The Same Place (The Lamb and the Lion #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,135
sucking—’”
“Ok,” Tean said.
“Wait, really? I am better? Because—”
“Ok,” Tean said more forcefully. “I see your point. I think it might be—it might be better if we brought the whole thing to Ammon, all the loose ends tied up first.”
“Because he’ll probably screw it up.”
“Because I want this to move as quickly as possible.”
“Because he’s incompetent.”
“Because he’s got a huge case load, and because you and I work well together.”
“That’s so sweet. I was thinking the same thing about the blow jobs.”
Tean turned and headed back to the home office. Jem didn’t laugh, but he was radiating amusement as he trailed after him. In their search of the home, Tean hadn’t paid much attention to the office—a thick layer of dust covered everything, and the carpet still had vacuum tracks in it. If Leroy ever used this room, he didn’t do so frequently. Tean opened drawers in the desk, rifled through old Scotch tape, a yellowing plastic container of paperclips, a jumble of pens and pencils and rubber bands, utility bills (all for the house in Sandy), and the usual detritus of a home office. Jem poked around in a filing cabinet for a few minutes and then left.
“Don’t you dare go get Ring Dings,” Tean shouted after him.
“You’re my Ring Ding,” Jem called back.
When Jem returned, he was carrying a map from the Ford. He knelt on the floor and spread it out, the paper crinkling as he smoothed it. Then he spent a moment considering it before turning it. Tean had just finished another desk drawer—this one full of stale granola bars and a bottle of water that had been Sharpied EMERGENCY DO NOT DRINK—and decided whatever Jem was doing had to be more interesting.
“Ok,” Jem said. “Where would you keep your private zoo of animals?”
“It’s not a zoo.”
“It’s animals in cages. It’s a zoo.”
“No, zoos have taken on an important role in conservation and preservation. This is more like a menagerie.”
“Ok, where would you keep your menagerie?”
“I’d release them in stages back into the wild.”
Jem groaned and slumped down on the map. “Never mind. I’ll do this myself.”
“Norbert said Leroy had a misdemeanor charge for possessing a protected species—a desert tortoise. Someone reported him keeping it in a storage unit in Glendale.”
“Ok,” Jem said, sitting up again. “That’s good to know. Anything else?”
“Not in DWR records. Ammon might—”
“No, that’s fine. Glendale makes sense. It’s more industrial than residential, and it’s not exactly a desirable area. So let’s start with the assumption that Leroy is going to use a similar area again. And let’s also assume that he doesn’t want to leave the valley.”
“We don’t know that.”
“That’s why it’s an assumption.” Jem considered the map and then snapped his fingers. “Give me a pen.”
“Excuse me?”
Jem grinned up at him, the crooked front teeth fully exposed. “Please?”
Tean passed him a pen, and Jem began marking off parts of the valley.
“Nothing too suburban,” Jem said, scratching out swaths of territory. “Especially these days, with property values so high and people desperate to find a home that isn’t all the way out in Bumfuck, Utah. The last thing Leroy needs is for a neighbor to see him hosing down his pet hyena in the backyard. Besides, we already said it’s not going to be a property in his own name.”
“He could rent a house.”
“Would the layout of a typical home be a good setup for keeping an alligator and whatever other animals he’s ‘rescued’?”
“No, probably not.”
“So, let’s assume no house.”
“But we don’t know—”
“That’s why it’s an assumption. Ok, no house. And he’s not going to use a storage unit again because he got busted last time. Besides, with storage units, you’ve got people coming and going at all hours, it’s not always easy to get water, and even on the exterior units, the doors are thin—anybody walking past would be able to hear the animals. Not just people renting units. Even in a shitty place, they have people walk the grounds, and they’ve got security cameras everywhere because they don’t want anybody cooking meth.”
“You know a lot about storage units.”
“I lived in one for six months. Winter. Christ, it was so cold.” Jem was still crossing out portions of the valley. “You’d better wipe that expression off your face before I look up.”
Tean wasn’t sure how well he managed, so he said, “No storage units.”
“Nope. So, he might have leased a warehouse, but then you’ve got the problem of paperwork, landlords, and probably utilities. Besides, there’s also the problem of money. Even