“Anyway, the brother brought a guy home. An actor.”
“Going under the name Walton Williams,” McFadden said. “Nothing in criminal records under that name.”
“That was in the report I told you to read,” Wohl said.
“Anyway, the way we see it,” Martinez went on, “the fag took one look around the place, saw all the expensive crap—what do you call it, ‘bric-a-brac’?”
“If it’s worth more than fifty dollars, we usually say, ‘objets d’art,’” Wohl said.
“Expensive knicknacks,” McFadden offered.
“—and figured he was in a toy store. Especially after the brother went to France. So he’s been ripping her off.”
“How would you handle this crime wave?”
“Find the fag,” McFadden said.
“Cherchez la pouf,” Wohl said.
Matt Payne laughed.
“Excuse me?” Martinez said.
“Go on,” Wohl said. “How would you do that?”
“Give us a couple of days,” McFadden said. “We’ll find him.”
“You think you know where to look?”
“There’s a couple of fairies around who owe me some favors,” Martinez said.
“Just off the top of my head, do you think there is any chance this Mr. Williams could be the doer in the rapes?”
“I called Detective Hemmings at Northwest Detectives,” McFadden said. “The best description of that doer is that he’s hairy. Black hairy. The description we got from Miss Peebles is that the brother’s boyfriend is blond.”
“And ‘delicate,’” Martinez said.
Well, they’re thinking, Wohl thought.
“What about his stealing her underwear?”
“That’s a puzzler,” Martinez said. “When I catch him, I’ll ask him.”
“We could stake out the house, Inspector,” McFadden said. “Until he comes back. I’m sure he’ll be back. But I think the easiest and cheapest way to catch him is for you to let us go look for him.”
“What did you say ‘cheapest’?” Wohl asked.
“I got the feeling that when we catch this guy, Miss Peebles isn’t going to want to go testify against him,” McFadden said. “Because of the brother. What he is would get out. And the brother may not want the guy locked up.”
“I see.”
“But if we can find him, maybe we can talk to him,” Martinez said. “Maybe we can even get some of the stuff back. But I think we can discourage him from going back there again.”
“You’re not suggesting anything that would violate Mr. Williams’s civil rights, are you, Martinez?”
“No, sir,” Martinez said, straight-faced. “As a minority member myself, I am very sensitive about civil rights.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Wohl said. “I would be very annoyed if I learned any of my men were slapping some suspect around. You understand that?”