LITMIR.BIZ

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pounded the sucker until his fist turned red.

      Either no one was home or Whitman wasn’t answering. Decker left a business card with his phone number, instructing Chris to call the station house immediately. Then he rode the elevator back to the first floor and studied the place’s directory.

      No on-premises manager, just a small-print phone number that had been inked out and replaced with a set of new digits that were written in barely legible pencil. Decker copied the phone number down, called and got no answer.

      He took the staircase down to the apartment’s underground parking lot. Whitman drove a red Trans Am. Ten minutes of searching produced no such animal.

      He left the building, walking over to his unmarked Volare, cramming his legs under the steering wheel. Left hand drumming the dashboard, he put in a call to Devonshire Detectives. Luckily, Scott Oliver answered the Homicide desk—working Sundays to avoid his wife.

      “Hey, Rabbi,” he said. “I hear you bagged a good-looking babe.”

      “Good-looking but dead, Scotty.”

      “Bring her over anyway. She couldn’t be any worse than my last girlfriend.”

      “I need you to run a name through department files for me. Christopher Sean Whitman. Find out if he’s working Vice. If nothing pops, see if he has a yellow sheet. If you still draw blanks, run the name through NCIC.”

      “Why are you running a name through Vice, Pete? Was the stiff a hooker?”

      “Whitman was the victim’s boyfriend. I think he might be a narc. Also, do me a favor and put a lookout call for Whitman’s red Trans Am.” He gave Oliver the license number. “Call me if you come up with something. If not, I’ll call back later.”

      From his jacket, Decker pulled out the address list of Cheryl’s friends. He’d check them later. Unfortunately, there was dirtier work to be done first. Though no one had called in to ask about Cheryl Diggs’s whereabouts, the girl wasn’t an orphan.

      It was time to pay the dreaded call to her mother.

      12

      The apartment house was an iffy—one of those buildings that suffered cosmetic cracks from the earthquake but was still structurally sound. Unfortunately, the landlord didn’t think enough of the place to give it a face-lift. It was coated with dingy brown stucco, large chunks missing at corners and window frames. The planter boxes held more weeds than flowers. The directory was posted on the outside of the building, but Decker knew Cheryl’s unit number. He took the staircase up to the second floor, knocked on the corresponding door. He heard shuffling, but that was all. Someone was taking their own dear time.

      Weekends. Everyone slept late except him. On Shabbos, it was up early for shul. Since he worked his schedule around his Sabbath, he picked up the slack on Sundays. Which effectively meant he worked six days a week.

      Not that he minded his job. In fact, he got antsy if he stayed away too long. But everyone needed a break. Especially from dreaded things like grievance calls.

      He knocked again. Finally, someone answered. As soon as he saw her face, he knew what had caused her delay. She was either newly drunk or nursing a bad hangover. Watery blue eyes, puffy lids and mouth, and a nasal drip. She sniffed, then rubbed her nose. Medium-sized, voluptuous build. Not unlike her daughter except Mom had gone to seed. She wore loose cotton shorts and an oversized T-shirt that did little to hide her unbound pendulous breasts.

      He took out his badge. “Police, ma’am. I’m looking for Mrs. Janna Diggs.”

      “Gonzalez,” the woman answered. “Janna … Gonzalez! You got the name wrong.”

      “I’m looking for Cheryl Diggs’s mother. Would that be you, ma’am?”

      “Depends on what you want.”

      Decker said, “May I come in, Mrs. Gonzalez?”

      “’Pose so.”

      Janna cleared the doorway; Decker stepped inside the living room. Though he kept his face impassive, his stomach did a back flip. It was almost impossible to see furniture because it was covered with garbage—dozens of empty beer bottles, squashed aluminum cans, crumpled newspapers, rotting food, discarded paper plates and utensils, and heaps of dirty clothes. The couch had been opened into a bed. The pillowcases were uncovered, sheets wet and stained. The woman scratched her cleavage.

      “You want some coffee, Mister …” She looked confused. “Or is it Officer?”

      “No coffee, thank you, ma’am.”

      Janna pushed aside the unwashed sheets and sat on the open mattress. “Okay then. Whattha little bitch do?” She sniffed deeply. “How much is it gonna cost me?”

      Decker tried to keep his voice gentle. “Ma’am, early this morning, police discovered the body of a young teenaged girl. We have reason to believe that it might be your daughter, Cheryl.”

      Janna froze, then blinked but didn’t speak. Decker waited for another reaction but nothing came. He said, “Mrs. Gonzalez, if there’s someone you’d like to be with, someone you’d like to call, I can do that for you.”

      Janna remained silent. With great effort, Decker forced himself to park his butt on the dirty bed. “Is there something I can do for you right now, Mrs. Gonzalez?”

      She still didn’t answer.

      “Maybe pour you a drink?” Decker offered.

      The woman nodded mechanically.

      Decker went over to a small card table. Among the scattered debris was an open bottle of Wild Turkey. He held it up. “Is this all right?”

      Janna looked in his direction but said nothing. Decker found a dirty cup, rinsed it in a food-encrusted porcelain sink, and poured her a shot of bourbon. He brought it over to her. She took it, then raised it to her lips. She wiped her nose on her T-shirt.

      “Howchu … you know it’s Cheryl?”

      “Someone has initially identified your daughter from photographs taken at the crime scene. When you’re ready, and feel strong enough, we’d like you to come down and make a definitive identification.”

      “You want me to look at the body?”

      “Yes,” Decker said. “We want you to look at the body.”

      Janna rubbed her nose. “From pichures, you could tell it was Cheryl?”

      “Somebody thought it was your daughter, yes,” Decker answered.

      “You have the pichures?”

      Decker kept his face flat. “I think it would be better if you witnessed the body in person. Less chance for a mistake.”

      “But you have pichures.”

      “Yes, I do.”

      “You have them on you?”

      Inane to lie. Decker said, “They’re in my pocket.”

      Quietly, Janna said, “Lemme see.”

      Decker paused. “Mrs. Gonzalez, they were taken at the crime scene. They’re hard to look at even for a veteran like I am.”

      “That bad, huh?” Janna rubbed her eyes. “I’m stronger than I look. Lemme see.”

      Decker hesitated, then reached in his pocket and pulled out the Polaroids. Janna stared at the first one. Instantly, tears ran down her pallid cheeks. She went through the snapshots one by one, her eyes overflowing each time she studied another pose. Finally she blotted her face with her T-shirt and handed the pictures back to Decker.

      “It’s her … Cheryl.”

      “You’re sure?”

      She nodded, her lower lip quivering.

      “Can

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