the screen.
I said, “Did she talk to you guys about going to a wedding?”
Head shakes.
“Can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt her? Anyone at all?”
“I can’t, sorry, sir,” said Claire. Glancing at Serena.
Serena said, “We didn’t talk about personal stuff. Cee and me only do that with ourselves.”
I said, “She did tell you she needed to get away from her boyfriend.”
“Because she was looking for a place.”
“Did she seem at all afraid of her boyfriend?”
“You think he did it?”
“We need to look at everything.”
“Who is he?”
Milo said, “We were hoping you could tell us.”
“You don’t know anything?” said Serena.
“It’s a tough one, guys.”
“Wish we could help you. I mean that. A friend of ours, Kevin, he got shot over a meth thing in Spokane. They never found out who did that and it ate up his parents. How are Kimbee’s parents doing?”
“Wish we could tell you. What did she say about her boyfriend other than needing to get away from him?”
Claire said, “Nothing. Except she called him a brain.”
“The Brain,” said Serena. “She was living with The Brain, needed a change.”
I said, “Did she ever bring anyone home?”
Serena said, “Not that I saw.”
Claire said, “Me, neither.”
“No one was stalking her,” said Serena, “if that’s what you mean. We look around all the time, we’re careful because both of us had stalkers. Cee had two.”
“Here in L.A.?”
“Uh-uh, Spokane. High school. So now we look out, someone was hanging around anyone, we’d know. That’s why we like it here, weird stuff sticks out, it’s quiet. Until the A-H on Loma Bruna bought that place.”
Milo stood. “I’ll see what I can do about him.”
Claire said, “Hey. I just thought of something. Sometimes she said she was going to the library to read.”
“Was she in school?”
Both girls shrugged.
“Out by the pool,” said Claire, “we’d sometimes see her with books.”
I said, “Books about what?”
“Big ones.”
“Which library did she go to?”
Claire said, “It wasn’t like a big conversation, look at me, I’m so smart I’m going to the library. It’s just once, I went out to move the ’82 ’cause she did want to use her car. She said the library.”
Serena said, “Another time, I saw her walking and I’m like, Hi, wassup and she points to her backpack and is like, I’m going to the library. I thought it was cute.”
“That she liked to read?”
“That she’d admit it.”
Claire placed a hand on her belly. “I don’t like the way I’m feeling. I’m going to miss her.”
“Aw, girl,” said Serena.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Claire left.
Serena said, “She’s going in there to cry. This reminds her of her mom. I better go in and help her.”
Milo said, “Sure. Thanks for your time. We’re going to check out her place. You guys have an alarm. Did she?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t see a lock on the garage door.”
“There isn’t one because it’s not a real door,” said Serena. “You slide it up then there’s a wall with a regular door and that one has a lock. The landlord did it to hide turning it into an illegal dwelling. That’s why he doesn’t charge us for a two-bedroom. If he could, he would, he’s a total dick.”
“Who’s the landlord?”
“Dr. McClurg, he’s a dentist.” She shifted bare feet. “Do you have to tell him about Kimbee? He doesn’t exactly know about her.”
Milo said, “If he had nothing to do with her, don’t see why we’d need to tell him anything.”
“He didn’t. Promise.”
“No prob. So it’s okay for us to look in the garage?”
The question surprised her. “Sure, of course.”
“How about a key?”
“It’s easier to use the back door, same key, I’ll get it for you.”
She hurried off, filmy top billowing over coltish legs.
I said, “All that phone work was getting the victim warrant?”
“Judge Klee, God bless him.”
“You asked Serena permission because with one address, technically you need her or Claire’s approval.”
“Which I just obtained smoothly and unobtrusively.”
“Crafty devil.”
“Charm,” he said. “Everything I know, I learned from you.”
CHAPTER
25
Serena returned with a hot-pink key on a matching chain.
Milo said, “Very cool.”
She said, “So we can see it easily.” Small smile. “Also, style’s the thing, we try to put style into everything. When we own goats on our ranch, they’re going to get groomed like show dogs. Can you guys go out by yourself? Cee’s pretty sad, I want to stay here for her.”
* * *
—
The garage’s rear door was approached via a narrow strip where the fencing was blanketed by clematis. Two plastic garbage cans sat a few feet