Gun Games - Faye Kellerman [51]
“I hope I didn’t help you at all,” Hinton said.
Oliver smiled. “Sometimes it’s what you don’t say that helps us more than what you do say.”
Chapter Sixteen
Decker said, “Myra Gelb’s gun came back as stolen.”
Oliver said, “Why am I not surprised.”
He and Marge were in the Loo’s office. She was standing, he was sitting across from Decker’s desk. It was three in the afternoon.
Marge said, “How long ago?”
“A year.”
“Who was it pilfered from?”
“Lisbeth and Ramon Holly.” Decker handed Oliver the address and phone number. “They live in the area. Give them a call and find out the details.”
“I’ll set something up.” He walked out of the office.
To Marge, Decker said, “So what’s going on?”
“We’ve got bits and pieces about the two kids but nothing that you can sink your teeth into. Plus, I don’t think the school likes us that much. Not nearly as much as they like Dylan Lashay.” She recapped the morning to the boss. “Myra and Greg did some freelance work on the paper, but we still don’t have anything to tie them together.”
“Is Heddy Kramer the Heddy from Myra’s contact list on her phone?” Decker asked.
“Yes. She’s also the junior editor.” Marge shrugged. “Maybe she was a contact point between the two kids. The journalism teacher doesn’t remember them knowing each other, but he wasn’t helpful, especially after we mentioned Dylan Lashay’s name.”
“Dylan the Mafia don.”
“His parents must have made the school an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
Decker smiled.
Marge said, “It’s possible that Myra and Greg met through the paper. Maybe they started talking about some unsavory things that were going on in the school. Neither one was an outcast, but they certainly weren’t in the popular crowd.” A pause. “Or maybe a suicide is just a suicide.”
“What intrigues me is that both guns were stolen. Gregory Hesse is puzzling enough. Why would Myra Gelb have a stolen gun?”
“Beats me,” Marge said. “I can interview Heddy Kramer if you want?”
Decker thought a moment. “Myra’s memorial service is tomorrow at eleven. Let’s wait until that’s over before you talk to Heddy or any of Myra’s other friends. The shock needs to wear off before they can talk coherently.”
“I’ll try to set something up for next week.”
Oliver came back. “No one’s home at the Hollys. I left a message.”
Marge said, “Myra’s funeral is tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to set up an interview with the friends early next week.”
“Try to talk to the Hollys sooner than that,” Decker said. “If you can’t get them on Friday, do it over the weekend.”
Marge turned to Oliver. “I’m okay this weekend. What about you?”
Oliver said, “You know my number, sweetheart. Call me anytime.”
At 6:30 in the morning, Gabe sat at the bus stop, head in hand, cursing the hour and the singing birds whose current cacophony was giving him a headache. He knew that the upcoming audition was important to his future, but his mind was elsewhere, and his focus was scattered. If he was going to get up this early, at least he should be spending time with Yasmine. They saw each other on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings (they had up the count by one more day) and it pissed him off that he had to miss seeing her even though he knew that Nick had worked hard to set this thing up. He continued to mope over the situation, in his own world, so he vaguely noticed a figure walking by. He didn’t even hear the voice until she was right on top of him.
“Chris?”
Gabe looked up.
The girl was truly gorgeous: long blond hair and silky blue eyes, tall and leggy. Her boobs were big and perfect, probably from surgery even though she was young. Surgery or not, it didn’t matter. She was the perfect ten.
His thoughts had been concentrated on Yasmine, so it took him a while to realize that she was addressing him. He started to say that she had made a mistake, but then it clicked who she was.
“Do you remember me?” She flashed a blinding white smile.
“ ’Course,” he said. “You were one of the girls with Dylan.”
She sat down next to him on the bench. “Dylan’s an asshole.”
That was