My Dark Places

My Dark Places Read Free Page A

Book: My Dark Places Read Free
Author: James Ellroy
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ex-husband was a week shy of 60 years old. He was tall and athletically built. He seemed to be in control of his emotions.
    The victim’s son was pudgy, and tall for 10 years old. He was nervous—but did not appear in any way distraught.
    The boy arrived home in a cab, alone. He was informed of his mother’s death and took the news calmly. He told a deputy that his dad was at the El Monte bus depot—waiting for a Freeway Flyer to take him back to L.A.
    A patrol car was dispatched to pick up Armand Ellroy. Father and son had not been in contact since their goodbyes at the depot. They were now being held in separate rooms.
    Hallinen and Lawton interviewed the ex-husband first. Ellroy stated that he had been divorced from the victim since 1954 and that he was exercising his child visitation rights this weekend. He picked the boy up in a cab at 10:00 a.m. Saturday and did not see his ex-wife. He and his son took a bus to his apartment in Los Angeles. They ate lunch and went to a movie called
The Vikings
at the Fox-Wilshire Theatre. The show ended at 4:30. They did some grocery shopping and returned home. They ate dinner, watched TV and went to bed between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.
    They slept late this morning. They took a bus downtown and ate lunch at Clifton’s Cafeteria. They spent several hours window-shopping and caught a bus back to El Monte. He put his son in a cab at the depot and sat down to wait for an L.A-bound bus. A cop approached him and told him the news.
    Hallinen and Lawton asked Ellroy how he got on with his ex. He told them they met in ’39 and got married in ’40. They got divorced in ’54—things went bad and they came to hate each other. The divorce proceedings were acrimonious and adversarial.
    Hallinen and Lawton quizzed Ellroy on his ex-wife’s social life. He told them Jean was a secretive woman who kept things to herself. She lied when it suited her—and she was really 43, not the 37 she claimed. She was promiscuous and an alcoholic. His son found her in bed with strange men on several occasions. Her recent move to El Monte could only be explained as a run from or run to some lowlife she was seeing. Jean was secretiveabout her private life because she knew he wanted to prove her an unfit mother—and thus gain full-time custody of his son.
    Hallinen and Lawton asked Ellroy to name his ex-wife’s specific boyfriends. He told them he only knew one name: Hank Hart, a fat blue-collar type missing one thumb.
    Hallinen and Lawton thanked Ellroy for his cooperation and walked to an interview room down the hall. Some off-duty cops were keeping the victim’s kid company.
    The boy was bucking up nicely. He was hanging in tough all the way.
    Hallinen and Lawton handled him gently. The boy confirmed his father’s account of the weekend down to the smallest detail. He said he only knew the names of two men his mom went out with: Hank Hart and a teacher at his school named Peter Tubiolo.
    It was 9:00 p.m. Ward Hallinen gave the boy a candy bar and walked him down the hall to see his father.
    Armand Ellroy hugged his son. The kid hugged him back. They both looked relieved and strangely happy.
    The boy was released to Armand Ellroy’s custody. A cop drove them to the El Monte bus station. They caught a 9:30 Freeway Flyer back to L.A.
    Virg Ervin drove Hallinen and Lawton to the Royal Palms Apartments. They showed their snapshot and ran their standard line of questions by Bert Outlaw and Myrtle Mawby.
    Both women recognized the picture. Both women stated that the victim was not a Desert Inn regular—although she was in the place last night. She was sitting with a small-built man with straight black hair and a thin face. They were the last two patrons to leave—at closing time, 2:00 a.m.
    Both women stated that they’d never seen the small-built man before.
    Myrtle Mawby said they should call Margie Trawick. She was sitting by the bar earlier in the evening and might have something to add. Jack Lawton dialed

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