Читать книгу Predator - Faye Kellerman, Faye Kellerman - Страница 14

The descent seemed faster than the ascent: standard in travel as well as in life. Decker hardly remembered driving down the mountain, each twist of the wheel on autopilot as his brain fired one idea after another, none of which would explain why Global Earth Sanctuary had anything to do with Hobart Penny’s death. As soon as the car hit the bottom of the foothills, his Bluetooth sprang to life.

Marge’s voice. “I’ve been trying to reach you for the last half hour. Where were you?”

“Out of cellular reach,” Decker told her. “What’s up?”

“Hobart had an interesting past, more than the usual sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It seems our guy liked to go to sex clubs all over the country, dressed up like a tiger and screw women from behind.”

Oliver added, “Sometimes it was a lion or a leopard … just for variety’s sake.”

Decker glanced at Gabe. The boy had his head tilted back with his eyes closed. He appeared to be lost in his music. “Who told you this?”

“The ex,” Oliver said.

“And you believe her?”

Marge said, “We found the snapshots in a few leftover boxes in the storage wing of Sabrina Talbot’s house.”

“Storage wing?”

“Yep. Her house is big enough for an entire storage wing. The bigger question is why she kept the pictures. She certainly didn’t need them for blackmail. Sabrina Talbot is filthy rich.”

“Filthy, filthy rich,” Oliver added.

Marge said, “Sabrina told us that in the recesses of Hobart’s mind, he actually thought he was a tiger in a man’s body. Sabrina said it got to the point that when they screwed, he used to claw and bite her on the neck.”

Oliver said, “Then she came across pictures of Hobart fucking young girls, all of them in tiger masks. Even with that, it still took her a year to make the divorce final.”

Decker shot a quick look at Gabe. The teen still had his eyes closed but was doing something to the volume of his iPhone. Decker said, “Turn that thing up.”

“What thing?” Marge asked.

“I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to Gabe.”

Gabe opened his eyes, a slow smile spread on his face. “Excuse me?”

“What’s Gabe doing with you?” Marge asked.

“I’ll explain later.” To the boy, Decker said, “Stop eavesdropping.”

“You’re talking very loud.”

Decker said, “Let me call you back.”

Marge said, “When will you be back at the station house?”

“About an hour.”

“Okay. We’ll see you then.”

Decker was about to sign off. Then he said, “How old were the pictures?”

“Penny looked to be in his fifties. The pictures were Polaroids. ’Memba them?”

“I do. I’ll talk to you later.”

“You never told me what Gabe is doing there with you.”

“Sorry you’re breaking up.” Decker cut the connection.

Gabe took out his earbuds. “What’re Polaroids?”

“Not important.”

“I can look it up on my iPhone.”

Decker said, “Way back in the Pleistocene era, before mankind as we know it went digital, you took pictures with film.”

“I know that.” Gabe was offended.

“Polaroid camera delivery system was a way to instantly print out pictures. It meant you didn’t have to take your rolls of film into the drugstore to have them processed and turned into pictures, which usually took around a week. Later they came up with photo shops that could turn your film around in twenty-four hours. And then those went out when digital went in. But Polaroids were good because of privacy: no one would see your pictures unless you showed them around.”

“Ah. So you could take like porno shots and not be worried about it.”

“Yes, you could and yes, people did.” Decker smiled. “You can always tell what new technology is going to take hold. If it has potential for pornography, it’s a winner.”

Gabe smiled. “I know I shouldn’t have been listening, but if you want to find out about sex clubs, you should talk to Chris.”

“It was over thirty years ago. Chris was around six.”

“So you’re saying that a kinky old man hasn’t been to a sex club in thirty years?”

“He was almost ninety when he was murdered.”

“So? He was rich, and there’s Viagra. You should see some of the relics that my dad caters to.” When Decker didn’t answer, Gabe said, “Besides, my dad owes you.”

“He doesn’t owe me.”

“He dumped me on you and Rina.”

“You got a bullet in your ribs under my watch. I owe him.”

“That’s only because you were doing him a favor in the first place.”

“Maybe at first, I was doing him a favor. Maybe now, he’s doing me the favor.” Decker gave him a gentle whack on the back of his head. “I appreciate your thoughts. They’re good ones.”

