Robert Crais - The Last Detective

"Wha' you mean, a little boy? You the police?"

The electrician from earlier was in line at the window.

He said, "Yeah, he's with the cops. Some guy stole a kid, can ya believe that, right around here? They're trying to find him."

The woman stepped out of the van to join me in the street. Her name was Marisol Luna, and she owned the catering business. I described the scene on the other side of the curve, and asked if she had noticed any vehicles parked in that area during the past two weeks or anyone who didn't seem to fit.

"I don' think so."

"What about when no one else was parked there? One vehicle by itself."

She rubbed her hands through the towel as if it helped worry up her memories.

"I see the plumber. We finish the breakfast here and we goin' that way -"

She pointed toward the curve, and the buzzing in my head grew worse.

"- an' I see the plumber go down the hill."

I glanced toward the work crew, searching for Cauley.

Marisol Luna was the first person I found who had seen anything.

"How do you know he was the plumber? Was he working here at this house?"

"It say on the truck. Emilio's Plumbing. I remember 'cause my husband, his name is Emilio. That's why I remember the truck. I smile when I see the name, an' I tell my husband that night, but he no look like' my Emilio. He black. He have things on his face like bumps."

I called out to the construction workers.

"Where's Cauley? Can someone get Cauley?"

Then I turned back to Mrs. Luna.

"The man who went down the hill was black?"

"No. The man in the truck, he black. The man on the hill, he Anglo."

"Two men?"

The buzzing in my head grew more frantic, like riding a caffeine rush. The electrician came around the end of the truck with Mr. Cauley.

He said, "You guys have any luck?"

"Have you had a plumber or plumbing contractor working here named Emilio or Emilio's Plumbing, anything like that?"

Cauley shook his head.

"Nope, never. I use the same sub over and over, all my jobs, a man named Donnelly."

Mrs. Luna said, "The truck, it say Emilio's Plumbing."

The electrician said, "Hey, I've seen that truck."

The buzz in my head suddenly vanished and my body stopped aching. Blood tingled under my skin. I felt light and alive with a clarity that was perfect. It was the same feeling I had when we were hidden along a VC trail and I heard the VC approaching and waited for Rod to fire and knew either I would have them or they would have me, but either way the whole bloody thing was about to go down.

I said, "I need you to come with me, Mrs. Luna. I need you to talk to the police right now. They're just around the curve."

Marisol Luna got into my car without complaint or objection. I didn't take the time to turn around. We drove to Starkey in reverse.

time missing: 43 hours, 50 minutes

The sun glared angrily from low in the southern sky, heating the great bowl of air in the canyon until it came to a boil. Rising air pulled a soft breeze up from the city that smelled of sulfur. Starkey held her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Okay, Mrs. Luna, tell me what you saw."

Marisol Luna, Starkey, and I stood in the street at the top of the curve. Mrs. Luna pointed back toward the construction site, telling us how she remembered it.

"We come aroun' the curve there, and the plumber truck is right here."

She indicated that the plumber's van had been pretty much where we were standing, not on the shoulder but in the street. It could not have been seen from the construction site or the surrounding houses.

"My truck is big, you know? Very wide. I say to Ramón, look at this, this guy is taking up all of the street."

I said, "Ramón is one of the guys who works for her."

"Let her tell it, Cole."

Mrs. Luna continued.

"I have to stop because I cannot get around the van unless he move. Then I see the name, and it make me smile like I tell Mr. Cole. I tell my husband that night, I say, hey, I saw you today."

Starkey said, "When did this happen?"

"That would be three days. I see it three days ago."

The day before Ben was stolen. Starkey took out her notebook.

Mrs. Luna described the van as white and dirty, but she couldn't recall anything else except that the name on its side was Emilio's Plumbing. As Starkey continued questioning her, I called Information on my cell phone and asked if they had a listing for Emilio's Plumbing. No such listing existed either in Los Angeles or in the Valley. I had them check the Santa Monica and Beverly Hills listings as well, under plumbing, plumbers, plumbing supplies, and plumbing contractors, but by then I didn't expect anything-these guys could have stolen the van in Arizona or painted the name themselves.

Mrs. Luna said, "It say Emilio's. I am sure."

Starkey said, "So tell me about the two men. You came around the curve here and their van was blocking the road. Which way was it facing?"

"This way, facing me. I see in the windshield, you know? The black man was driving. The Anglo man was on the other side, standing there. They were talking through the window."

Mrs. Luna stepped onto the shoulder and turned, showing us their positions.

"They look when they see us, you know? The black man, he have these things on his face. I think he sick. They look like sores."

She touched her cheeks, and wrinkled her nose.

"He big, too. He a really big man."

Starkey said, "Did he get out of the van?"

"No, he inside driving."

"Then how do you know he was big?"

Mrs. Luna raised her arms high and wide over her head.

"He fill the windshield like thees. He jus' big."

Starkey was frowning, but I got the picture and wanted to move on.

"What about the white guy? Anything you remember about him? Tattoos? Glasses?"

"I didn't look at him."

"Was his hair long or short? You remember what color?"

"I sorry, no. I lookin' at the black man and the truck. We tryin' to get by, you see? I off the road tryin' to get aroun' him, an' I get over too much. I had to back up. The other man, he step back 'cause his frien' have to make room for us, it so narrow here. I watchin' the truck go away 'cause I tellin' Ramón, you see that stuff on his face? Ramón lookin', too. He say they warts."

Starkey said, "What's Ramón's last name?"

"Sanchez."

"Is he back at your truck now?"

"Yes, Mrs."

Starkey made note of that.

"Okay, we'll want to talk to him, too."

I put us back on track.

"So the black man drove away and the other guy went down the hill, or the black guy waited for the other guy to come back?"

"No, no, he go. The other one make that sign when he go. You know, that nasty one."

Mrs. Luna looked embarrassed.

Starkey showed her middle finger.

"The white guy flipped him off? Like this?"

"Yeah. Ramón, he laugh. I backin' up my truck 'cause I too close to the rocks so I got to watch out for that, but I see him make the sign an' go down the hill. I think he should go back to the house, but he go down the hill instead, an' I say, that funny, why he goin' down the hill? Then I think he must wanna go to the bathroom."

"Did you see where he went down there or see him come back?"

"No. We left. We had another breakfast to serve before we get ready for lunch."

Starkey took down Mrs. Luna's name, address, and phone number, then gave her a card. Starkey's pager went off again, but she ignored it.

She said, "This has been a big help, Mrs. Luna. I'll probably want to talk to you some more this evening or tomorrow. Would that be okay?"

"I happy to help."

"If you remember anything else, don't wait to hear from me. Talking the way we have might bring up a memory. You might remember something about the truck or the men that could help us. It might seem small, but I'll tell you something – nothing's too small. Whatever you remember could help us."