I can handle it.”
“I’m sure you can, babe,” Wayne said and smiled. “Come by anytime.”
Just before the door closed I caught a glimpse of Karl staring at me from the sofa, his black eyes flat and hard.
17
I GOT INTO JUNE’S CAR and waited for a while, watching the door of the Redmond, but I didn’t feel very cozy. It was true, as Wayne hadn’t needed to remind me, that the neighborhood wasn’t the greatest. Men alone and men in groups passed by me, not very purposeful and unsteady on their feet, but still menacing somehow. Nobody went in or out of the Redmond, and after fifteen minutes of freezing and feeling more and more vulnerable, I drove off to find a phone booth.
“June, it’s Pam. Can you meet me at the Burger King on First and Pike in ten minutes?”
“I’ve already had dinner, thanks.”
“It’s not to eat. It’s to help me shadow someone.”
There was a pause of exasperation and then June said, “You are really taking this too far, girl.”
“Come on, June, they’d recognize me. I need some reinforcements.”
“ Some people have children they just can’t up and leave when the notion strikes them.”
“Can’t you take them to your mother’s?”
“Somebody has my car last I knew. Besides, Eddy’s here. We’re having a nice quiet evening watching TV.”
“That’s even better,” I said. “I’ll pick you both up in five minutes.”
I knew Eddy only slightly but I liked him. He was tall and quiet with a closely clipped Afro and glasses. He worked for City Light and I approved of him choosing June for company. She stirred him up and he calmed her down.
“I thought we were going to Burger King?” she said as I drove past it.
“No, I want you two to watch and see if this guy Wayne and his friend are in the Virginia Inn. Just go in there and have a drink and look for them. Wayne is kind of short, and good-looking and muscular, and he has reddish-blond hair and a tan, and he might be wearing a Hawaiian shirt. The other guy is bald with a black beard and a kind of blank mean look.”
June and Eddy glanced at each other.
“Like I said, June,” Eddy remarked. “Why stay at home watching Miami Vice when you can be living it here on the streets of Seattle?”
I dropped them off and parked the car. I spent an hour or so watching the activity on First and shivering, trying to put together what I’d learned today.
Everything that Beth, Melanie and even Rob had said had led me to believe that Trish was too dependent on Wayne for her own good. Which made her reluctance to see him after Rosalie’s death pretty strange. According to Beth he was a manipulative pimp, with other girls, including Rosalie maybe, in his stable. Rob thought he was a nice kid, just a little spoiled by his mother, and Melanie loathed him. But even if he were a thoroughly corrupt character, what motive would he have for killing Rosalie and whisking Trish away? Assuming he lived off them, it wasn’t likely he’d want to lose the income. He may have lied about not knowing where Trish was, but it didn’t follow that he was a murderer. Whereas Karl looked like he could kill someone without blinking a matte black eye. If he had been the one to murder Rosalie he might have good reasons for wanting Trish away from the scene. Trish had said she was worried someone had seen her. Was it Karl?
And then there was Rob. I didn’t want to completely rule him out. There’d been so much venom in his red face when he’d talked about Trish. Male murderers were often obsessed with the sexuality of their victims, seeing them as depraved beings it was their duty to eradicate. And he had a bad temper and used to beat Trish, even though he’d denied it. And what had Melanie said? “He’d kill me if I got involved with Patti again.” It was a long shot, but maybe he’d been following Trish, maybe he’d arranged to meet her to tell her something and Rosalie had gotten there first.
Maybe Rosalie wasn’t the
“I’m sure you can, babe,” Wayne said and smiled. “Come by anytime.”
Just before the door closed I caught a glimpse of Karl staring at me from the sofa, his black eyes flat and hard.
17
I GOT INTO JUNE’S CAR and waited for a while, watching the door of the Redmond, but I didn’t feel very cozy. It was true, as Wayne hadn’t needed to remind me, that the neighborhood wasn’t the greatest. Men alone and men in groups passed by me, not very purposeful and unsteady on their feet, but still menacing somehow. Nobody went in or out of the Redmond, and after fifteen minutes of freezing and feeling more and more vulnerable, I drove off to find a phone booth.
“June, it’s Pam. Can you meet me at the Burger King on First and Pike in ten minutes?”
“I’ve already had dinner, thanks.”
“It’s not to eat. It’s to help me shadow someone.”
There was a pause of exasperation and then June said, “You are really taking this too far, girl.”
“Come on, June, they’d recognize me. I need some reinforcements.”
“ Some people have children they just can’t up and leave when the notion strikes them.”
“Can’t you take them to your mother’s?”
“Somebody has my car last I knew. Besides, Eddy’s here. We’re having a nice quiet evening watching TV.”
“That’s even better,” I said. “I’ll pick you both up in five minutes.”
I knew Eddy only slightly but I liked him. He was tall and quiet with a closely clipped Afro and glasses. He worked for City Light and I approved of him choosing June for company. She stirred him up and he calmed her down.
“I thought we were going to Burger King?” she said as I drove past it.
“No, I want you two to watch and see if this guy Wayne and his friend are in the Virginia Inn. Just go in there and have a drink and look for them. Wayne is kind of short, and good-looking and muscular, and he has reddish-blond hair and a tan, and he might be wearing a Hawaiian shirt. The other guy is bald with a black beard and a kind of blank mean look.”
June and Eddy glanced at each other.
“Like I said, June,” Eddy remarked. “Why stay at home watching Miami Vice when you can be living it here on the streets of Seattle?”
I dropped them off and parked the car. I spent an hour or so watching the activity on First and shivering, trying to put together what I’d learned today.
Everything that Beth, Melanie and even Rob had said had led me to believe that Trish was too dependent on Wayne for her own good. Which made her reluctance to see him after Rosalie’s death pretty strange. According to Beth he was a manipulative pimp, with other girls, including Rosalie maybe, in his stable. Rob thought he was a nice kid, just a little spoiled by his mother, and Melanie loathed him. But even if he were a thoroughly corrupt character, what motive would he have for killing Rosalie and whisking Trish away? Assuming he lived off them, it wasn’t likely he’d want to lose the income. He may have lied about not knowing where Trish was, but it didn’t follow that he was a murderer. Whereas Karl looked like he could kill someone without blinking a matte black eye. If he had been the one to murder Rosalie he might have good reasons for wanting Trish away from the scene. Trish had said she was worried someone had seen her. Was it Karl?
And then there was Rob. I didn’t want to completely rule him out. There’d been so much venom in his red face when he’d talked about Trish. Male murderers were often obsessed with the sexuality of their victims, seeing them as depraved beings it was their duty to eradicate. And he had a bad temper and used to beat Trish, even though he’d denied it. And what had Melanie said? “He’d kill me if I got involved with Patti again.” It was a long shot, but maybe he’d been following Trish, maybe he’d arranged to meet her to tell her something and Rosalie had gotten there first.
Maybe Rosalie wasn’t the
Similar Books