“I’m just sayin’ …” The car was quiet. “Do you want to hear what Everett James had to say about Global Earth Sanctuary?”

A quick glance to the boy. “You’re just full of information.”

“With a father like Chris, you learn to listen a lot.”

“You’re just a little ole fly on the wall, aren’t you?” Decker laughed. “What did you and Everett James talk about?”

“He does the accounting for the sanctuary pro bono. Ninety-nine percent of what we talked about was accounting. Basically, he told me how much money it takes to maintain the animals. When he heard about the old guy’s death, Hobart Penny, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Penny is an odd name for a gazillionaire.”

“Irony abounds.”

Gabe smiled again. “Everett did say that it was gonna be hard to keep the place going without Penny’s checks. Even with Penny’s donations, the place would get behind in their payments.”

“Payments to whom?”

“He didn’t specify, but he did say that the sanctuary got some of the food gratis: the meat in particular. You know, hamburger beyond the expiration date but probably still good to use. But even so, tigers and lions had big appetites. Also, many animals had very specific dietary needs. And then there were all the supplements and vet care. He asked me if I wanted to make a donation.”

“That was inappropriate. I hope you didn’t give him anything.”

“I had twenty bucks in my wallet. I gave it to him.”

“I’ll pay you back.”

“That’s not the point. I happen to actually work an adult job. But he didn’t know that. He did know I was seventeen. How many kids my age have enough pocket change to give away to charity? Sounds like the place is hard up.”

Consistent with Vignette harping away on a will. “Did Everett mention anything about a mortgage on the property?”

“I don’t remember him talking about that, but I kinda tuned him out when he talked numbers.”

“What do you mean by numbers?”

“I dunno. How much they had to spend on food versus care versus this or that. It felt like one big math word problem. I nodded and smiled a lot.”

“Did you pick up any hint that something funny might be going on, like the place was cooking the books?”

Gabe said, “What do you mean ‘cooking the books’?”

Decker slowed down. “‘Cooking the books’ means impropriety in the accounting practices. Did he mention anything about embezzlement or fraud?”

“Nah, nothing like that.” Gabe’s face was one of concentration. “Everett said Penny’s money was important. He said that Global Earth often had to take out short loans to buy food and medicine for the animals until miracle money came in. A specific type of loan … what did he call it?”

“A bridge loan?”

“Yeah, that’s it. I’m impressed.”

“What kind of miracle money is he talking about?”

“Money from unexpected donors.”

“Did he mention names?”

“Well, Penny, of course. Sometimes it was a foundation or organization. Not PETA. He specifically told me that PETA didn’t like that Global Earth kept the animals in enclosures. Sorry … I don’t remember. Next time I’ll take notes.”

Again, Decker gently whacked him on the back of his head.

“Can I come back to the station house with you?”

“No.”

“I’m bored.”

“Then go back to New York.” When Gabe turned sullen, Decker said, “If I get a phone call from an irate Persian mother, I’m not going to be happy.”

“For Chrissakes, we’re just friends okay? We went through a trauma together. We’ve got a bond that no one else understands. We’re just gonna talk!”

“Do you also have a bridge to sell me?” Gabe crossed his arms across his chest and stared out the window. Decker said, “Guess I’m not so cool after all.”

The boy fiddled with his iPhone and pretended not to hear.

Decker continued speaking. “Gabriel, listen to me. I know it’s hard for you. I know you care for this girl. I don’t doubt your feelings. But Yasmine is a minor, and her parents don’t want you around. You’ve got to respect their wishes until she’s eighteen. That, my boy, is the long and the short of it.”

The kid huffed.

Decker said, “You’ve got to call her up. You can tell her you love her, because you do. But you also need to tell her that it’s not a good idea to get together until she’s older. And then go back to New York and concentrate on your studies and let her concentrate on her studies.”

“We’re just going to talk. What’s the crime in that?”

“Gabe—”

“Fine. Okay. You’re right. I’ll do everything you say, okay. Just let me do it in person.”

“That’s a mistake, son.”

“She asked to see me, Peter. I can’t tell her no. Yasmine was involved in that sadistic mess because of me. And she stood by me when she could have run away from those thugs. She put her own safety at risk. Yes, I love her, but I also prize loyalty and commitment: two things that neither of my parents understands. I know that the trial is over, but that doesn’t mean that all the shit suddenly evaporates.”