Compulsion Read Free

right?”
    “The shirt’s great.”
    “Lucky for you there’s no polygraph around. What, you don’t dig authentic island
couture
?”
    “Elephants in Oahu?”
    “Dr. Literal.” He rolled rayon between sausage fingers. “I’da found one with Freud analyzing a mahimahi I’da brought it back for you.”
    “The macadamia nuts were fine.”
    “Yeah, yeah.” He brushed black hair off his forehead, called for another beer, finished it fast. Bright green eyes took in the view of the highway below. His eyelids half lowered.
    “You okay?”
    “Back to work tomorrow, the leisure thing was driving me out of my mind. Problem is, once I get to the office, there’s nothing to do. No new cases, period – let alone an interesting one.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I e-mailed the captain yesterday.”
    I said, “Quiet time in West L.A. ”
    “Calm before the storm, or worse.”
    “What would be worse?”
    “No storm.”
     
    He insisted on paying and was reaching for his billfold when his cell squawked. I used the opportunity to hand the waiter my credit card.
    “Sneaky.” He clicked in, listened. “Okay, Sean, why not? But if a
real
crime happens, all bets are off.”
    As we left, I said, “Sean’s got a fake crime?”
    “Car theft in Brentwood.
Recovered
car theft.” Like many homicide detectives, he considers anything less than the loss of human life on a par with jaywalking.
    “Why’d he call you?”
    “He thinks it might be more because there’s blood on one of the seats.”
    “That sounds like more.”
    “Not buckets, Alex. Maybe a spoonful.”
    “Whose?”
    “That’s the big hoohah mystery. Nervy kid wants my expertise. No one told him I’m a free bird until tomorrow.”
    I kept my mouth shut. When he’s like that, irony is wasted.
     
    Sean Binchy was waiting in front of a vanilla-colored house, wearing his usual dark suit, blue shirt and tie, spit-polished Doc Martens. He’s a young, gangly, redheaded Detective I, a former ska-punk bassist who’d found Jesus and the LAPD simultaneously. He’d been mentored by Milo, whisked away by the brass and transferred to Robbery, then moved to Auto Theft. Rumor said all that movement had something to do with his “lack of creativity.”
    The house behind him was one of those imposing, bland, grand dream-projects starting to dominate L.A. ’s luxury districts.
    This was a high-end part of Brentwood, west of Bundy, north of Sunset, where the streets narrow and sidewalks are replaced by grass. Shaggy eucalyptus hovered above much of the street. The vanilla house’s immediate neighbors were one-story ranches, sitting on residential death row as they awaited the wrecking ball.
    Sean pointed to a wide stone driveway leading to twin garages. A black Bentley Arnage sedan sat in front of one of the doors.
    “VIP wheels,” said Milo. “Just what I need.”
    “Hi, Loot. Hi, Dr. Delaware.”
    The conventional department contraction for Milo ’s rank is “Loo.” Milo is not one to deal with the small stuff.
    “How was Hawaii?”
    Milo said, “I got you some macadamia nuts.”
    “Thanks – great shirt.”
    Milo ’s eyes shifted to the Bentley. “Someone stole that and had the nerve to leave blood?”
    “Or something that looks a whole lot like blood.”
    “As opposed to?”
    “I’m pretty sure it’s blood, Loot. Haven’t called for analysis because I wanted to see what you thought.”
    “Who recovered it?”
    “The owner.” Binchy thumbed his pad. “…Nicholas Heubel. Solid citizen, didn’t have to call us in the first place.”
    Milo walked over to the Bentley. Unfettered sunlight bore down on a paint job so shiny it looked like molten tar. “How’d he find it?”
    “Drove around and spotted it three blocks away.”
    “Not much of a joyride.”
    “If you think I should forget it, I will. I just want to make sure I wasn’t missing something.”
    “Car unlocked?”
    “Yup.”
    “Give me some gloves and show me this alleged