Hollywood Station (28 page)

"Why, you filthy anti-Semitic surfer swine," Nate said.

"You inviting Budgie?" Flotsam asked.

"Probably," Nate said.

"Okay, we'll come. My partner admires her from afar."

They stopped the banter when B. M. Driscoll and Benny Brewster came in looking very grim. Both began quickly and quietly undressing.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Jetsam asked. "They taking Wrestlemania off the air?"

"You don't wanna know," B. M. Driscoll said, almost tearing the buttons from his uniform shirt as though he just wanted out of it. "Bad shit. Little kids."

"So lighten up," Flotsam said. "Don't you guys listen to the Oracle? This Job can be fun. Get happy."

Suddenly, Jetsam did his Bono impersonation, singing, "Two shots of happy, one shot of saaaaaad."

Benny Brewster peeled off his body armor and furiously crammed the vest into the locker, saying, "No shots of happy tonight, man. Just one shot of sad. Real sad."

Chapter
THIRTEEN

EXCUSE ME, PLEASE, Andrea," Viktor Chernenko said late in the morning. There were only six detectives in the squad room, the rest being out in the field or in court or, in the case of Hollywood detectives, nonexistent due to the manpower shortage and budget constraints.

"Yes, Viktor?" Andi said, smiling over her coffee cup, fingers still on the computer keyboard.

"I think you are looking very lovely today, Andrea," Viktor said with his usual diffident smile. "I believe I recognize your most beautiful yellow sweater from the Bananas Republic, where my wife, Maria, shops."

"Yeah, I bought it there."

Then he walked back to his cubicle. This was the way with Viktor. He wanted something, but it might take him half a day to get around to asking. On the other hand, nobody ever paid her the compliments that Viktor did when he needed a woman detective for something or other.

Andi was glad to see that Brant Hinkle was still teamed with Viktor, and because of that she'd probably agree to do whatever Viktor got around to requesting. Ever since Brant had arrived, her belief in his possibilities kept increasing. She'd checked him out by now and found that he'd just turned fifty-three, had only been married and divorced once-a rarity among cops these days-had two adult married daughters, and based on his serial number, had about five more years on the Job than she had. In other words, he was a likely prospect. And she knew he was interested by the way he looked at her, but as yet he hadn't made a move.

Another twenty minutes passed and she was about to go out in the field and call on a couple of witnesses to a so-called attempted murder where a pimp/boyfriend slapped around a whore and fired two shots in her direction when she ran away. Without a doubt, the whore would have changed her mind by now or had it changed for her and all would be forgiven. But Andi needed to go through the motions just in case tomorrow night he murdered her.

"Andrea," Viktor said when he approached her desk the second time.

"Yes, Viktor."

"Will you be so kind to help Brant and me? We have a mission for a woman, and as you see, today you are the only woman here."

"How long will it take?"

"A few hours, and I would be honored to buy your lunch."

Andi glanced over at Brant Hinkle, who was talking on the phone, wearing little half-glasses as he wrote on a legal pad, and she said, "Okay, Viktor. My damaged hooker can wait."

Viktor drove east to Glendale with Andi beside him and Brant in the backseat. Viktor was very solicitous, apologizing because the air conditioner didn't work in their car.

"So okay," Andi said, "all I have to do is tail this Russian guy from his job at the auto parts store to wherever he eats lunch?"

Viktor said, "We have been told that he always walks to a fast-food place, but there are several that are close by."

Brant said, "Viktor's informant says this guy Lidorov is very tail conscious, but he probably won't be looking for a woman to be on him."

"And all we do is get a DNA sample?"

"That is all," Viktor said. "My informant is sometimes reliable, sometimes not."

"Your evidence for a DNA comparison isn't all that reliable either," she said, turning in her seat to look at Brant, who raised his eyebrows as if to say, Viktor is obsessive.

Viktor said, "Andrea, when I did my follow-up investigation and found the cigarette butt in that jewelry store far behind the cabinet, I know in my heart it was left there by the suspect."

"Even though the victim was too terrified to remember for sure if the guy left the butt or took it with him," Brant said doubtfully.

"It is an intestines feeling," Viktor said. "And this Russian in Glendale has two convictions for armed robbery of jewelry stores."

"I've heard you say you're not sure the man from the jewelry store two-eleven is even a Russian," Andi said.

Viktor said, "The accent that the store owner heard from the man was different from the woman's. But everybody is Russian Mafia to people in Hollywood. Actually, Glendale has a very big Armenian population. Many go to the Gulag, where my tip has come from. Criminals from all over former USSR go to the Gulag to drink and dine, including criminals from former Soviet Armenia. But for now, we have this Russian who was a jewel robber in his past life."

"This isn't much to go on," Andi said.

"We have nothing else," Viktor said. "Except I believe that a theft of mail from a certain mailbox on Gower is where the information about the diamonds was learned about. If only I could get a clue to the mail thief."

"We can't stake out every mailbox in the area, Viktor," Brant said.

"No, Brant, we cannot," Viktor said. "So that is why I would like to try this thing today. I know it is a far shot."

They parked on the next block, and Viktor diligently watched the front door of the auto parts store through binoculars while Andi turned in her seat to chat with Brant about how he liked Hollywood so far and where was he on the lieutenant's list.

Brant was surprised to learn that Andi had a son in the army serving in Afghanistan, and said, "Don't think I say this to all the ladies, but really, you don't look old enough."

"I'm plenty old enough," she said, hoping she hadn't blushed. Next thing, she'd be batting her lashes if she didn't get hold of herself.

"I think Afghanistan's fairly quiet these days," he said.

"Last year he was in Iraq," she said. "I don't like to think about how I felt during those months."

