Cold Blood (54 page)

Br^sakfast arrived, and the waitress set up a trolley, placing a big bowl of fniit: and another pot of coffee on it, and throughout the nervous tapping o rŁ~ Lorraine’s foot never stopped.

“Ycr>u interview the bellboy at Caley’s hotel, Errol, scare him up a bit, Bill. Ft e showed Ruby Corbello in, delivered a message for her, and he’s not op Ťsned his little pillbox hat about that to me or to the police.”

Loarraine drained her can of Coke, then spooned sonie sugar into her black czroffee.

“D-on’t you want honey?”

said Rosie.

“All you got to do is ask.”

“Si_a.gar’s fine.”

tk.

Ro:sie was watching Lorraine closely; mayH she was wrong, but somehow shť_ e was sure that Lorraine was drinking. She was searching her pack of Mar Hboro Lights as if she thought there was a stray one left inside, then suddently threw the empty pack aside.

“Yo’-u need a fresh pack?”

“La_ter,”

Lorraine said, her foot still kicking.

“Okay, this is what goes down today. You stay well clear of Caley, Bill. I don’t want to go near the hotel t> ecause I don’t want to confront him yet! Okay, Rosie, job for you. Check all taxi companies and see if they got a logbook of cab rides the night y^jina Louise disappeared.”

Roc^mey nodded and looked at Rosie.

“We know they’ve been questioned .and they have come up with diddly-squat, so this time give them the date, February fifteenth, the time, about seven o’clock, and Tilda Brown’ .s address. Maybe one will remember if you say a purse was found and ha^ never been claimed, and a cabbie handed it in to lost property. Fat chance-in this place, but see what you can get, Rosie, say you’re looking for the guy to pass over a reward, I dunno, make something up, but don’t mention Anna Louise Caley or anything to do with our case.”

Rosie nodded: she liked it when Bill let the old Captain Rooney show, even though she had never known him when he was on the force. Lorraine flipped over her notes as Rooney tapped her elbow and said,

“Maybe I should see if the police have searched Fryer’s place for that necklace.”

“Yeah, good thinking. If they haven’t, ask them to, or maybe you take one of them with you. That guy you paid the five hundred bucks to might help out, an’ if necessary pay him more. But don’t you go on your own, Bill, it’s in a bad neighborhood.”

“You did!”

She nodded.

“Yeah, I know, and it was dumb, but somehow I think they’re such a bunch of male chauvinist bastards around here I’d get away with it. Big guy like you might not, and they got barmen in there like snakes, and a few with muscles, so just do like I said, don’t take risks.”

Rosie smiled and pushed her chair back.

“Lemme go get you some smokes, won’t take a second. They got packs at reception.”

Lorraine looked up at her and smiled.

“Thanks, Rosie.”

Rooney started to peel an apple.

“So, anything else on the agenda? I mean, I know what I’m doing, what about you?”

Lorraine frowned.

“We’re moving,”

Bill went on,

“but… you know we’re still no closer to finding Anna Louise Caley, no matter how much information we’ve come up with. Getting as far as we have has been time-consuming, and time is one thing we don’t have. Without that diary, without proof there was some sexual thing going on between Caley and Tilda Brown, it’ll be his word against yours, and that won’t look good in a transcript of the investigation. Like ‘When did you discuss this possible sexual motive?’ ‘Oh, when I was being screwed by the defendant.’”

Lorraine sucked in her breath and turned away.

“You hit below the belt sometimes, Bill.”

“But all the same, you know I’m right.”

Lorraine nodded.

“Come on, Bill, it’s not that bad, and maybe we’ll get some joy with cabdrivers.”

Rooney munched on the apple.

“You think so? Well, have a look over the old case sheets, every cabdriver from every district was questioned and shown photographs of Anna Louise Caley. Nobody admitted picking her up, seeing her. It was the first part of the investigation by every private dick hired and all the cops, here and in LA. They got nothing. You want a slice of apple?”

Lorraine smiled and opened her mouth like a fledgling in a nest.

“Sure, I like it peeled, always tastes different, doesn’t it?”

Rosie had told reception that she wanted to collect something from Lorraine’s room, and as the girl behind the desk knew they were all friends, she handed Rosie Lorraine’s room key. Rosie was fast; she knew the places she used to hide bottles, so it didn’t take her long to find Lorraine’s hidden stash. She left the bottles where she had found them and walked out.

