Perri O'Shaughnessy - Presumption Of Death

“She says she saw two people in a car leaving the scene of the second fire, the coffee shop. She got suspicious and followed them. They drove to Siesta Court along the Carmel River-”

“My street!”

“She saw somebody get out of the car and go into one of the houses, she doesn’t know which one, then the car took off, and she lost it.”

Paul had just learned this detail from Crockett. They let it sink in.

“So that must be how Danny found out. It was somebody on our street? One of them?”

“You got me,” Paul said. “What do you think?”

“One of my neighbors?” Cervantes said, smiling. “What a thought. I know every single person on that street. These are regular people with jobs and mortgages and kids.”

“Then we get stuck with the police theory,” Paul said. “That it was Danny being dropped off by Wish.”

“Ah. Poor Danny. You know, I know Wish. He’s an honest person. You tell him I believe him, okay? As for the Cat Lady… she’s not all there. I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Maybe she was seeing things,” Paul said agreeably.

“You want to get ahold of her? She feeds the cats at the old Rosie’s parking lot right by the bridge every afternoon at about three o’clock. I’ve seen her other places too. She drives around in an old white Olds Cutlass.”

“Do you know her last name?”

“Sure don’t.” Cervantes shook his head. “One of the neighbors,” he repeated with that incredulous smile.

“Nobody comes to mind?” Nina said.

“No. You believe Danny had nothing to do with setting the fires, he was just trying to catch the arsonist? Is that right?”

“That’s what Wish tells us, and we believe him,” Nina said.

“You’re not just playing with my head?”

“Why would I do that?”

“How should I know?” He gave her a challenging look, and she thought, he’s not naive either.

“Mr. Cervantes, I just want to help Wish.” He was still thinking, observing her, eyes narrow.

“You want to add something?” she said.

“I have an idea. You want to find out for yourself about the neighbors? Come to the Siesta Court Bunch barbecue tomorrow night. We all get together once a month on Saturday night and have a potluck. We go way back, most of us. I’ll take you.”

Nina jumped on it. She said, “That’s a very good idea. Thank you.”

Paul looked dubious. He said, “They won’t feel free and easy if they know why we’re there.”

“We could go anonymously,” Nina said. “Mr. Cervantes won’t tell anybody.”

“You can go as my date,” Cervantes said. Nina gave a start.

“What about me?” Paul said.

“I don’t know how to explain you,” Cervantes said. “I’ve seen you in the papers. Somebody else probably has too.” He looked at Nina. “You want to come as my guest, or not?”

“Yes,” Nina said. Paul gave her a small kick under the counter, which she returned.

Cervantes gave her the number on Siesta Court. “Six o’clock tomorrow,” he said. “Don’t dress up or you’ll stand out too much. Shorts and flip-flops.”

“I look forward to it,” Nina said. Since Paul had already let her know that he didn’t like the plan, she avoided his eyes.

“The drinks are on her,” Paul said, and Cervantes put his wallet back into his pocket.

Paul had to get back to Carmel and the office, so he dropped Nina a block from the Salinas courthouse at a bail-bonds place. He let her know that he didn’t like her going to the party without him as soon as they got into the Mustang.

“What’s your problem with it?”

“You’re not an investigator, you’re a lawyer. You’re a lousy liar and they’ll see through you and get suspicious and if the bad guy is there, he’ll know we’re looking for him.”

“You just don’t want me to go without you. I’m not an idiot, Paul. It’s just a neighborhood barbecue.”

“Cervantes is a good bet to be the bad guy himself. I don’t trust him.”

“I’ll be careful. I’ll stay around other people. Besides, I have a different take on him. Why would he offer to take me if he didn’t want to find out what happened? If he already knows, he’s not going to get involved with us like this.”

“He’s attracted to you. He’s using the situation to get you alone.”

“Come on, Paul, give me a break. You sound like a preacher talking to a thirteen-year-old.”

“This isn’t about jealousy, Nina.”

“No. It’s about power. It’s about you controlling me,” Nina said.

Paul pulled into the curb in front of the fire hydrant, leaving the car in drive. He didn’t say anything.

“I should be finished by four.” She twisted around and retrieved her briefcase from the back seat, feeling regret at what she had said. But not enough regret to unsay it.

She talked to the bondsman while he ate his sub sandwich and set an account for fast action that afternoon, leaving her own credit-card number. Then she walked rapidly back to the big white concrete building with its concrete courtyard, found the right wing, and climbed the stairs to the courtroom, arriving with fifteen minutes to spare.

Wish had already been brought in and sat in the jury box with the other prisoners. Seeing him, hair lank, eyes downturned, hurt her. At least his eyes were almost back to normal. He must have gotten treatment for the poison oak while in jail. It added to her feeling of kinship with him.

When he noticed her, he gave her a thumbs-up. She passed through the gate to the attorney seating and had barely sat down when a face from the past came over and said, “It’s been a few years.”

Jaime Sandoval had aged prematurely in the eight years since they had graduated from the Monterey College of Law together. Law does that to you, if you’re any good. The thick hair she remembered was streaked with white above his forehead. The narrow black specs were new too. On the other hand, the shy Mexican-American boy who never raised a hand in class looked a lot more self-confident these days. As a deputy D.A., he had the state of California behind him, always a confidence builder.

Nina smiled. “Good to see you, Jaime.”

He sat down beside her, holding his briefcase. He wore a wedding ring now and she smelled his spicy aftershave.

“You look good.”

“So do you. I’m surprised you went into the D.A.’s office.”

“Oh yeah, when I knew you I was going to be a corporate lawyer. I tried that for a year at a small firm in Monterey. Got so bored with the paper pushing I decided to try this out. They told me I was stepping down but I decided downward mobility beats terminal ennui. So here I am. What about you? I thought you headed for the city lights.”

“Long story,” Nina said. “San Francisco, Tahoe. Solo practice the last few years. I’m down here for the summer.”

“A lot has happened since you left. We actually got a Latino judge. Of course, they’re still trying to trump up some way to kick him out.”

“How long did it take? A hundred fifty-five years, right?”

“Counting from when the U.S. took the place from us, yes.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“So you came back home. What are you doing for an office?”

“Well, uh, I’m borrowing some space right now.” That didn’t sound too impressive, but a fancy office wouldn’t impress Jaime either. “You covering the Whitefeather bail hearing?” she went on.

“I’m covering all the bail hearings, in about three minutes. So you’re here for the arson-homicide case?”

Nina’s heart sank. “Last time I looked, it was a trespassing case. And I’m thinking he ought to be let out on his own recognizance this afternoon.”

“Sorry I can’t help you,” Jaime said. “It’s not just trespassing, it never was. We just got the complaint amended. Here you go.” He handed her a document with several counts listed. Nina scanned it, staying cool, searching for a quick way out for Wish.