“Like a-” His mouth trembled. “I was going to say like a baby. Christ-yeah, he was asleep. Lying on his back, hands folded over his chest, snoring, face all smeared with blood. At first I thought he’d been killed too, but when I looked closer I could see it was just stains, and that made me jam the cuffs on him.”
He wiped sweat from his cheeks. “That place. I’d seen it from the outside but never been inside before. A sty- smelled worse than a dog run. What little stuff Peake owned was all jumbled and thrown around. Spoiled food, armies of bugs, empty bottles of booze, cans of spray paint, glue tubes, porno magazines he must’ve gotten somewhere else, ’cause that garbage wasn’t sold in Treadway. No one recalls Peake traveling, but he must’ve. For the dope, too. He had all kinds of pills-speed, downers, phenobarbitol. The prescription pharmacist was over in Tehachapi, and they had no record of any prescriptions. So it must have been street stuff. Scum like
Peake can get any sort of thing.”
“Was he stoned that night?”
“Had to be. Even after I cuffed him and screamed in his face, stuck my gun right under his nose, I could barely rouse him. He kept fading in and out, got this real dumb smile on his face, and then he’d close his eyes and be in Never-Never Land again. It was all I could do not to shoot him right there. Because of what he did-what I found in his shack.” He turned away. “On his hot plate. He’d taken the knife with him, the one he used on the little girl, grabbed that baby boy out of the crib, and-”
He sprang up again. “Hell, no, I won’t go there. Took me too damn long to erase those pictures from my head. Goodbye, Doctor-don’t say another word, just good-bye.”
He hurried to the door, held it open. I thanked him for his time again.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Just one more thing,” I said. “Who inherited Scott and Terri’s estate?”
“Bunch of relatives all over the state. Her folks were from Modesto, and Scott still had family up in San Francisco, on his mother’s side. The lawyer in charge said there were two dozen or so heirs, but no one was fighting. None of them gave a damn about inheriting, they were all broken up about how the money came to them.”
“Do you remember the lawyer’s name?”
“No. Why the hell would it matter?”
“I’m sure it doesn’t,” I said. “And Scott’s mother was already deceased.”
“Years before. Heart condition. Why?”
“Just being thorough.”
“Well, you’re sure being that.” He started to close the door.
I said, “Mr. Haas, is there anyone else around here who might be willing to talk to me?”
“What?” he said, furiously. “This wasn’t enough?”
“As long as I’m up here, I might as well cover all bases- you were a lawman, you know what it’s like.”
“No, I don’t. And I don’t want to. Forget it. There’s no one from the old days.
Fairway’s for old city folk looking for peace and quiet. I’m the only Treadway hick in the place. Which is why they stuck me out with the trailers.” His laugh was cold.
I said, “Any idea where Derrick Crimmins-”
“The Crimminses are as gone as anyone else. After Carson Senior and his wife got their money out of the land, they moved to Florida. I heard they bought a boat, did all this sailing, but that’s all I know. If they’re alive, they’d be old. At least he would.”
“His wife was younger?”
“She was a second wife.”
“What was her name?”
“I don’t remember,” he answered too quickly. His voice had hardened and he had closed the door till only a five-inch crack remained. The half-face I saw was grim.
“Cliff Crimmins is also gone. Motorcycle accident in Vegas-it made the papers. He was into that motocross stuff, stunt driving, parachuting, surfing, anything with speed and danger. Both of them were like that. Spoiled kids, always had to be the center of attention. Carson bought them all the toys they wanted.”
The door closed.
I’d raised someone else’s stress level. Some psychologist.