A Killing in China Basin - By Kirk Russell Page 0,37
respect for the dead had also coincided with when he was most full of himself. Looking back now, he figured he’d known a few very good inspectors and some very bad ones and the clothing hadn’t made anyone better or worse. Some of the bad inspectors had dressed immaculately yet couldn’t find a soldier on an army base.
The good ones connected to some pulse running through everyone. One of the very best had taken him aside at a retirement party and walked him out into a warm May night on a patio to tell him, ‘Dump the expensive suits, you don’t need them. I’ve been watching you and you’re the real deal, but you’re missing details because you’re spending too much time trying to keep coffee off your tie.’
At some point after trying to live larger than he was, Raveneau had figured it out. He sipped the coffee now and waited for his new partner to agree. When she did he punched in the first of two numbers they had for Deborah Lafaye and got an answer on the third ring.
‘This is Inspector Ben Raveneau with the San Francisco Police. My partner and I are investigating a homicide – a killing in China Basin a week ago Thursday. Maybe you read about it?’
‘I haven’t.’
‘Or saw the sketch that ran on TV when we went out to the public.’
‘Inspector, I’ve been out of town so I’m not sure how I can help you. Why did you call me?’
‘We believe you knew our victim and we’d like to meet and talk with you about her. Her name was Alex Jurika.’
‘Oh, my God.’
‘Did you know her?’
‘Yes. Yes, oh, really, my God, Alex is dead? She once worked for me. I can’t believe she’s dead. When did this happen? She was murdered? Alex was murdered? That’s terrible news.’
‘Yes, she was and I’m sorry. It sounds like you knew her well.’
Lafaye immediately qualified that.
‘I haven’t seen much of her in the last five years. This makes me so sad. What happened?’
‘We’re investigating. We don’t really know what happened yet. We found her body in a building in China Basin.’
Raveneau paused one beat and said, ‘We’d like to talk with you in person today.’
There was a gap as she debated that, but he knew what the answer would be. His guess was that right now she was spinning different scenarios about how they connected her name to Jurika. She hadn’t volunteered that she’d been in Jurika’s apartment.
‘I’ll have to ask you to give me a few minutes. I don’t even know my own schedule. I need to call my secretary and then I’ll call you back. What number shall I use?’
When she called back she said, ‘A driver is going to take me to a meeting in Napa. Would it inconvenience you, Inspector, if we met in the parking lot at the Larkspur Ferry in Marin? I realize that’s probably not what you had in mind, but there are people I’m supposed to rendezvous with there, and we could meet ahead of that. I can give you my cell number, or if you give me yours I’ll call you as I get there. Will that be OK?’ After a moment, she added, ‘I’m just so shocked.’
Thirty minutes later Raveneau was at the ferry landing and on his cell phone to Lafaye. He watched a big ferry gliding out and then churning a heavy white wake as it turned toward San Francisco, and Lafaye guided him to where she was waiting.
She was a lean woman, silver-haired, blue or almost violet-eyed, taller than average and eye-catching, though she must be his age. He couldn’t help but look at her fingers. The man who’d done it to her had done a very thorough job.
She caught his secret glance and said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Everybody looks at my hands. I knew as soon as you told me she was dead why you’d called me. I just wanted to talk to my lawyer before meeting you. You’re wondering what my fingerprints were doing in Alex’s apartment.’
‘That’s right.’
‘I hope you’re not wondering if I killed her.’
‘Why would we wonder that?’
‘You’re in the suspicion business.’
‘I’ve always thought of it in a different way.’
‘And you wanted to meet face to face.’
‘It’s better that way.’
‘Then why don’t we get coffee and talk?’
Something about her eyes was arresting, the color maybe. ‘Let’s do that,’ he said, and then added, ‘We’re just hoping you can help us.’