had rehearsed what he was going to say so many times he felt as ready as he was ever going to be. As he walked through the door, a stout woman with her back to him was barking orders into a radio .
'3077. That's Threeee Ohhhh, Thirty. Have you got that?'
The radio static hissed for a moment.
'Roger that.'
'Stupid goddamned . . .' she stopped what she was saying when
she spotted Malone. 'I'm sorry, but this is a telephone plumbing service only.
No one is allowed in here. If you need a plumber you'll have to call . . .'
Malone interrupted her, 'I don't need a plumber, I . . .'
It was her turn to interrupt. 'There's a sign on the door saying No
Hawkers, so if you don't mind . . .'
Malone didn't realize it was going to be this difficult. 'I'm not a salesman and I don't need a plumber. I'm just a parent in need of some help!' This silenced the woman and Malone pulled out a picture of his daughter. 'My name is Michael Malone. About five years ago my daughter was abducted by someone driving a beige plumber's van. The same thing happened to another family a few days ago, and I'm meeting with all the plumbing firms in LA that have beige vans and asking for information. All the companies so far have been very helpful, and I can only assume that if any are not, then they have something to hide. Would you be willing to help me, or do you have something to hide?' Trying hard to disguise his trembling voice,
Malone felt pleased with the way his script sounded.
'We have nothing to hide. What information do you need?' the woman said as she folded her arms.
'Thank you,' Malone continued. 'If I give you the two dates and times, would you be able to account for the whereabouts of all of your plumbers?'
'A few days ago would be okay, but five years ago? Now that's stretching it. I doubt if our records go back that far.' Her tone had become softer.
It wasn't long before Malone had discovered the location of all four of their vans, and established that they were all working on the same high-rise.
The woman had heard about the Salinas girl, and wished him good luck as he left. Malone took a cab to the address of the next name on the list, and started all over again.
***
After four long and largely uneventful days, Daniel was tired of calling and Malone was tired of wild-goose chases. They discussed the future.
Daniel told him he had to go back to work or he'd lose his job. Even if it was a crappy job, it paid the rent. Malone understood, even though the expression on his face was one of rejection. His sad-puppy eyes were enough to break Daniel, so he volunteered to come around after work to help out. Malone eagerly accepted.
The days turned into weeks and the investigation went nowhere.
Malone arrived home after another fruitless day feeling completely dejected. It was time to give up on this pursuit. Since Daniel wasn't there that night, he decided he'd phone in the morning. Finding a piece of apple pie in the fridge, he threw it into the microwave, set the timer and hit the start button; the machine sprang into action and Malone watched through the glass as the pie rotated.
The phone rang, startling him; he snatched up the handset and said gruffly, 'Hello?' Daniel was on the other end. He was using his one phone call to reach Malone. After getting the basic story, Malone took a cab to the police station. Daniel had been caught helping some friends steal software from the Computer Warehouse. The plan had been simple. His friends would come in and buy a computer cable or something else of small value; in the same basket they'd have a box of software. Daniel would take money for the cable, deactivate the security chip on the software box, and they'd walk out with both the cable and the software. The first couple of times it went to plan, and on-selling the software reaped pretty good money. Then one of his friends got greedy and tried to take out three packs at once — and the floor manager got suspicious. Daniel was pulled into
'3077. That's Threeee Ohhhh, Thirty. Have you got that?'
The radio static hissed for a moment.
'Roger that.'
'Stupid goddamned . . .' she stopped what she was saying when
she spotted Malone. 'I'm sorry, but this is a telephone plumbing service only.
No one is allowed in here. If you need a plumber you'll have to call . . .'
Malone interrupted her, 'I don't need a plumber, I . . .'
It was her turn to interrupt. 'There's a sign on the door saying No
Hawkers, so if you don't mind . . .'
Malone didn't realize it was going to be this difficult. 'I'm not a salesman and I don't need a plumber. I'm just a parent in need of some help!' This silenced the woman and Malone pulled out a picture of his daughter. 'My name is Michael Malone. About five years ago my daughter was abducted by someone driving a beige plumber's van. The same thing happened to another family a few days ago, and I'm meeting with all the plumbing firms in LA that have beige vans and asking for information. All the companies so far have been very helpful, and I can only assume that if any are not, then they have something to hide. Would you be willing to help me, or do you have something to hide?' Trying hard to disguise his trembling voice,
Malone felt pleased with the way his script sounded.
'We have nothing to hide. What information do you need?' the woman said as she folded her arms.
'Thank you,' Malone continued. 'If I give you the two dates and times, would you be able to account for the whereabouts of all of your plumbers?'
'A few days ago would be okay, but five years ago? Now that's stretching it. I doubt if our records go back that far.' Her tone had become softer.
It wasn't long before Malone had discovered the location of all four of their vans, and established that they were all working on the same high-rise.
The woman had heard about the Salinas girl, and wished him good luck as he left. Malone took a cab to the address of the next name on the list, and started all over again.
***
After four long and largely uneventful days, Daniel was tired of calling and Malone was tired of wild-goose chases. They discussed the future.
Daniel told him he had to go back to work or he'd lose his job. Even if it was a crappy job, it paid the rent. Malone understood, even though the expression on his face was one of rejection. His sad-puppy eyes were enough to break Daniel, so he volunteered to come around after work to help out. Malone eagerly accepted.
The days turned into weeks and the investigation went nowhere.
Malone arrived home after another fruitless day feeling completely dejected. It was time to give up on this pursuit. Since Daniel wasn't there that night, he decided he'd phone in the morning. Finding a piece of apple pie in the fridge, he threw it into the microwave, set the timer and hit the start button; the machine sprang into action and Malone watched through the glass as the pie rotated.
The phone rang, startling him; he snatched up the handset and said gruffly, 'Hello?' Daniel was on the other end. He was using his one phone call to reach Malone. After getting the basic story, Malone took a cab to the police station. Daniel had been caught helping some friends steal software from the Computer Warehouse. The plan had been simple. His friends would come in and buy a computer cable or something else of small value; in the same basket they'd have a box of software. Daniel would take money for the cable, deactivate the security chip on the software box, and they'd walk out with both the cable and the software. The first couple of times it went to plan, and on-selling the software reaped pretty good money. Then one of his friends got greedy and tried to take out three packs at once — and the floor manager got suspicious. Daniel was pulled into
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