A Killing in China Basin - Kirk Russell [44]
‘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