“The shrink!” His jaw shoveled. “Oh, fuck—what are you doing here?”
Milo said, “Dr. Delaware’s a police consultant. In the case of your—”
One of the hallway doors opened and a woman’s voice called out, “Lyle, everything okay?”
“Go back inside,” Teague barked. The door shut quietly. “Consultant? What the hell does that mean? You’re saying you know something about Lauren? She’s been seeing you again?”
“No,” I said. “Lauren went missing and your ex-wife called me because she’d heard I had police contacts—”
“Police contacts.” Teague grabbed the bottom of his beard, twisted, let go. To Milo: “What Mthis bullshit?”
“Just what the doctor said. Now, I’d like to ask you—”
“Missing?” said Teague. “For how long?”
“Several days.”
“From where?”
“Her apartment.”
“Where’s that? She never told me where she was bunking down.”
“Hauser Street, in L.A.”
“She used to live all over,” said Teague. “The streets. After she ran away. She got wild—which any idiot could see coming.”
“Where on the streets, sir?”
“Hell if I know. Jane used to call me up to go looking for her, I could never find her. Hauser . . . That where it happened?”
“She was found on the Westside,” said Milo. “Back of a furniture store on Sepulveda. Someone shot her and left her body in an alley.”
Spitting out the details matter-of-fact, watching Teague’s reaction.
Teague said, “West L.A. We used to live there, over near Rancho Park.” He began to draw himself up. Gave up and slumped. “This is shit. My life can’t be this fucked up.”
The door opened again, and the hallway light went on. A woman stepped out wearing a long blue Dodgers T-shirt and nothing else. Seeing us, she threw a protective hand over her belly, ducked back inside, reappeared seconds later wearing acid-washed jeans under the same shirt.”Lyle? Something the matter?”
“I said go inside.”
The woman stared at us. “What’s going on?” Bleary eyes, faint southern inflection. A good deal younger than Teague—maybe thirty, with long, limp, brown hair, grainy skin, wide hips, dimpled knees. Full face distorted by confusion. Well-proportioned but forgettable features. As a child she’d probably been adorable.
“Lyle?”
Teague swiveled fast and faced her. “They’re the goddamn police. Lauren got herself murdered tonight.”
The woman’s hand slapped over her mouth. “Oh my God—Omigod!”
“Go back to bed.”
“Omigod—”
Milo extended his hand. “Detective Sturgis, ma’am.”
The woman blubbered, shivered, hugged herself. Took the hand. “Tish. Tish Teague—”
“Patricia,” corrected her husband. “Keep it down. Don’t wake up the kids.”
“The kids,” said Tish Teague, dully. “You don’t need them, do you?”
“Oh, Jesus,” said Teague. “Why the hell would he need them”. Get back in and go to sleep. It doesn’t concern you. You and Lauren had nothing, you can’t do any good.”
The young woman’s lips trembled. “I’ll be here if you need me, Lyle.”
“Yeah, yeah—go, git.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Tish Teague.
“Bye, ma’am,” said Milo.
Biting her lip, she fled.
“I left Lauren’s mother for her,” said Teague, laughing. “Met her on a construction job. She was this nineteen-year-old piece of ass, drove one of the roach coaches. Now we got two kids.”
“How old are your children?” said Milo.
“Six and four.”
“Girls, boys?”
“Two girls. When you called and said something happened to my daughter, I was thinking one of them. That’s what confused me.” He shook his head. “Lauren. Didn’t see much of Lauren.”
“When’s the last time you did see her?”
“Long time,” said Teague. “Real long time. She held it against me.”
“Held what?”
“Everything. The divorce, bad luck—life. Anything shitty was my fault. She told me so. Called me up a few years ago and told me I was a selfish motherfucker who didn’t deserve to live.” Sick smile. “Because I didn’t want to stick around with that cold thing called Jane.” He hitched up his shorts. “Our marriage was crap from day one.” To me: “That was the problem, that’s what screwed Lauren up. Us. Jane and me. The whole thing—bringing Lauren to you—was a goddamn con. My wife’s idea. ‘Cause she doesn’t like to face reality. Like Lauren was gonna straighten out, living in our shitty environment. She—Jane—wasn’t gonna be honest with you, she was just conning you, pal. One big happy family. That’s why I ended it. We were wasting your time and my money. Load of bullshit.”