My Dark Places - James Ellroy [107]
They removed an ID photo from Bobbie Long’s wallet. They canvassed the restaurants and bars near the dump site. They hit some joints along Valley Boulevard. They tried the French Basque, Tina’s Cafe, the Blue Room, the Caves Cafe, Charley’s Cafe and the Silver Dollar Cafe. They came up empty.
They hit the Canyon Inn. They heard a guy talking up their case way too loud. They braced him. The guy was drunk. He was trying to impress some women.
Andre and Everley called it quits and went home. Ward Hallinen dropped Bobbie Long’s camera off at the crime lab and told a tech man to develop the film. Ned Lovretovich worked late at the Bureau. He kept calling the names in Bobbie Long’s address book.
He talked to Edith Boromeo. She said she knew Bobbie 20-some years. They waitressed together in New Orleans. Bobbie was married to a laundry truck driver. He used to beat Bobbie up. She didn’t remember his name. She didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie or any “rich guy” or any guy with slicked-back hair or any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.
He talked to Mabel Brown. She said she used to waitress with Bobbie. Bobbie was very outspoken and rude. She went to the track with Bobbie quite a few times. Bobbie blew all her money on bets and never chipped in for gas. Bobbie accepted rides from strange men all the time. She didn’t know Bobbie’s bookie. She didn’t know any “rich guy.” She didn’t know any guy with slicked-back hair. She didn’t know any guy who worked at the Challenge Creamery.
He talked to Bill Kimbrough. The guy said he owned a grocery store near Bobbie Long’s apartment. He saw Bobbie at the bus stop yesterday. She was alone. She said she was going to the track.
Lovretovich drove back to Bobbie Long’s apartment. He tossed it again. He found two liquor bottles stashed below the kitchen sink.
The Long job was one day old. Everybody thought the same thing.
Bobbie met some freak at the track. He cooked her some chow at his pad or took her to a restaurant. He fucked her at his pad or fucked her at a motel or raped her at the crime scene and forced her to put her undies back on. They had to canvass Santa Anita. They had to hit all the restaurants and motels in the San Gabriel Valley.
Andre and Everley drove out to the track. They contacted the concessions boss and showed him their Bobbie Long snapshot. The guy said she looked familiar. He saw a girl like that on Thursday. She was kissing a man with thin blond hair and a big bulbous nose. She was wearing some kind of dark outfit. She wasn’t wearing a coat. There were five checkrooms at the track. Maybe she checked her coat.
Santa Anita was big and spread out. The concessions guy showed Andre and Everley around. They hit all the checkrooms, bars, betting windows and lunch counters. They flashed Bobbie Long’s picture. A dozen people said she looked familiar.
Andre called the Bureau. Blackie McGowan said they got an early-morning tip.
Somebody found a nylon stocking in a suit at Bedon Cleaners in Rosemead. The stocking guy read the morning paper. He knew Bobbie Long got choked. He figured the odd stocking had to be somewhere. He called the Temple City Station. A patrol unit picked up the stocking and rushed it to the Sheriff’s Crime Lab. A technician examined it and compared it to the stocking that choked Bobbie Long. The stockings did not match.
Andre and Everley drove to the Bureau. They called in their sketch man, Jack Moffett. They told him to draw a picture of Bobbie Long in her snazzy red-and-black ensemble. They told him to draw it in full color and get some glossy prints made up.
Moffett went to work. Andre called Metro and requested two deputies. The duty sergeant sent Bill Vickers and Frank Godfrey over. They canvassed bars and restaurants on the Jean Ellroy job. Andre told them to blanket the San Gabriel Valley. Hit all the restaurants serving Mexican food and hit all the motels. Look for couples checking in Thursday night. Get their car license numbers and contact the DMV. Get complete registration stats. Contact the registered vehicle