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Chapter 548
He guessed that the man had been killed here. But what about the woman? Where was her body? And the guy’s head? He scanned the ground around the corpse; no trail of blood led away from the body. While he pondered the questions, the forensic unit arrived, a three-man team headed by Felix Simonton, a short, wiry man in his late fifties with whom Conner had worked many times. Conner used the team’s arrival to move away from the corpse. He was glad to see Simonton, who was the best the department had.
“Hi, Felix. Welcome aboard.”
Simonton shook Conner’s hand. “Hey, Case. Good to see you again. Ivan said I might find you here.”
Conner introduced Simonton to Johnson. “We’ve got a bad one here, Felix,” Conner said.
“So I hear. If you gentlemen are through, my boys and I’ll get to work.”
Conner looked at Johnson. The black detective did not seem bothered that Simonton was addressing Conner rather than him. Conner was glad. There would be no jurisdicti
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 549
The sun had melted the marine layer while Conner was underground, leaving a clear blue sky in its place as he headed home on Sepulveda Boulevard, preferring to take his chances with local traffic and red lights rather than fight the congestion on the freeway. He needed to be moving, not stalled in some four-lane parking lot. Despite the clear sky and bright sunshine, there was little appealing about the drive. The street was flanked by an endless string of ugly, sign-cluttered storefronts and massive, block-long apartment complexes with flapping For Rent banners strung from seemingly every balcony. The cheerless buildings matched his mood. Images of the mutilated bodies flashed in his mind like a series of strobe-lit snapshots. He cranked up the radio, pressing the station buttons until he found the throbbing beat of “Jumping Jack Flash,” but even Mick Jagger’s screaming vocals couldn’t distract him from the gruesome images. He could feel the muscles in his b
Leesa's Advent Chapter 550
Whatever it is about Vice Squad that sets him off, he takes his time and plans his work. Which probably explains why he waited until Wednesday this time. These killings were way more complex than the first two.” Conner got up and began pacing across the office. “One thing struck me, but I’m not sure what to make of it. He deviated from the script this week, in a couple of ways. Killing the woman in the parking garage instead of her apartment hallway I can understand. But the way he killed her was different, too. He stabbed her in the back, not the chest. That’s the first time he didn’t copy the wounds exactly, although he followed the script with the dealer. Also, the woman was blond. On the show, she had dark hair. With the first two victims, he matched the hair color.” Sloane listened carefully, not certain the small differences meant anything, but sensing Conner thought they might. “Got any ideas about it?” he asked. “No good ones,” Conner admitted. He had a naggi
Leesa's Advent Chapter 551
Conner drove away from Parker Center shortly after one o’clock, heading for the 101 on his way to the West Hollywood offices of Collins-Cline Productions, the producers of Vice Squad. Having committed himself to a more active investigative role, he was eager to get started, before he had a chance to rethink his decision. Sloane had provided some background on the company. They were a small outfit, and Vice Squad was the only show they had on the air, though they were in talks with the networks about two other shows. Conner wanted to gather as much background information as he could about the show and the people working on it, and he thought the main office would be the best place to start. Traffic was pleasantly light, at least for midday on the Hollywood Freeway, and Conner even managed to get his speedometer above sixty a time or two before exiting west onto Sunset Boulevard, where his pace slowed considerably as he moved through the drab but busy commercial area that made
Leesa's Advent Chapter 552
The elevator deposited him into another lobby, a much smaller version of the one downstairs, except this one had a brown marble counter opposite the elevator. Behind the counter sat a very pretty, almost beautiful, pony-tailed blonde receptionist who smiled brightly as he stepped out of the elevator. He smiled back, guessing she was probably a wannabe actress making ends meet until her big chance came along. She would be extra nice to anyone she didn’t recognize, on the off chance he might be someone who could help her reach her dreams. It was one of the things he liked about L.A.—there were thousands of attractive, cheerful people laboring as waitresses, bartenders, receptionists and parking attendants who were unfailingly pleasant, at least until they determined you weren’t anyone important. “May I help you, sir,” she asked, her voice as bright and lively as her smile. “I’d like to see Alexa Cline, please,” Conner replied. “Do you have an appointment, Mr...
Leesa's Advent Chapter 553
“You don’t look like a cop, Case.” Conner returned his attention to Alexa. “No?” He had heard that once a cop, always a cop. “Well, you do, but you don’t,” she explained. “There’s something cop-like about you, but it’s hard to put a finger on.” She paused for a moment, thinking, and then her face brightened. “I know what it is. You’ve got the manner, but not quite the look. You’re too tan, too healthy looking, not quite hard enough. Hell, look at your clothes. I’ve seen cops in uniform, and cops in suits, but never in slacks and a golf shirt. You look more like an actor playing a cop than a real cop. You know, sort of like Peterson on CSI.” Conner smiled inwardly, amused by her insight. Maybe that’s what he was now, an actor pretending he was a cop. “I hope that’s a compliment,” he said. She smiled. “Oh, it is. I don’t think I’d be attracted to a real cop.” There was no longer any doubt about it—she was flirting. Conner knew it was his move.
Leesa's Advent Chapter 554
The production schedule for Vice Squad provided by Alexa Cline’s secretary showed the crew was filming out at the Santa Monica Pier. To avoid at least some of the late afternoon traffic, Conner followed Sunset as it curved past the lushly landscaped mansions of Beverly Hills into the less well known but equally tony neighborhood of Bel Air, making decent time until he cut across to Wilshire Boulevard and turned west. Traffic was much heavier on Wilshire, but he finally made it to the coast and shelled out ten dollars to park in a small lot at the foot of the pier.The amusement area that filled the front half of the pier was crowded with boisterous youngsters getting an early start on the weekend, and the air rang with happy shouts and screams from the spiral roller coaster. The smell of popcorn, cinnamon buns and other snacks teased Conner’s nostrils as he threaded his way through the clumps of revelers, finally breaking into the open once he cleared the arcades
Leesa's Advent Chapter 555
Conner was mystified. Stuart Chesterton had been a rising film star, known almost as much for his temper as his talent, and he had been compared favorably to DeNiro and Pacino. He’d won an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of an offshore oil worker in Autumn Springs Eternal and had seemed on the verge of even bigger things, but somehow, his career never took off. Conner hadn’t heard his name in years.“What happened to him? He looked like a sure thing to make it big.”“Success happened,” Hollenbech explained, his voice edged with an impatience that said he seen too much of similar things. “Drugs and booze. ‘Substance abuse,’ they call it now. If you’ve got talent, they’ll put up with a lot in this business. And Chesterton had talent. But there’s one thing that’s not tolerated, and that’s being unreliable. Too much money involved. Chesterton became unreliable. He’d go on w
Leesa's Advent Chapter 556
By the time Conner made it back to his apartment, he was bushed. He lumbered to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of beer before collapsing onto the couch. He popped the flip top and closed his eyes as he took a long pull, enjoying the icy coolness as the beer slid down his throat. The clock said it was barely 6:30, but the weariness assaulting his body and his brain made it feel more like midnight. He had not experienced a day like this in a long time. From his early morning visit to the gruesome murders scenes to his interviews with Alexa Cline and Stan Hollenbech, with a hard run at the beach and a meeting with Sloane sandwiched in between, he had been on the go all day. The pace was a far cry from his leisurely routine of the past year. Mentally and physically, he felt challenged in a way he had not been in a long time. He wasn’t sure if he liked the feeling or not.One thing he was sure of, was that he was not budging from his apartment for the rest of the evening
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