Hymn Read Free Page A

fingerprints from knives and forks. ‘I do what I can, Mr Denman. You know that.’
    â€˜Sure, Waldo, I know that. But just close your eyes and take a breath of this good Pacific air and let your muscles loose. You may have had your troubles with Tusha, but you’ve got yourself two beautiful children, and your own apartment and a car that actually runs, and a whole lot of people who like you.’
    â€˜Well, that’s nice, Mr Denman. Thank you very much.’
    â€˜Waldo . . .’ Lloyd began, squeezing Waldo’s arm. But he knew that it was no use pushing Waldo any further. He would simply embarrass him.
    Waldo went to the rail and looked out over the sea. Now that the sun was setting, La Jolla and all its jostling restaurants and souvenir shops and colour-washed apartment buildings were thickly coated in a glutinous shellac of amber light. The gulls continued to wheel and scream, and Waldo lifted his double chin and watched them.
    â€˜My family used to live in Palanga, you know, on the Baltic,’ he said. ‘It seems very far from here now, very long ago. My grandfather used to take me for walks along the shore. It’s funny, don’t you think, Mr Denman? I can see him as clear now as I did then. He always used to wear a long grey wool coat, and an old-fashioned black felt hat.’
    â€˜That’s not so funny,’ smiled Lloyd. ‘I can almost see him myself.’
    Waldo slowly shook his head. ‘Grandfather used to say to me that when we die, our souls become seagulls. They fly, they swoop. That is why seagulls always sound so sad. They are always looking for the people they left behind.’
    Lloyd said, ‘That’s a cute little story.’
    Waldo wiped his eyes with his fingers. ‘I used to believe it. I think I still believe it. Maybe in the Baltic my grandfather still flies and swoops along the shoreline, looking for that boy that he once used to take for walks.’
    He shrugged, and then he said, ‘I’d better get back in now. There’s a whole lot to do.’
    As he went in, however, Lloyd saw two men in budget-priced suits push their way in through the restaurant’s oak-panelled front door, and stand uncertainly among the pot-plants. They certainly didn’t look like the Fish Depot’s usual type of customer, but then they didn’t look like health inspectors, either. One of them was cavernous-cheeked and unshaven, with glittering eyes. The other was podgy and rumpled, with a surprised-looking face, and an uncontrollable quiff of fraying brown hair. Jackie Gleason meets James Belushi.
    The unshaven one came up to Waldo and spoke to him. Waldo nodded, then shook his head. He said something else, and then he turned and pointed toward the balcony. The two men weaved their way between the tables with their hands in their pockets, and emerged out on the balcony.
    â€˜Mr Lloyd Denman?’ the unshaven one asked him, with a slight catch in his throat.
    â€˜That’s right. How can I help you?’
    The man produced a gold badge. ‘I’m Sergeant David Houk, sir, San Diego Police Department. This is Detective Ned Gable.’
    â€˜This doesn’t concern unpaid parking tickets, does it?’ asked Lloyd, mock-defensively. ‘There’s a whole bunch still in my glovebox. You know how it is. Busy, busy, busy.’
    â€˜Well, no, sir. We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions, sir.’
    Lloyd could sense their disquiet. ‘What is it?’ he demanded. ‘What’s happened?’
    Sergeant Houk cleared his throat, and then he said, ‘There’s been an accident, Mr Denman, on Rosecrans Avenue, downtown.’
    â€˜An accident? What kind of an accident?’
    â€˜Woman got fatally burned, sir. Right in front of McDonald’s restaurant.’
    â€˜Well, that’s terrible.’
    â€˜Yes, sir.’
    Lloyd waited. He didn’t know what else to say. ‘So, a woman