Turning to us: “Okay ?”
“The file.” Milo held out his hand.
“Get it.” She ordered and the Jamaican fetched.
“Let them look at it.”
Milo took the folder from him and we walked to
the door.
“Hey, wait a minute!” she protested hoarsely.
“That’s an active one. You can’t take it!”
“I’ll make a Xerox, mail you back the original.”
She started to argue then stopped midsentence.
As we left I could hear her screaming at Leon.
8
ACCORDING TO his file, Doug Carmichael lived in
the upscale part of Venice, near the Marina. Milo
had me call him from a phone booth near Bundy
while he used the radio to find out if anything had
come in on the Swopes.
A phone machine answered at Carmichael’s. Classical
guitar music played in the background while a
rich baritone said, “Hi, this is Doug,” and strove to
convince me that receipt of my message was really
important for his emotional well-being. I waited for
the beep, told him it was really important to call
Detective Sturgis at West L.A. Division, and left
Milo’s number.
I got back in the car and found Milo with his eyes
closed, head tilted back against the seat.
“Anything?” he asked.
“I got a machine.”
“Figures. Zilch from this end, too. No Swopes
spotted from here to San Ysidro.” He yawned and
growled and started up the Matador. “Moving right
103
104′ Jonathan Kellerman
along,” he mumbled, steering into the broth of westbound
traffic, “I haven’t eaten since six. Early dinner
or late lunch, take your pick.”
We were a couple of miles from the ocean but a
mild easterly wind was blowing and it wafted a
hint of brine our way. “How about fish?”
“Righto.”
He drove to a tiny place on Ocean at the mouth
ofthe pier that resembles a thirties diner. Some
nights during the dinner hour it’s hard to find a
parking space in the back lot among all the Rolls,
Mercedes, and Jags. They don’t take reservations or
plastic, but people who know seafood are willing to
wait and don’t mind paying with real money. At
lunch it’s significantly more relaxed and we were
seated at a corner table immediately.
Milo drank two lemonades, which they squeeze
fresh and serve unsweetened, and I nursed a
Grolsch.
“Trying to cut down,” he explained, holding up
his glass.” Rick’s been on my case, Preaching and
showing me slides of what it does to the liver.”
“That’s good. You were hitting it pretty hard for
a while. Maybe we’ll have you around a little longer.”
He grunted.
The waiter, a cheerful Hispanic, informed us that
there’d been a huge albacore run and a prime load
had come up from San Diego that morning. We
both ordered some and shortly were feasting on
huge grilled steaks of the white tuna, baked potatoes,
steamed zucchini, and chunks of sourdough
bread.
Milo devoured half his meal, took a long swallow
of lemonade, and gazed out the window. A chrome
sliver of ocean was visible above the rooftops of the
BLOOD TEST 105
ramshackle buildings that hid in the shadow of the
sagging pier.
“So how you been, pal ?” he asked.
“Not bad.”
“What do you hear from Robin ?”
“I got a card a few days ago. The Ginza at night.
They’re wining and dining her. Apparently it’s the
first time they’ve entertained a woman that way.”.
“WHat is it they’re after, exactly?” he asked.
“She designed a guitar for Rockin’ Billy Orleans
and he played it onstage in Madison Square Garden.
The music trades interviewed him after-, the
concert and he raved about the. instrument and the
fantastic female luthier who’d created it. The U.S.
rep for a Japanese conglomerate picked up on it
and sent it to his bosses. They decided it was worth
mass-producing as a Billy Orleans model and invited
her over there to talk about it.”
‘-‘Maybe she’ll end up supporting you, huh?”
“Maybe,” I said glumly and signaled the waiter
for another beer.
“I see you’re real overjoyed about it.”
“I’m happy for her,” I said quickly. “It’s’ the big
break she’s been waiting for. It’s..just that I miss
her like crazy, Milo. It’s the longest we’ve been