City of Fire by Robert Ellis Read Free Book Online Page A

knives from the same set sheathed in a wooden block. The seventh slot remained open, waiting for the twelve-inch blade to hit the rinse cycle.
    “Someone washed the dishes,” Rhodes said. “But they were in a hurry and forgot to add the dinner plates.”
    Lena glanced at the dishes by the sink—dinner for one—then turned back to the dishwasher. The trays were only half-full, the contents clean. Peeling off her gloves, she dug into her blazer pocket for a fresh pair. Then she picked up a saucer in the upper tray and felt the heat—the faint glow well above room temperature that remained. Clearly, the sole purpose of the wash had been to sterilize the knife. She passed the saucer to Rhodes, who smiled a little as the radiant heat broke through his gloves. The knife in the upper tray was most likely the murder weapon.
    “The dishwasher works on a ninety-minute cycle,” he said.
    Lena did the math. “Then someone turned it on around three.”
    She looked at her partner. He was staring at the open drawer beside the oven and appeared shaken. The drawer was filled to the brim with plastic grocery bags. No one wanted it to go this way, but there it was, dragging them into the black.
    “They match the bag over his wife’s head,” Rhodes said. “They’re from the same store. Hollywood Veggie Mart.Only it’s down the hill on PCH and not in Hollywood. It’s an independent. The only one in town.”
    Lena looked out the window. She could see Tito Sanchez getting out of the car and walking toward the house. James Brant was still sitting in the front seat, but the tears were gone and his swollen face appeared to have hardened around the edges. As Sanchez entered the foyer, Novak steered him into the kitchen.
    “What’s Brant saying?”
    “The same thing I told you guys before. He’s going around in circles. He needs to use a bathroom.”
    “That’s what neighbors are for,” Rhodes said.
    Novak turned back to Sanchez. “You’ve spent the morning together. What’s your take on the guy?”
    “I can’t really get a read on him. He’s angry. Nervous. He’s all over the place. I guess if it was my wife, I might be acting the same way.”
    “What about work?”
    “No enemies. One big happy family.”
    “Then you think he’s legit,” Novak said.
    Sanchez spotted the knife in the dishwasher and caught the vibe. The big turn.
    “I didn’t say that. I can’t tell, Hank. It could go either way.”
    “What about his fingerprints?” Lena asked.
    “SID already got them,” Sanchez said. “They wanted to clear him. They got them while they were waiting to get into the house.”
    The telltale sound of wheels rolling down the hallway underlined the moment and rusted out the edge.
    Lena turned with everyone else to watch the gurney pass through the foyer and out the front door. Nikki Brant’s small body barely filled out half the blue bag. When Gainer popped his head in the room, Novak pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to him.
    “The temps,” he said.
    Gainer nodded, handing him a receipt for the body and walking out.
    Then Novak joined Lena by the dishwasher for anotherlook at that knife. As a ray of sunlight poked through the window, the blade appeared to glisten before their eyes.
    “I think it’s time we took advantage of our size,” he said to her.
    “You want to split up?”
    “We’ll get started on his alibi and let these guys finish up here,” Novak said. “I want this knife at the autopsy, so let’s get it logged in.”

THE Dreggco Corporation was located just off Main in Venice, within walking distance to the beach. As Novak pulled into the lot, Lena eyed the two-story building and guessed that it had been constructed sometime within the past three or four years. The corrugated-aluminum siding remained unblemished and appeared freshly painted a shade darker than sand. Although there were no windows on the first floor, the second story was wrapped in a band of darkened