it." Her tits jiggled as she massaged a red bra mark on her shoulder.

"Carr is a sneaky son-of-a-bitch. A rotten, underhanded snake."

"What makes you say that?"

"I know him. He's trying to get me in trouble because of what happened to his partner."

"Do you think he told Kelly to act as if he can't remember what happened?"

Without answering, Bailey went over to a liquor cabinet. He poured whiskey into a glass, sipped.

"You didn't answer my question," Delsey said as she followed him into the living room. She unzipped her skirt, let it drop to her ankles. She kicked it back into the bedroom.

"Can't you pick up your things?" Bailey said angrily. "Is there some reason why you can't keep your clothes off the fucking floor?"

Hands on hips, she stared at him for a moment. "I think you need to let off some steam." She strutted back into the bedroom. Moments later, she returned to the living room holding an amyl-nitrate capsule between her thumb and index finger. With a coy smile she held it up as if it were a nugget of gold. She pulled off her panties. Having moved over to him, she shoved a hand down his trousers and massaged his cock. He felt himself becoming erect and reached between her legs. Teasingly, she stepped away from him and dropped to the floor. She lay on her back and spread her legs, massaging her pussy.

As he stared at the generous mound of hair between her legs, he tore off his clothing. His cock throbbed. He dropped to the floor and, without preliminaries of any kind,
mounted her. They screwed fiercely. Delsey Piper moaned and made staccato yelps. "Tell me when," she whispered. "Tell me when, tell me when, tell me when..."

"Now!" he said as he felt the first surge of orgasm.

Deftly, she broke the capsule and shoved it under his nose; almond fumes. He inhaled deeply. The almond- smelling drug caused his heart and blood to race. His orgasm doubled, tripled. He moaned and squirmed in pleasure. Delsey Piper dug her fingernails into his buttocks as if to wring him dry.

Finally, he was spent. He rolled off her and drew deep breaths. His heartbeat returned to normal.

Delsey kissed him on the cheek and said something about wanting to go out to dinner.

Ignoring her, he breathed deeply a few more times, crawled to his feet and staggered to the bathroom. He showered for at least a half hour, taking special care to clean his fingernails, feet and ears. He washed his hair until it was squeaky-clean. When he finally turned off the shower, the phone was ringing. He heard Delsey answer it. "It's Bones," she said, stepping into the bathroom.

"Tell him I'll call him back."

"He says it's important."

Travis Bailey slung a towel over his shoulders and went to the phone. "I told you not to call me at home."

"Amanda would like to speak with you," Bones said. "She would like you to come over right now so she could speak to you."

"Are you at your place?"

"Yes."

"Is she going along with the program?"

"No, not at all."

"Tell him to get his ass over here right now," Amanda Kennedy said. She sounded as if she were close to the phone.

"She says she'd like you to come over-"

"I heard her. Don't let her leave until I get there. Do you understand that?"

"Sure," Chagra said. The phone clicked.

Bailey returned to the bathroom, where he dried off completely. Moving to the bedroom closet, he dressed slowly as he thought about what Amanda Kennedy had told him when he interviewed her at the Women's jail. He relived his confrontation with Carr. Dressed in slacks and a sport shirt, he combed his hair for a long time. He shoved a snub-nosed revolver, which he always carried off duty, in the waistband of his trousers.

"I want to go out to dinner," Delsey said when he came out of the bedroom. She remained lying on the floor where he'd left her.

Wordlessly he stuffed his car keys into a pants pocket and headed out the door.

Answering the knock, Bones Chagra let Bailey into his apartment. Amanda Kennedy sat on the sofa with her hands folded across her chest. The walls of the spacious apartment were covered with barroom photographs of Chagra in his bartender's outfit, posturing with smiling movie and television stars. In the corner of the room was a metal, chair-like device with two padded bicycle seats facing each other at different elevations. A plastic vibrator rested on one of the seats.

Bailey moved casually to the sofa and took a seat.

Amanda Kennedy stared straight ahead. "Are you aware that he brought me here against my will?" she asked. "When he picked me up at the jail, I asked him to take me home. He refused and drove straight over here. You're a policeman. Isn't taking someone against their will a crime? Isn't it called kidnapping?"

Bailey frowned at Chagra. "I apologize," he said. "Bones isn't the most diplomatic person in the world. Could we just chat for a few minutes before I drive you home?"

"There's nothing to chat about. I told him the same thing I'll tell you. If my case is not dismissed ... and I mean
dismissed,
not just fixed to probation, you people are in trouble. I don't know what happened to Lee Sheboygan but I have a pretty good idea. We were friends and he told me all about you." She turned to Bones. "And you."

"How do I know what you're telling me is true?" Bailey said.

"Lee told me that you and some guy that's a stage hypnotist gave him the addresses and that he and Bones did the rest. He said that some of the biggest jewelers in Beverly Hills bought the stolen diamonds and gold and that the paintings went to two art galleries on La Cienega Boulevard. Now do you believe me?"

Bailey felt a tingling sensation in the tips of his fingers. "I believe you," he said, forcing a wry smile.

"And?"