“One pack of cancer sticks,”

she said as she tossed the cigarettes on the table, and watched while Lorraine picked up her notebook and rose to go.

“We should talk some more,”

Rosie said quietly.

“I’m all talked out, Rosie, we haven’t got the time to sit around gassing.”

“You need to go to a meeting, Lorraine.”

Rooney patted Rosie’s hand.

“Maybe let that go for a while.”

“We can’t let it go, Bill. We can’t, can we, Lorraine?”

“Sure, we can. I got more important things on my mind right now, Rosie, and so should you.”

Rosie picked up the empty can of Coke, smelled it, then held it lightly in her hand.

“Maybe you can pull the wool over Bill’s eyes and maybe even over your own, but you can’t pull it over mine. I know Lorraine, and this … here, Bill, smell the can, it’s been laced with vodka. One of the biggest myths in history is the belief that vodka doe|Ť[t smell it does, believe me, it does.”

P

“What’s she talking about?”

Rooney asked.

“Tell him, Lorraine, why don’t you tell him how much you had to have to get yourself down to breakfast? Not that you ate anything.”

“Get off my back, Rosie.”

Rosie smashed the can down.

“For Chrissakes, Lorraine, don’t be such an idiot, you can’t get away with it, you maybe think you can, but you can’t.”

“What the fuck is going on?”

Rooney asked.

“Tell him, Lorraine, go on, tell him!”

“Leave me alone,”

Lorraine snapped.

“No can do, we’ve got too much at stake. She’s drinking, Bill, she’s started up drinking.”

Rooney sat back.

“Oh shit, this is all we need. For Chrissakes, Lorraine, are you out of your mind?”

Lorraine wouldn’t look at either of them, but fumbled with the new pack of cigarettes, trying to unwrap it.

“She’s got bottles stashed in her room,”

Rosie said flatly.

“Is this true?”

Bill asked, sadness in his voice.

“Do you think I’m lying? I’ve just been in her room,”

Rosie snapped, and Rooney looked at her sharply.

“Rosie, do me a favor, just leave us a second, will you? I mean it, go on, go wait in the lobby.”

Rosie pursed her lips, then pushed back her chair.

“Fine, but I’m not waiting long. Like she said, we’re running out of time.”

Rooney struck a match and lit Lorraine’s cigarette; she inhaled deeply.

“You need it that bad, huh?”

Lorraine let the smoke drift from her nose.

“I need it, Billy, but it’s under control, I promise. I just need something for a while, then I’ll go to one of her fucking meetings.”

“Can you control it?”

He reached for her hand, but she withdrew it.

When she spoke her voice was low and husky.

“Please don’t bring up that kid I shot, please don’t. All I need is a stopgap, just to keep me steady. If I don’t have it I’ll fold, because I feel so bad inside.”

“Is it Caley?”

She nodded, then sighed.

“Yeah, it’s him. I really liked him, Billy, and to be honest, I felt that maybe, just maybe I could have some love in my life. Then there was Nickhe was such a good guy. Sometimes it feels like whenever somebody is nice to me, loves me just a little bit, I foul it up, or it gets fouled up some other way, and I get so lonely”

“You know,”

he said softly,

“Rosie and me both love you. She really cares, and I just don’t want to see you fuck up.”

She gave him that rare, sweet smile.

“I promise that if you just let me get through this, at least until the time runs out on the case, I’ll keep myself steady. In fact, I’ll try not to touch the fucking stuff, I can’t say more than that.”

Rooney nodded.

“Okay, but if you do foul up, then …”

He sighed.

“Don’t destroy yourself, Lorraine, because you’re too good, too smart, and you’re one hell of an investigator, better than I could ever be, better than most I ever met.”

“Thanks. Now you go and talk to Rosie, we’ve got a lot to be getting on with.”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Just promise me you’ll talk to us when you need to, because we’re here for you.”

She watched him walk away, ashamed, but unable to cry. She’d already done too much of that. Rooney joined Rosie in the lobby as Lorraine shot past; she smiled, but didn’t slow her pace.

“Any chance you telling us where we can reach you? Just in case we come up with something/’ Rosie blurted out, and Lorraine turned.

