Part 34 (2/2)
”Did you smell something like rotten fish?”
”Oh, yeah. Sal told me about that.”
”Well?”
”No,” said Harper. ”No rotten fish. Just the usual stench you get around a body.”
”Did you find a camera?”
”There was a cell phone. It had a camera built in, but it was damaged in the explosion. No way to check the memory chip.”
I said, ”That shot wasn't taken with a cell phone camera. Had to be from outside the property, shooting through the bars at the gate. You find a camera with a telephoto lens?”
”No.”
”So Jawarski didn't take the photo himself.”
”Either that,” said Harper, ”or he did take it and ditched the camera.”
”Why would he ditch the camera?”
”No reason that I know.”
”Makes more sense that someone gave him the photo.”
”Yeah.”
”Did you see anything else to connect him with Miss Lane?”
”Malcolm, all we have is the one photo, unless you want to fill me in with more.”
”No,” I said.
”No you can't, or no you won't?”
Olivia entered the room. She was wearing a pair of white capris with a black-and-white horizontally striped s.h.i.+rt that clung tightly to accentuate her figure. Harper stood to greet her.
”Well,” he said. ”Good morning.”
I said, ”Tom Harper, meet Olivia Soto. Olivia, this is Tom. We're old buddies.”
She gave him her hand, which he held a moment too long. I explained that Harper and I had served in the Marines together.
She smiled and said, ”That's nice.”
Harper said, ”That's quite a s.h.i.+ner. What happened to your face?”
”I fell and hurt myself last night,” said Olivia. ”Would you excuse me for a moment?” She went into the kitchen.
Harper didn't look away from her until she was out of sight behind the cabinets, then he turned to me and softly said, ”Hubba hubba.”
”You're all cla.s.s, Harper. Don't let anybody tell you different.”
”You talk to me about cla.s.s at a time like this? Who is that gorgeous girl?”
”I told you. Olivia Soto.”
”Name sounds familiar. What is she? Actress? Model?”
”Dona Elena Montes's personal a.s.sistant.”
The look in his eyes changed. ”What do you think you're doing?”
”Sitting in my living room having coffee with a friend. What are you doing, Tom?”
”This is serious. It could cause you a lot of trouble if the DA finds out you're sleeping with the Montes woman's a.s.sistant.
”I'm not sleeping with her.”
”Then what's she doing here this time of day?”
Olivia stepped back into the living room with a cup of coffee. Harper turned toward her. Every time she came into a room, it felt like a grand entrance. She crossed to the sofa with perfect grace, as if she were balancing a stack of books on her head. She settled down beside me and tucked her bare feet underneath a pillow. ”I'm here because Malcolm was worried I might have a concussion, so he wanted to keep an eye on me.”
Harper looked at me. I shrugged.
”All right,” he said. ”It's your neck on the line. Just remember I was never here, and I never saw you two together.”
We all sipped our coffee. I waited. Harper was in no hurry. He sat staring at Olivia with what appeared to be a mixture of admiration and skepticism. He took another sip of coffee. Olivia returned his stare.
He said, ”There's something else we should talk about.”
”What could that be?” asked Olivia.
”Not you and me, unfortunately. Me and Malcolm.”
”In that case, I think I'll take a walk.”
I said, ”Stay on the property, okay?”
She gave me a smile as she opened the front door. When she had stepped outside, Harper said, ”Why does she have to stay on the property?”
I almost told him about the attack at her house the night before, but that could lead too close to the fact that she was Alejandra Delarosa's daughter, and I didn't want the police to know that yet. Olivia was my only promising lead, and I hated to give her up to the police until I knew how she fit in with the home invasion charge against me.
I said, ”I'm worried about a concussion, like she told you.”
He raised one eyebrow. ”If you say so. Listen, there's a gang investigation we have going. It's been underway for about a year. Mexican mafia guys out of Santa Ana bringing cocaine across the border at Tijuana, using gringos for mules.”
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