million dollars.”
He braked, and she had to press her hands on the dashboard to stop herself from sliding down the seat.
“mat? Are you kiddin’?”
“No, not kidding. She’s going to put it in writing.”
She slipped on the safety belt.
“Fuck me, one million. Holy shit.”
Lorraine gave a tiny smile
“Dead or alive.”
“Fucking hell.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“Just one thing, Bill, two actually. Thanks for backing me up in there with that bastard Caley.”
Rooney accelerated again.
“Think nothin’ of it, only said what I meant, he got to me. So what’s the other thing you wanna talk about, the split?”
I Lorraine smiled.
“No, that goes three ways. It’s just I run this investigation, Bill, not you, me. I give the orders, understood?”
He noddedr’ieah, I hear you, it’s your show.”
“Yes, it is,”
she said softly and then let out a yell, thumping his big wide shoulder.
“One million!”
CHAPTER
1
I That same afternoon, Lorraine, Rooney and Rosie discussed
V how they would begin the investigation into the disappearance of Anna Louise Caley. First they would invoice the Caleys for an advance of salary. Rooney would approach the officers he knew had been or were still involved on the case in LA. This would cut down a lot of questions they would have to ask Mr. and Mrs. Caley, and before Lorraine talked to either of them she wanted as much background information as possible. All back issues of newspapers that had featured the girl’s disappearance had to be checked over at the library and xeroxed copies filed at the office.
They felt they were on a roll. One million dollars was one hell of an incentive.
That evening, Rooney met with the Dean Martin look-alike Detective Jim Sharkey for a liquid dinner. To begin with, Sharkey was noncommittal; as far as he was concerned, the police had done about all they could do at their end.
“Consensus is, or was, she was kidnapped by persons unknown, though no ransom note was delivered. Other cases with similar characteristics would not have been kept open as long as this one.”
Rooney sniffed.
“You sayin’ you had a lot of girls just disappearing?” “Yeah, a lot, Bill, and you gotta know it. We got a file as long as my arm on missing kids, and we try checkin7 out most of them. Believe me, we spent more tirtfe on this one because of the high profile of the Caleys. She disappeared in New Orleans anyway, so there was not a lot we could do here. We even sent a few guys there to dig around but they came up with nothing, and the guys there aren’t the friendliest bunch of bastards, kinda suggested we back off.”
“So you did?”
“Yeah, we got nothin’ from LA, and we interviewed every kid she knew.”
“Was the Caley girl into drugs?”
“Nope, squeaky clean. You know, with no body discovered after eleven months, some of the guys reckoned the girl maybe just took off.”
Bill sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“Anythin’ come up against the parents?”
Sharkey looked askance.
“What? Give me that again? They’ve fuckin’ hired the best in the business, if they’d had anythin’, anythin’ to do with their own kid’s disappearance, believe me, we’d have sniffed it. And the broad, she was weepin’ her heart out.”
“Mrs. Caley?”
Sharkey nodded.
“She must have been one hell oŁa woman, still is. Geez, what a figure, and I’m tellin’ you, Bill, I never been one for older women, know what I mean? But fuck me, well, I’d like to give her a roll in the hay, no kiddin’.”
fe—
Rooney nodded. They sank a few more biers, then switched to vodka. The dinner had been a long one. At midnight they called a cab, and made their way back to Sharkey’s precinct in uptown LA. Sharkey held his liquor well, and even though he was off duty he refused to let Rooney come into the station with him. To have ex-captain Bill Rooney in tow breathing beer fumes over everyone could cause problems, even
He braked, and she had to press her hands on the dashboard to stop herself from sliding down the seat.
“mat? Are you kiddin’?”
“No, not kidding. She’s going to put it in writing.”
She slipped on the safety belt.
“Fuck me, one million. Holy shit.”
Lorraine gave a tiny smile
“Dead or alive.”
“Fucking hell.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“Just one thing, Bill, two actually. Thanks for backing me up in there with that bastard Caley.”
Rooney accelerated again.
“Think nothin’ of it, only said what I meant, he got to me. So what’s the other thing you wanna talk about, the split?”
I Lorraine smiled.
“No, that goes three ways. It’s just I run this investigation, Bill, not you, me. I give the orders, understood?”
He noddedr’ieah, I hear you, it’s your show.”
“Yes, it is,”
she said softly and then let out a yell, thumping his big wide shoulder.
“One million!”
CHAPTER
1
I That same afternoon, Lorraine, Rooney and Rosie discussed
V how they would begin the investigation into the disappearance of Anna Louise Caley. First they would invoice the Caleys for an advance of salary. Rooney would approach the officers he knew had been or were still involved on the case in LA. This would cut down a lot of questions they would have to ask Mr. and Mrs. Caley, and before Lorraine talked to either of them she wanted as much background information as possible. All back issues of newspapers that had featured the girl’s disappearance had to be checked over at the library and xeroxed copies filed at the office.
They felt they were on a roll. One million dollars was one hell of an incentive.
That evening, Rooney met with the Dean Martin look-alike Detective Jim Sharkey for a liquid dinner. To begin with, Sharkey was noncommittal; as far as he was concerned, the police had done about all they could do at their end.
“Consensus is, or was, she was kidnapped by persons unknown, though no ransom note was delivered. Other cases with similar characteristics would not have been kept open as long as this one.”
Rooney sniffed.
“You sayin’ you had a lot of girls just disappearing?” “Yeah, a lot, Bill, and you gotta know it. We got a file as long as my arm on missing kids, and we try checkin7 out most of them. Believe me, we spent more tirtfe on this one because of the high profile of the Caleys. She disappeared in New Orleans anyway, so there was not a lot we could do here. We even sent a few guys there to dig around but they came up with nothing, and the guys there aren’t the friendliest bunch of bastards, kinda suggested we back off.”
“So you did?”
“Yeah, we got nothin’ from LA, and we interviewed every kid she knew.”
“Was the Caley girl into drugs?”
“Nope, squeaky clean. You know, with no body discovered after eleven months, some of the guys reckoned the girl maybe just took off.”
Bill sighed, leaning back in his chair.
“Anythin’ come up against the parents?”
Sharkey looked askance.
“What? Give me that again? They’ve fuckin’ hired the best in the business, if they’d had anythin’, anythin’ to do with their own kid’s disappearance, believe me, we’d have sniffed it. And the broad, she was weepin’ her heart out.”
“Mrs. Caley?”
Sharkey nodded.
“She must have been one hell oŁa woman, still is. Geez, what a figure, and I’m tellin’ you, Bill, I never been one for older women, know what I mean? But fuck me, well, I’d like to give her a roll in the hay, no kiddin’.”
fe—
Rooney nodded. They sank a few more biers, then switched to vodka. The dinner had been a long one. At midnight they called a cab, and made their way back to Sharkey’s precinct in uptown LA. Sharkey held his liquor well, and even though he was off duty he refused to let Rooney come into the station with him. To have ex-captain Bill Rooney in tow breathing beer fumes over everyone could cause problems, even
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