Serena said, “Not then. She didn’t need a place, then. Around a year later.”
Claire said, “We didn’t need a roommate. We didn’t have a real bedroom, just the garage. The landlord converted it but it’s kind of…not gross, but it’s…”
Serena said, “Totally ghetto. We told her before she saw it. She said no problem, she needed somewhere quick, would take a look. She did and said, Perfect. We only charged her a hundred a month, we even paid the utilities because you can’t separate it from the house.”
I said, “What was Kimbee’s rush?”
“Bad boyfriend,” said Claire.
“Domestic violence?”
“Nah,” said Serena. “More like they were over and she needed a place. But sometimes she’d be gone, so maybe she went back to him, like off and on?”
Milo said, “Did she write you rent checks?”
“Nope, cash. Five twenties.”
“Did she have her own mailing address?”
“Nope, we get all the mail. If there was something for her, we gave it to her.”
Claire said, “She didn’t get anything, really. We don’t, either, except catalogs. Everything important’s online.”
Serena said, “Once in a blue moon she’d get clothing catalogs. Like what we get.”
“No personal mail.”
“Nope.”
“You think she might’ve gone back and forth to her boyfriend.”
“Or got herself another,” said Serena.
Milo began working his phone.
Claire said, “She didn’t want to work NAMM the second time, said it gave her a headache, she had another gig. A couple of times we told her about conventions she said the same thing.”
“She asked us if we ever wanted to do Vegas. We said no, thanks. We get enough work in California.”
Claire said, “We don’t travel. In Portland we had to do sci-fi conventions, putting on space alien costumes and smiling at geeks.” She nudged Serena. “Remember the one, the green body paint didn’t want to come off?”
“Green with plastic scales. Gross. Smelled like hot glue.”
I said, “Anything else you can tell us about Kimbee?”
Claire said, “When she was here she liked the pool.”
“Her car’s here.”
“She didn’t drive it much.”
“How’d she get around?”
“Probably like everyone. Uber, Lyft, whatever.”
Serena fluffed her curls. “That worked out good because if she wanted to pull out, we’d have to move the ’82 Vette—the red insides, that one starts.”
Claire said, “We don’t like to drive, either. The Vettes burn gas. We only registered the ’82. The ’81 needs an ass-load of work.”
Milo typed away. I said, “What made you guys decide to buy both?”
“We didn’t buy either,” said Serena. “My stepdad gave them to me and whatever I have is hers.”
“Nice gift.”
“He owns a used-car lot and needed a tax write-off or something. We drove the ’82 down from Spokane, it broke down twice. We didn’t want the ’81 but he flat-bedded it to us anyway. The deal was we find out what it needs and he pays for it, if it’s reasonable. We’ve been too busy to hassle with it. We’ll sell both of them for our ranch.”
She smiled. “Want to buy it?”
“Tempting but no, thanks.”
“Greg’s an okay stepdad. He was Number Four and my mom screwed up by divorcing him. Now she’s on Number Five, he’s a total dick.”
Claire had spaced out during the car talk. She refocused and said, “How did she—how did it happen?”
Milo said, “It took place at a wedding.”
“No way. Like at the ceremony?”
“At the reception.”
“Wow. That’s crazy. Someone shot her in the middle of a party and you still don’t know who?”
“It’s a little more complicated, Serena. It happened last Saturday. You said the last time you saw her was a week and a half ago. Any idea what she was doing the few days before Sunday?”
“Nope. We can’t even say she was or wasn’t here, just that we didn’t see her. She could come and go without us seeing her.”
Milo’s phone buzzed a text. He read the screen.
I said, “Did she talk to you guys about going to a wedding?”
Head shakes.
“Can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt her? Anyone at all?”
“I can’t, sorry, sir,” said Claire. Glancing at Serena.
Serena said, “We didn’t talk about personal stuff. Cee and me only do that with ourselves.”
I said, “She did tell you she needed to get away from her boyfriend.”
“Because she was looking for a place.”
“Did she seem at all afraid of her boyfriend?”
“You think he did it?”
“We need to look at everything.”
“Who is he?”
Milo said, “We were hoping you could tell us.”
“You don’t know anything?” said Serena.
“It’s a tough one, guys.”
“Wish we could help you. I mean that. A friend of ours, Kevin, he got shot over a meth thing in Spokane. They never found out who did that and it ate up his parents. How are Kimbee’s parents doing?”
“Wish we could tell you. What did she say about her boyfriend other than needing to get away from him?”
Claire said, “Nothing. Except she called him a brain.”
“The Brain,” said Serena. “She was living with The Brain, needed a change.”
I said, “Did she ever bring anyone home?”
Serena said, “Not that I saw.”
Claire said, “Me, neither.”
“No one was stalking her,” said Serena, “if that’s what you mean. We look around all the time, we’re careful because both of us had stalkers. Cee had two.”
“Here in L.A.?”
“Uh-uh, Spokane. High school. So now we look out, someone was hanging around anyone, we’d know. That’s why we like it here, weird stuff sticks out, it’s quiet. Until the A-H on Loma Bruna bought that place.”
Milo stood. “I’ll see what I can do about him.”
Claire said, “Hey. I just thought of something. Sometimes she said she was going to the library to read.”
“Was she in school?”
Both girls shrugged.
“Out by the pool,” said Claire, “we’d sometimes see her with books.”
I said, “Books about what?”
“Big ones.”
“Which library did she go to?”
Claire said, “It wasn’t like a big conversation, look at me, I’m so smart I’m going to the library. It’s just once, I went out to move the ’82 ’cause she did want to use her car. She said the library.”
Serena said, “Another time, I saw her walking and I’m like, Hi, wassup and she points to her backpack and is like, I’m going to the library. I thought it was cute.”
“That she liked to read?”
“That she’d admit it.”
Claire placed a hand on her belly. “I don’t like the way I’m feeling. I’m going to miss her.”
“Aw, girl,” said Serena.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Claire left.
Serena said, “She’s going in there to cry. This reminds her of her mom. I better go in and help her.”
Milo said, “Sure. Thanks for your time. We’re going to check out her place. You guys have an alarm. Did she?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t see a lock on the garage door.”
“There isn’t one because it’s not a real door,” said Serena. “You slide it up then there’s a wall with a regular door and that one has a lock. The landlord did it to hide turning it into an illegal dwelling. That’s why he doesn’t charge us for a two-bedroom. If he could, he would, he’s a total dick.”
“Who’s the landlord?”
“Dr. McClurg, he’s a dentist.” She shifted bare feet. “Do you have to tell him about Kimbee? He doesn’t exactly know about her.”
Milo said, “If he had nothing to do with her, don’t see why we’d need to tell him anything.”
“He didn’t. Promise.”
“No prob. So it’s okay for us to look in the garage?”
The question surprised her. “Sure, of course.”
“How about a key?”
“It’s easier to use the back door, same key, I’ll get it for you.”
She hurried off, filmy top billowing over coltish legs.
I said, “All that phone work was getting the victim warrant?”
“Judge Klee, God bless him.”
“You asked Serena permission because with one address, technically you need her or Claire’s approval.”
“Which I just obtained smoothly and unobtrusively.”
“Crafty devil.”
“Charm,” he said. “Everything I know, I learned from you.”
CHAPTER
25