“I’m on my way to Tilda Brown’s home and then I’ll be back here, dunno how long it will take.”

The doors swung after her as she disappeared and jumped into her car. Rosie would have gone after her, but Rooney held her arm.

“Let her go, Rosie, let her go.”

She glared at him.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, she’s back on the booze, Bill.”

“I know,”

he said sadly, tilting Rosie’s chin up to make her look at him.

“We can try to take care of her, but we can’t stop her, she’s got something inside her neither of us has.”

“Oh yeah, well, let me tell you

“

“No,”

he said firmly,

“let me tell you. She feels more guilt than either of us ever will, and if she needs liquor to get her through this, then we will just have to let it go and look after her as best we canwe don’t have much time left as it is. She’s aware of it all, Rosie, believe me, she knows, and I trust her.”

Rosie shrugged.

“Okay, but if she carries on this way, Vienna and China won’t happen because she won’t be abjg to function.”

He straightened up.

“But we will, and \Mgot a lot to do, so let’s get moving.”

Robert Caley was now becoming angry at Lorraine’s silence; it just didn’t make any sense to him. Then he began to get a little uneasy as to why she had not called, so he tried to contact her again. As he was dialing her hotel number, there was a light rap on his door. He opened it, and the bellboy hovered.

“Yes?”

Caley snapped.

Errol looked down the corridor and back at Caley.

“What do you want?”

“Er, can I come in, sir? It’s just, someone’s been asking me questions and I’m not sure what to say.”

Caley sighed and opened the door wider.

“What is it?”

Errol took off his pillbox hat.

“I’m a friend of Ruby Corbello’s, Mr. Caley, it was me that brought you the note that night last year.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about, what note, what night?”

Errol stepped from one foot to the other.

“Night you first arrived last year, Mr. Caley, Ruby give me a note for you and I passed it to you and then you met her down by the pool, sir.”

Caley took a deep breath, and reached for his wallet.

“No, I don’t recall ever speaking to you or Miss Corbello in fact I have no idea who she is. Now, how much do I owe you?”

Errol licked his lips, peered to the half-open door.

“You see, there was this guy stopped me on my way in to work and asked me about it. I said I never passed no note, and”

Caley’s eyes were like ice.

“You didn’t, and I never received anything that night. Now here’s a hundred bucks, get out and stay out, or you’ll lose your job. And when my casino opens I am going to need employees with good recommendations and experience, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir.”

Caley kicked the door shut after Errol, not too worried. If it ever came to it, it would be his word against the boy’s. But he knew he would also have to make Ruby Corbello understand that she too had better keep her mouth shut. There was no diarythat had been destroyed immediately but he just didn’t like any loose ends, especially now when everything was looking so good. At no time did Caley connect the diary and Tilda to his missing daughter. She was gradually fading from his mind, and she hadn’t been his own daughter anyway, but she had been useful.

Lloyd Dulay had not liked it one bit when Caley had said that if the accusations that he had had a sexual relationship with Anna Louise were not publicly retracted, he would sue, and obviously it would have to come out that Anna Louise was in fact Dulay’s daughter. He was merely threatening, but Dulay had taken him seriously and suggested that if in place of a retraction of any stupid gossip he demonstrated full cooperation with Caley in the new partnership negotiations, that would be advantageous on both counts. On the one hand it would dismiss the allegations and prove they were simply ridiculous, because if a man of Lloyd Dulay’s standing considered entering a business deal with someone he had accused of having sexual relations with his young daughter, then it couldn’t be true. And on the other hand it would not be necessary to bring up the fact that Anna Louise was actually Lloyd Dulay’s child. And he used the fact that poor Elizabeth was of such a nervous disposition he did not wish her to be put through some awful scandal in the papers. Dulay had come around^all rightand he hadn’t taken much pushing.

Caley did not use his own driver, but walked a short distance from the hotel, then took the streetcar a few stops before flagging down a passing . . i u:_ ^ Ff1;tVl Corbello’s.

LYNDA LA PLANTS 349

Lorraine had returned to Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s home. They had been talking quietly for almost half an hour, and it had been a testing, drawnout time. They could not remember when they had last seen Tilda with Anna Louise or with Robert Caley. As far as they knew, their daughter had no problems, none. That was why they were finding it so difficult to come to terms with her death.