"-five nights ago. Big guy, buffed out and kinda fierce, with his hair high and tight?"
Five nights ago was the night Dana had prayed with Herbert Faustina.
"You remember every mocha you sell?"
He made a self-conscious smile.
"Not hardly. I remember this guy because of his chick. Dude, she was hot-"
He cupped his fingers to indicate the size of her breasts. Thomas hadn't said anything about Dana having a mocha.
"Did she have a mocha, too?"
"He came in alone. The Lakers were playing, and he's killing time, but he keeps looking outside. I'm thinking, what's this dude looking for, is he going to rob me? But then he says, shit, there's my chick, and turned so fast his drink splashed all over his hand. Ouch."
"Ouch."
"Right. This thick was smoking. I would've spilled my coffee, too."
"Un-huh."
"Anyway, he beat it back across the street. I just stared at the chick. She had a serious case of the floppies when she ran. It made my night."
He cupped his hands over his chest again, and bounced them up and down.
"Why was she running?"
"They got into his car, but then she got out again. She ran over to see some guy-"
Thomas hadn't said anything about Dana getting out of the car. No flopping had been described.
The door chimed as an Armenian couple with a small baby came in. The woman was sultry, and beautiful. The clerk stared at her and lost his train of thought. I touched his arm.
"Describe the man she ran to see."
"I wasn't looking at the dude, bro-I was watching her bags; they were hopping."
"An older man? Thin, with badly dyed hair?"
"You mean the guy in the picture?"
"You tell me."
The clerk glanced at the woman again, watching her walk, then sighed when he turned back to me. Fantasy interruptus.
"I didn't see the dude's face. I guess he was kinda old, but I couldn't swear to any of this. She almost knocked him over when she hugged him."
It had to be Reinnike. Reinnike had come outside, and Dana had gone to see him. Thomas hadn't mentioned that part, and now I wondered why.
"What about the black guy? Did he go see the guy, too?"
"He kinda ducked down like he was hiding. I thought that was weird. I think he took a picture."
"Why do you think he took a picture?"
"I saw his camera-"
He lifted his hands to either side of his face as if he was aiming a camera. As he demonstrated, the Armenian man asked if they had concentrated milk. The clerk told him to check the last aisle.
I said, "You sure it was a camera? Maybe it was a cell phone."
"Dude, I know a camera. Not one of those dinky little things,. either; a real camera with a long lens."
He pointed out a white car on the street-side row of cars in the Home Away parking lot.
"See the white sedan… four, five, six spots from the entrance, right here by the street? They were parked where that white sedan is. I saw the camera."
"How long was she with the other man?"
"Coupla minutes. Maybe not that long."
"Then what happened?"
"They left."
"Did they follow the other man?"
The clerk was beginning to look annoyed.
"Dude, I don't know if they followed him. They just left."
The Armenian family brought two cans of condensed milk and a jar of applesauce to the counter.
The clerk said, "I gotta get back to work."
"Me, too."
I thanked him for his help, then ducked under the counter and went out to my car. The air was cold, but I didn't feel it. It was ten fifty-three when I called Joe Pike.
I said, "I need you to meet me."
Pike didn't ask why; he only asked where. I gave him Dana's address.
Ken Wilson was right. Dead ends don't exist. Lucy had gone, but she would return.
35
People lie. Half the people in jail were arrested because they lied even though they hadn't done anything wrong. A cop asked where they were Tuesday night, and they didn't say they were having a beer at the Starlite Lounge; they said they were in Bakersfield. Next thing they knew, they were popped for a Bakersfield stickup because they matched a description. They suddenly remembered they were at the Starlite, but then it was too late. They had lied, been arrested and booked, and by the time the detectives figured out they were telling the truth about the Starlite, the detectives had also found an outstanding warrant for failure to pay child support or skipping a court appearance.