the week. I had seen them before, and seeing them again depressed me. I handed them back without reading them.
"Okay, he had some news clips about me. Looks like he copied them at the library."
Diaz continued staring at me.
"He told me he was trying to find you."
"When this stuff hit the news I got calls from total strangers saying I owed them money and asking for loans. I got death threats, fan letters, and time-share offers, also from total strangers. After the first fifty letters I threw away my mail without opening it and turned off my answering machine. I don't know what else to tell you. I've never seen him before."
O'Loughlin said, "Maybe he hung around outside your office. You could have seen him there."
"I stopped going to my office."
"You have any idea why he would think he's your father?"
"Why would total strangers think I'd loan them money?"
Pardy said, "Were you down here or anywhere near here tonight?"
There it was. The coroner's office was responsible for identifying John Doe victims and notifying their next of kin. Whenever the police took action to identify a victim, they were acting to further their investigation. Diaz had phoned me at four A.M. to see if I was home; she had sent a car to confirm I was home, and asked me down so they could gauge my reaction. They might even have a witness squirreled nearby, giving me the eye.
I said, "I was home all night, me and my cat."
Pardy edged closer.
"Can the cat confirm it?"
"Ask him."
Diaz said, "Take it soft, Pardy. Jesus."
O'Loughlin warned off Pardy with a look.
"I don't want this to become adversarial. Cole knows we have to cover the base. He's going out of his way."
I said, "I was home all night. I spoke to a friend about nine-thirty. I can give you his name and number, but that's the only time I can cover."
Pardy glanced at O'Loughlin, but didn't seem particularly impressed.
"That's great, Cole; we'll check it out. Would you be willing to give us a GSR? In the interest of helping us. Not to be adversarial."
O'Loughlin frowned at him, but didn't object. A gunshot residue test would show them whether or not I had recently fired a gun-if I hadn't washed my hands or worn gloves.
"Sure, Pardy, take the swabs. I haven't killed anyone this week."
O'Loughlin checked his watch as if he suspected this was going to be a waste of time, but here we were and there was the dead man. Diaz called over a criminalist, and had me sign a waiver stating I knew my rights and was cooperating without coercion. The criminalist rubbed two cloth swabs over my left and right hands, then dropped each into its own glass tube. While the criminalist worked, I gave Pardy Joe Pike's name and number to confirm the call, then asked O'Loughlin if they made the murder for a botched robbery. He checked his watch again as if answering me was just another waste of time.
"We don't make it for anything right now. We're six blocks from Skid Row, Cole. We have more murders down here than any other part of the city. These people will kill each other over six cents or a blow job, and every goddamned murder clears the same. He sure as hell wasn't carrying government secrets."
No, he was carrying news stories about me.
"Sounds like you've got it figured out."
"If you'd seen as many killings down here as me, you'd have it figured, too."
O'Loughlin suddenly realized he was talking too much and seemed embarrassed.
"If we think of anything else to ask you, we'll follow up. Thanks for your cooperation."
"Sure."
He glanced at Diaz.
"Kelly, you good with letting Jeff have the lead on this? It'll be a good learning experience."
"Fine by me."
"You good with that, Jeff?"
"You bet. I'm on it."
Pardy turned away to call over the coroner's people, and O'Loughlin went with him. Two morgue techs broke out a gurney and began setting it up. I studied the body again. His clothes were worn but clean, and his face wasn't burned dark like the people who live on the streets. When I glanced up at Diaz, she was staring at him, too.
"He doesn't look homeless."
"He's probably fresh out of detention. That's good news for us; his prints will be in the system."
The alley was a long block between commercial storefronts and an abandoned hotel. The letters from the old neon HOTEL sign loomed over the dark street. I could read the hotel's faded name painted