He took in the room and I followed his eyes. Cramped, dingy, nothing on the walls.
For Heidi and Crimmins, interior decorating had meant something else, completely.
Cruel puzzles, bloody scenes, embroidery of the mind…
“Let me sort out the escape,” he said, very softly. “Double entry to Starkweather:
Crimmins enters the grounds from the back, through that hole in the fence; Heidi drives right in through the front gate, like she would any other night. She waltzes right on to C Ward, heads over to Peake’s room, gets him ready. All the techs are at the weekly meeting, except Dollard, who’s patrolling. Heidi lures Dollard into
Peake’s room-no big challenge, all she has to do is tell him Peake is sick, or freaking out-assuming the Jesus pose again. Dollard goes in, locks the door behind him-basic procedure- goes over to check on Peake. Maybe Peake jumps him, maybe not.
In either case, Heidi gets Dollard and cuts his throat. Or she distracts Dollard and
Peake does the cutting… She makes sure the coast is clear, hustles Peake over to the staff elevator, no floor guide to tell anyone where it’s going… Down to the basement, over and out.”
“And Crimmins, hiding in one of the annexes, or nearby, meets up with them,” I said.
“Heidi and Crimmins lead Peake out the back fence. Heidi returns and leaves the hospital the way she came in, through the front, while Crimmins and Peake escape into the foothills, where they’ve got a vehicle waiting that can handle the terrain.
Peake’s not in great condition, but Crimmins is a climber, already knows the hills; it wouldn’t be a problem dragging Peake along. Heidi as Dol-lard’s cutter would also explain why the artery was only nicked, not slashed clear through. She was a strong girl without much of a conscience. But if she’d never actually cut anyone’s throat before, her inexperience could’ve showed. It takes will to saw through someone’s neck. And there’s the gush factor. She would’ve wanted to avoid getting bloodstained, had to coordinate cutting and stepping back in time-I can see Cfimmins rehearsing her. So she wounded Dollard just deeply enough to open the jugular.
Dollard collapsed, so she thought she’d finished him off. He went into shock, lay there draining. Once again, they were lucky-no one found him soon enough to save him.”
“Crimmins seems to have lots of luck.”
“No sin unrewarded,” I said. “That’s why he keeps doing bad things.”
“The nick could also mean Peake did it,” he said. “Atrophied muscles from all those years in the loony bin.”
“Not if he chopped up Heidi’s face. Those gashes took force. What do you figure, a hatchet?”
“Patel said that, or some kind of cleaver. Yeah, you’re probably right…. Heidi cut
Dollard, and Peake cut Heidi.”
“Her murdering Dollard would serve another purpose: no need to hide a weapon in
Peake’s room, risk discovery. Techs carry. You just proved that.”
He pulled out his phone, called Ron Banks, told him about the drugs and the stolen goods, Heidi’s involvement. “Yeah, looks like she was…. Listen, I’m gonna snoop around her house some more, but it’s West Hollywood, so you might as well get some of your guys over here to tape it off. Tell ’em I’m here, what I look like, so there’s no misunderstandings…. Thanks. Anything new over there?… Yeah, sometimes the job is boring….Yeah, I think I will. Chippie’s still over there..
.. Whitworth. Michael Whitworth.”
Milo started to search in earnest. The bedroom closet held blue jeans, blouses, and jackets in women’s small and medium sizes, and men’s black jeans, 34 waist, 35 length, black XL T-shirts, sweaters, and shirts.
“Home sweet home,” he said, shining his light on the floor. Three plastic cartons full of rumpled underwear and socks sat next to a jumble of battered running shoes and several pairs of thick-soled, dirty-looking boots. In the corner were four olive-drab packages the size of seat cushions, festooned with straps. U.S. Army stencil. Next to them, scuba gear, a single set of skis, a box of amyl nitrate-poppers. Another box full of polyester hair. Four woman’s wigs: long and blond; short, spiky, and blond; raven black; tomato red and curly. Three male toupees, all black, two curly, one straight. Labels inside from a theatrical makeup store on Hollywood Boulevard.