A Killing in China Basin

THIRTY


Late in the afternoon, as he drove away from the homicide office, Raveneau called Celeste and said he was on his way, but running fifteen minutes late. He stopped to buy green papaya salad, stuffed crêpes, and two appetizers, one that was prawns in a hot sauce and the other a chicken deal tied up in rice paper. Then he drove up to Twin Peaks and met Celeste at her car. They walked up the trail with the food, a bottle of wine, and a blanket. The early evening carried a November chill, but sitting on the blanket and next to each other kept them warm. With the clear air the lights of the city below were very bright as dark came.

‘Sorry about the other night,’ Celeste said. ‘I guess I got jealous. I don’t know what I was thinking.’

‘Forget about it. How was Napa?’

‘Very beautiful. There was a low fog over the grapes that burned off with the first sunlight and the grass on the hills is the color of a lion now. What was your day like?’

‘Like sitting in a small room with fluorescent lights that flicker too much.’

She laughed at that and at him. He liked that about her. There were good days and bad days and she didn’t walk around expecting them all to be good.

‘I heard something just before I came here that I can’t really talk about,’ he said. ‘But it’s got me disturbed.’

‘Great.’

He took her hand and her fingers were cold now. It was just about time to fold the blanket up and get off the hill. Still, it was lucky to have this and better than sitting in a restaurant somewhere tonight. Celeste had her hair pulled back and a blue fleece coat zipped up under her neck. She was flying very early in the morning to a wine convention in Las Vegas and had to get home and pack tonight, so they left it that they’d try to get together as soon as she returned. He kissed her and when they parted they were like kids on a date or tourists winging a picnic in the city.

The guy Celeste lived with for ten years and expected to marry had left her reeling. The hurt ran deep and made her a little insecure. It didn’t surprise him that she called him minutes after they said goodbye and asked, ‘Should I call you from Vegas?’

‘Or I’ll call you.’

‘Be safe. I just heard another news report.’

Meaning she heard something about the homicide detail. The media was working it. He turned on the radio after hanging up, but didn’t hear anything new. When he got home Bates’s car was parked out front.

‘I would have called but I’m afraid they’re tapping my phones.’

And this is how things can change; he let Bates walk into the warehouse in front of him. He didn’t want him behind him. Upstairs, he found a couple of beers in the refrigerator and made Bates dinner because he said he hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. Raveneau chopped an onion and broke a couple of eggs into a skillet and made a frittata.

‘Did they come talk to you today about me and Jacie and our life insurance?’

‘They did.’

‘Changing the policies was Jacie’s idea, not mine. She pestered me for a year but I wouldn’t call the broker, so she did it herself.’

‘They wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t look at everything.’

Clearly, Bates didn’t believe that. He was quiet and then said, ‘These guys are after me. They’re building a case.’

‘They are looking at you.’

‘Did they say that?’

‘You already know it.’

‘What did they say to you?’

Raveneau looked Bates in the eye. Whatever they’d told him, they’d already asked Bates, but he still wanted Bates to volunteer it.

‘You tell me.’

‘My girlfriend.’

‘How long have you had a girlfriend?’

‘It doesn’t matter. What matters is they’re adding it up wrong. I went to LA and got them information. I put them on to guys who deal stolen vehicles long distance and sell them online. Now they’re setting me up with what I gave them. I figured out where the truck came from that was used to kill Jacie. I gave what I learned to those detectives and they’re trying to turn it against me. Setting me up for my sweet Jacie, that’s what they’re doing.’

Sweat started on Bates’s forehead, a sheen wiped away with his hand. He stood. He moved to the slider and opened it so the cold air was on him, then sighed and said, ‘Jacie couldn’t have sex any more. She wasn’t physically able to. She had a woman problem that got worse and it just built up in me. I needed somebody to hold, but you know Jacie was my life, man. She was everything.’

‘What’s the name of the girl?’

‘Shaye Baylor.’

‘What’s she telling them?’

‘Do you hear what I’m telling you?’

‘I’m listening.’

Raveneau flipped the frittata and slid it on to a plate. He got out a bottle of balsamic vinegar and popped the bread out of the toaster.

‘Eat. Pour a little of that vinegar over the eggs. It’ll make them taste better. How long have you been with Shaye?’

The way Raveneau figured things, if this came back a lie it mattered. He watched Bates spill balsamic over the eggs.

‘It’s been going on about a year. I saw her last night but I could feel Jacie’s ghost in the room. I couldn’t see her but I could feel her, and I couldn’t make it happen with Shaye. Losing Jacie . . . it’s just a big hole in my heart that isn’t ever going to fill.

‘These detectives are asking around about me and Shaye. There’s a bar we go to. They’ve been in there asking questions about me so they’re following me. They’re going to sweat her for whatever they want her to say.’

‘And you’re telling her to give them the truth.’

‘Of course, I am. Look, man, I haven’t been building a life with her. It’s both of us needing the same thing right now. She knew I’d never leave Jacie. She was cool with that and she doesn’t want an old man with health problems. But they’re going to read in it what they want. They’re like two bloodhounds on a scent. You know how it goes.’

‘Have you ever told this girlfriend that you’re going to be together with her, marry her, and take care of her, that you love her and someday you’re going to be together?’

‘Did they tell you that?’

‘I’m asking you.’

‘No, what I told you is what is, and I broke it off with her last night.’

‘Then as long as she’s straight with them, I don’t think you’ll have a problem there.’

‘Bullshit. I’ve got an insurance problem. They think I put Jacie up to doubling the policy.’

Bates had eaten most of the eggs and finished the beer, but got up abruptly, went to the bathroom and threw up. Raveneau heard the toilet flush several times and slid the slider open as the smell of vomit spread into the room. When Bates came out, Raveneau handed him a glass of water and Bates asked, ‘Who killed her? Did Stoltz kill my Jacie?’

‘We had this conversation already, but now I’m going to give you some advice. Call the detectives and tell them you want to meet and bring a lawyer, but keep the lawyer quiet. Anything you’ve lied to them about, clear it up, and get it off the table. If you told them there was no girlfriend and they found out on their own, come clean.’

Bates wasn’t here for advice. He was here for information and ready to leave now.

‘You’ve got to slow it down,’ Raveneau said as they rode the elevator down. ‘You need to sit down with them.’

‘Bullshit, I do. All they want to do is charge me.’

Raveneau watched him get in his car. He was sure Bates had lied to the Oakland detectives about the girlfriend, and Bates was right, he didn’t have much time. The detectives were just days away from charging him.