Cut him off: “Ray, have you _ever_ heard of watchdog torture on a 459?”
“Never. And I’ll go out on a limb for motive.”
“Revenge?”
“Revenge.”
“Dave . . .”
“_What?_”
Side 28
Ellroy – White Jazz
“This is Officer Bethel. Officer, tell the lieutenant.”
Nervous–a rookie. “Uh, sir, I got two confirmations on a prowler on this block the night of the burglary. Sergeant Stemmons, he’s had me checking on the houses where nobody was home earlier. This old lady told me she called the Wilshire desk, and this man, he said he saw him too.”
“Description?”
“J-just a young male Caucasian. No other details, but I called the desk anyway.
They did send a car out. No luck, and no white prowlers got arrested or Fl carded anywhere in the division that night.”
A lead–shove it at Junior. “Call Wilshire and get four more men to hit the not-at-home addresses, say from six o’clock on. Have them go for descriptions on possible prowlers. Check those files I told you to and go by the first three Kafesjian shops on your list. Ray?”
“Yeah, Dave.”
“Ray, tell Stemmons here your chemical angle. Junior, hit that angle with the employees at the shops. If you get a rabbit, don’t do something stupid like kill him.”
“Why not? Live by the sword, die by the sword.”
“You dumb shit, I want to hear this guy’s take on the Kafesjians.”
* * *
Three E-Z Kleen shops–1248 South Normandie closest. I drove over–the pink Ford stood out front.
I double-parked; a guy ran out looking anxious. Make him: Abe Voldrich, Kafesjian high-up.
“Please, Officer. They don’t know anything about this goddamn break-in. Call Dan Wilhite, talk to him about the . . . uh. .
“Ramifications?”
“Yeah, that’s a good word. Officer–”
“Lieutenant.”
“Lieutenant, let it rest. Yes, the family has enemies. No, they won’t tell you who they are. You could ask Captain Dan, but I doubt if he’d tell you.”
Smart little hump. “So we won’t discuss enemies.”
“Now we’re cooking with gas!”
“What about stelfactiznide chloride?”
“What? Now you’re talking Greek to me.”
“It’s a dry-cleaning chemical.”
“That end of the business I don’t know from.”
Walking in: “I want an employee list–all your shops.”
“No. We hire strictly colored people for the cleaning and pressing work, and most of them are on parole and probation. They wouldn’t appreciate you asking questions.”
Jig crime-no-it played wrong. “Do you have colored salespeople?”
Side 29
Ellroy – White Jazz
“No, J.C. doesn’t trust them around money.”
“Let me check your storeroom.”
“For that what you call it chemical? Why?”
“The watchdogs were burned with it.”
Sighing: “Go, just don’t roust the workers.”
I skirted the counter. A small factory in back: pressers, vats, darkies folding shirts. Wall shelves: jars, bottles.
Check labels–two run-throughs, a catch: stelfactiznide chloride, skull and crossbones.
I sniffed a jug–foul/familiar–my eyes burned. Put it back, dawdle– the women might show. No luck–just darting slave eyes. I walked back up front popping sweat.
Lucille at the counter, hanging shirts. Bump bump-ass grinds to a radio beat.
Bump, flash: a vamp smile.
I smiled back. Lucille zipped her mouth, threw away a pretend key. Outside: Voldrich and Madge. Mama K.: wet makeup, tears.
I walked out to the car. Whispers–I couldn’t hear shit.
* * *
I hit a pay phone-fuck the E-Z Kleen shops.
I called Ad Vice and left a message for Junior: buzz Dan Wilhite, bag a Kafesjian snitch list. Probably futile-he’d refuse, hot to placate J.C. A message _from_ Junior: he’d checked around, learned stel-what-the-fuck was a standard dry-cleaning chemical used worldwide.
Back to South Tremaine–one black & white in front. Bethel waved me over. “Sir, we got two more confirmations on that prowler night before last.”
“More details on his description?”
“No, but it looks like he’s a peeper too. We got that same ‘young, white’ make, and both people said he was peeping in windows.”
Think: burglary/mutilation tools. “Did they say he was carrying anything?”
“No, sir, but I think he could have secreted the B&E stuff on his person.”
“But the people didn’t call in complaints.”
“No, sir, but I got a lead that might tie in.”