Part 19 (1/2)

”Correct. The DA's ready to prosecute Ed Pappas for the murder of Dax Martin.”

”Why? The evidence is circ.u.mstantial.”

”There's pressure from the US Attorney's Office to wrap up the investigation.”

”And you buy that?”

”Not necessarily. Mostly because of what you just told me, but if you know where Ed Pappas is, you should have him surrender with his attorney.” Beavers never asked me if Ed was actually at my house or if I knew where he was. He knew me too well. Beavers trusted me to do the right thing. It was a sign he might be thawing-too bad it was too late.

I hung up the phone.

”Is it safe to come out?”

”Let me close the drapes in the living room first.”

We sat at the kitchen table, drinking wine. I told Ed about my conversation with Beavers. ”The good news is he no longer believes you're a suspect, but he says you need to call your attorney and surrender yourself voluntarily. Arlo Beavers is a smart detective. He'll get to the truth, especially if we give him all we know.”

Ed rubbed his forehead. ”We should ask Simon, especially since I'm about to be arrested.”

Ed called Simon Aiken and told him about the cops coming to arrest him. Then he handed the phone to me. ”Simon wants to talk to you.”

”Hey, Martha. You don't want to be arrested for harboring a fugitive. I'll be there at five-thirty to pick up Ed and surrender him to the police. Dana just called to alert the DA, so the cops shouldn't be bothering you again, even though they have a warrant. If they do show up, just let Ed go quietly. Make sure they see you recording the arrest on your cell phone. That should keep things peaceful.” Aiken referred to the LAPD's reputation for shooting suspects at the slightest provocation.

”Okay. Simon, did you hear what happened at the wildlife reserve this morning?”

”No.”

I filled him in on the devastation of the area by Valley Allstar Construction, the confrontation with Lawanda Price, and her threat. ”Simon, I'm not sure working with the Feds to get refugee status for Javier and Graciela is the safest thing to do right now. The Army Corps of Engineers took extreme measures to get rid of and intimidate any possible witnesses today when they destroyed the homeless community. Detective Beavers confirmed the DA is being pressured by the US Attorney's Office to prosecute Ed and wrap up the investigation.”

Aiken swore. ”You're right. Since the US Attorney's Office is working to protect the engineer corps, we can't let them get their hands on those witnesses.”

I told him about Pastor Sandoval's call. ”I've got a brief opportunity to speak to Javier and Graciela tonight before they leave Los Angeles. I'm going to show them Ed's picture and then I'm going to record what they say. That's probably as much as we'll ever get from them.”

”It won't be good enough in court.”

”Trust me. It'll be good enough for Arlo Beavers.”

CHAPTER 31.

Simon Aiken and Crusher converged on my house at the same time later in the afternoon. Aiken wore a navy blue suit; his engagement diamond sparkled in his ear. ”Martha, you're going to interview the witnesses tonight at nine?”

I nodded.

”Good. Hopefully, they saw enough to rule out Ed as the killer. If they do rule him out, we should be able to get him back home tomorrow.”

Ed reached in his pocket for his house key, which he placed on my coffee table next to his computer and his gun. ”Hold on to these for me?”

”Of course.” A lump filled my throat.

Aiken clapped a hand on Ed's shoulder. ”You ready, dude?”

Ed nodded.

”Then let's do this.”

I rushed to Ed and threw my arms around him. ”Don't worry. I'm going to do everything I can to help get you out of this. Detective Beavers doesn't think you're guilty either. He'll find the real killer.”

Ed Pappas held on to the hug for a long time. He whispered into my ear, ”You're my Jewish mom, Martha.” Then he kissed my cheek and looked at Crusher. ”Take care of her, bro.”

Crusher nodded and they did that dancing-hand thing guys do.

Ed squared his shoulders. ”I'm ready, man.”

Twenty minutes after they left, the doorbell rang. Detective Kaplan and the four uniforms behind him accounted for five firearms in five hands. He flashed a warrant. ”I know he's here, Ms. Rose. Step aside so we can bring him in.” Clearly, no one thought to tell Kaplan that Ed was turning himself in to the police at six.

I stepped back in disbelief and did as I was told. When Kaplan saw Crusher, he barked, ”Hands on your head, Levy!” Insidious fingers of a migraine slowly squeezed my forehead. Could this day get any worse?

Crusher looked at me, rolled his eyes, and complied. He'd discreetly slipped Ed's gun out of sight. One of the uniforms trained his gun on us while the others rushed through my house and searched every room.

I heard them, one by one, yelling, ”Clear.”

Kaplan reappeared with a scowl on his face, demanding, ”Where'd he go?”

”You must have missed the memo, Detective. Ed Pappas just turned himself in to the police with his attorney. If you want to find him, you'll have to go back to the station.”

Kaplan's face turned red and he pulled out his cell phone. After a brief conversation, he said to the uniforms, ”Pappas is in custody.”

As they walked out the front door, I said to Kaplan, ”How's your mother?”

He slammed the door and my head started pounding.

Crusher took Ed's gun out of the computer case. ”Technically, as an ex-con, I'm not allowed to touch this.” He picked up the gun, made sure a round was chambered, and slipped it back into the computer case.

I rubbed my forehead and went straight for my meds, was.h.i.+ng them down with a gla.s.s of water from the faucet in the kitchen.

Crusher looked at the brown plastic prescription bottle in my hand. ”What're those for?”

”Headache. Bad.”

He stepped close to me and gently kneaded my neck and shoulders. I slumped into the comfort of his large hands working the hard knots in my muscles. In his deep voice, he quietly murmured, ”You've had a bad day, babe. I could make it a lot better.”

I looked at him. A picture of Kerry Andreason in a hot-pink minidress shaking her tail flashed through my mind, and I was tempted, but not for long. I said the first thing I thought that might discourage Crusher. ”I'm in love with Arlo Beavers.”

Crusher was n.o.body's fool. He must have sensed my relations.h.i.+p with Beavers had completely tanked. He brushed back one of my curls and his eyes searched my face. ”How's that working out for you?”

It wasn't working out, of course, and we both knew it. Arlo laughed at me yesterday and then kissed that flirty blonde, Kerry Andreason. Later in the day, when I said the L-word, he told me we needed to talk about it. He probably wanted to tell me it was too late. Then this afternoon, he didn't even mention talking at all. He just told me to go to Lucy's house if I thought I was in danger. I turned away-anger and hurt burning in my cheeks.