Brant was quiet then, feeling very lucky to have daughters living safe lives. He couldn't imagine how it must feel to have your only child over there in hell. Especially for coppers, whose assertive, in-your-face personality is of absolutely no use in such a situation. To just feel helpless and frightened all the time? He believed it must be extra hard for the parents who are police officers.

Viktor lowered the binoculars, picked up a mug shot from his lap, and said, "It is Lidorov. He is wearing a black shirt and jeans. He has what looks like hair made of patent leather and has a gray mustache and is of medium size. He is walking toward the big mall half a block from the auto parts store."

Andi was dropped on the east side of the mall and walked inside a minute after Lidorov entered. At first she thought she'd lost him, but heading toward the food court she spotted him.

Lidorov paused before the Greek deli, where two Latino men were making gyros, then moved on to an Italian takeout, where another young Latino was expertly tossing a pizza. Then he settled on Chinese fast food and ordered something in a carton along with a soft drink in a takeout cup. From another Latino.

Andi watched from the Italian side and wondered if chopsticks would be better or worse than forks for the collecting of DNA evidence. But Lidorov shook his head when offered chopsticks and took a plastic fork instead. He sat down at one of three small tables in front of the counter and ate from the carton and sipped his drink and ogled any young women who happened to pass by.

When he got up, she was ready to bus his table for him and scoop up the fork and the drinking straw. But she never got the chance. He took the unfinished carton of food with him along with the cup and strolled back toward the entrance, drinking from the straw. She assumed the fork was in the carton, so now what?

Lidorov went out the door into the sunlight, stretched a little, and strolled right past two perfectly good trash receptacles where he could have dropped the carton and the cup.

Litter, you bastard! Andi thought, following as far as she dared. But since there were few pedestrians on the sidewalk, she crossed over to the other side of the street and waited to be picked up.

When Viktor drove alongside, she got in and said, "Sorry, Viktor. He's taking his lunch back to the store."

"Is okay, Andrea," Viktor said.

"Whoops!" Brant said, looking through the binoculars. "He's not a litterbug."

Two minutes later they were parked just east of the little strip mall that housed the auto parts store. Next to the wall in the parking lot was a very tall trash dumpster sitting on a thick concrete slab. All three detectives were standing in front of it with the lid raised.

Viktor and Brant, who were both more than six feet tall, pulled themselves up, their feet off the asphalt, and peered down inside the dumpster.

After getting back down, Viktor said to Andi, "Do you want the news that is good or the news that is not so good?"

"Good," Andi said.

Brant said, "Looks like they dumped the trash this morning. There's hardly anything in there. We can see the Chinese takeout carton and the drinking cup and straw."

"Bad news?"

"We can't reach it without somebody climbing inside," Brant said.

"Well, I guess one of you fashion plates is going to get your suit dirty," Andi said.

"Andrea," said Viktor, "I am so outside of good shape that I truly do not think I can do it. I am thinking that if I spread my coat over the top here so that you do not mess up the beautiful sweater from Bananas, you could lie down over the top here and reach down and get the fork and the straw?"

"And how do I keep from falling in right on my head?"

"We would each hold you by a leg," Brant said.

"Oh, you think it's a good idea too?"

"I swear to you, Andi," Brant said. "I don't think I could do it without a ladder. And if we mess around here much longer, somebody's gonna see us and the element of surprise will be lost. Even if we do get a match, he'll be long gone, maybe clear back to Russia."

"My heroes," Andi said, slipping off her pumps. "Good thing I'm wearing long pants."

With each man holding a bare foot, Andi was boosted up to the edge of the dumpster, lying across Viktor's suit coat, and very reluctantly she allowed herself to be lowered upside down until she got hold of the carton and the cup.

"Get me outta here. It stinks," she said.

When they were back in the car, the fork and drinking straw in a large evidence envelope, Viktor said, "My coat must go to the cleaners. How is your sweater, Andrea?"

"Other than busting a bra strap and bruising my belly and thighs, I'm okay. This lunch better be good, Viktor."

It was. Viktor took them to a whimsically designed Russian restaurant on Melrose, where they had borscht and black bread and blinis and hot tea in a glass. And even got to hear dreamy Russian violins coming from the sound system, with Viktor acting every inch the host.

"Sometimes they make Ukrainian dishes here," he told them, as they drank their tea.

"I don't think I'll do Pilates tonight," Andi said. "You guys stretched every muscle in my body."

"Speaking of muscles, yours are way better developed than mine," Brant said. "Your legs are buff. I mean, they felt strong when I was holding them."

That look again. Andi was sure he'd make a move after today's little exercise. Maybe after they got back to the station and Viktor was otherwise occupied.

"I try to stay in shape in case I'm called on for dumpster diving," she said. "They should make it an event in the police Olympics."

When Viktor went to the restroom, Brant said, "Andi, I was wondering if maybe sometime you might like to join me for dinner at a new trendier-than-trendy-ever-gets restaurant called Jade that I've been reading about."

Thinking, At last! she said, "I'd like to have dinner with you, but that's pretty pricey. I read a review."

He said, "My daughters're long past child support and my ex remarried ten years ago, so I'm independently comfortable. But on second thought, maybe I'm too old for a place like Jade."

"You look younger than I do," she said.

"Bless you, my child," Brant said. "So is it a date?"

"Yeah, let's try it on Thursday to avoid the weekend rush. Wonder how I should dress."

"Anything you wear would look great," he said, and dropped his eyes in a shy way after he said it.

Andi thought, Those green eyes! This one's going to take me to heaven or bust me down to the ground. Her heart was pounding when Viktor returned to the table.