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our clothes. The dude who did it completely
310 / Faye Kellerman
freaked. Started laughing like some goddamn hyena,
then began to hack away at her arm. The blood kept
coming, man. The others stomped on her knee, and
you could hear it break, you know? Man, you could
hear the crack for a mile. Shit, it was weird, real weird.
Who did the slashing? Decker asked.
It wasn t me, man. I didn t know he was gonna
slash her. Man, I didn t do nothing, just maybe stared
while they ripped her apart. See, by then I was already
coming down, but they were still flying, man. You
know dust. It does weird things.
The P. D. groaned, scratched some notes, then lit a
cigarette and gave one to Cory. All the others followed
suit. The room became a cloud of tobacco haze.
Then it all got kinda fuzzy, the boy continued, after
filling his lungs with smoke. I mean, I don t remember
too much after the nigger bitch bit it. Just that it all got
kind of fuzzy, and they were doing a number on her.
Then, we heard noises like someone was coming, and
we all took off. Man, I forgot to ask for my knife back
in all the mess. Or maybe it just got lost. I don t know
where you got it. But I didn t use it on her, man.
Who did? asked Morrison.
Schmidt thought a moment, then said, I don t think
I should tell you that.
Such discretion, muttered Ronson.
You split after you heard the noise? Decker asked.
THE RITUAL BATH / 311
Man, we were gone!
Theoretically, Cory, Decker said, what were the
names of your friends?
Ronson protested, but the boy ignored him.
Maybe, just maybe, their first names were Clay,
Dennis, and Brian. That s all I m sayin for now.
Captain? asked Decker.
Yeah?
Can I talk to you for a moment?
Brief interlude, Counselor? Morrison asked the P.
D.
Why the hell not? snapped Ronson.
Great, Birdwell said, adjusting his glasses. I ve
got to make a couple of calls.
I buy it, Morrison said to Decker when they were
alone. Do you?
Yup.
The question is do you go for a sure thing and
charge him with Murder One, or do you take a chance
that a jury will believe him and try to get all four of
them?
Decker thought a moment.
I don t feel comfortable letting him take the sole
rap when there are three others involved. And I think
it would be hard to convince a jury that Schmidt acted
alone. Also, other shoe prints and tire tracks were
found at the scene. Be interesting if they matched his
friends .
If he turns state s evidence, then we can get warrants
for his pals. Morrison tapped his foot. Let s try for
all four. Now how much do we give up in exchange?
Letting him off with
312 / Faye Kellerman
just an assault charge would be a travesty of justice.
For more than one reason, Captain. I don t think
he did the Adler rape.
Morrison knitted his brows.
Why the hell not?
Someone tried to break into the ritual bath the night
Florence Marley was killed. Cory didn t mention a
thing about it. I think the perp who broke in that night
was the same one who did the Adler rape. I made a
tactical error by mentioning the rape the first time I
questioned Cory after the supermarket thing, and the
kid was somehow smart enough to use the information
and plea bargain with it against the murder rap.
Shit.
You re telling me, Decker said. I feel like a jack-
ass.
Morrison paused.
I d like to have someone in custody before I dismiss
the charges. He confessed, Pete.
I just don t see it. Cory and his friends have had
minor brushes with the law. And whenever there was
a weapon involved, it was a knife. When we searched
Schmidt s house, we found only one gun, and it be-
longed to his father. These kids are cutters. The Adler
rapist had a gun. The night I first searched in the hills,
someone shot at me. Someone who knew how to use
a piece.
Perps have been known to use different methods.
Granted. But still, I d like to delve a little
THE RITUAL BATH / 313
further into the case before sticking it on Cory.
I m assuming you ve questioned Macko about it?
Yes. It s not his baby.
How s your caseload?
With the Marley murder and the Foothill thing out
of the way, I ve got a little more time on my hands.
Any suspects?
A few.
It would be handy if Schmidt knew he didn t have
the Adler thing to bargain with. Let s say, we ll keep
it quiet for forty-eight hours. See what you can do in
two days.
Thank you, sir.
Birdwell returned.
Where do we go from here?
Morrison briefed him.
So what do you want to do with Schmidt? the
prosecutor asked, wiping his glasses. Stall him?
Yeah, we stall him for two days, Morrison respon-
ded. Tell him we re considering the trade.
The captain turned to Decker.
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