The Rabbit Factory (48 page)

"It's not evidence. It was just another blind alley. The point is..."

"So then what's the big deal?" he said. "I used to be Dean

f

The Rabbit Factory

Lamaar's driver. I just wanted to look at the videotapes. And by the way, for a hundred and fifteen thousand bucks I should get some popcorn with my movie."

' I threw my hands up in the air and turned to Diana for some help.

"Can I look at them, too?" she said. "I already have top secret clearance."

"And you wonder why I like her so much," Jim said. He handed her one of the tapes. "Here, honey, pop this in the VCR."

"That's the source tape," I said. "It's longer than the final edit, but it's got something real cool in the middle. Do me a favor, Dad. Pay attention to the voice off-camera."

Diana put the tape in the VCR, and we watched it from the opening frame until Lamaar said, "I want to get the fuck out from under these lights before the aftershock shakes them loose and kills me," and the tape went dark.

I turned to Jim. "For starters, did you recognize the guy off camera?"

"Klaus Lebrecht. And it's not just his voice. Lebrecht was one of the few guys who called the old man Deanie to his face. They were best friends." He winked not too subtly. "Some people say maybe more than friends."

"They were gay?" I said.

"Lebrecht is gay," Jim said. "He thinks he's in the closet, but in this town people know. Most of us suspected that he was in love with Lamaar. But Lamaar was homophobic. It was never gonna happen."

"If we're finished with the payoff money and the police "work," Diana said, "can we think about Sunday breakfast? Waffles or omelets?"

"Both sound good to me," Jim said. "I'm starved. I mean, if I'm not butting in, I'd love to stay." He stayed.

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"hat are you two kids doing today?" Jim said, as he worked on his second omelet. "I mean after you get rid of my hundred and fifteen thou." "I rented a plane at Van Nuys," Diana said. "I thought we

could cruise up the ocean to Malibu and look at how the rich

people live."

"Today is May first," Jim said. "May Day."

"I know," she said. "May is my favorite month."

"Question," I said. "If May Day is one of the most gorgeous

days of the year, how come pilots say 'Mayday' when a plane

is in trouble?"

"Your father is a pilot," she said. "Ask him."

"I did when I was ten years old. He said, 'Beats the shit out

of me, kid.'"

"Still does," Jim said between bites.

"Mayday for pilots has nothing to do with the month. It

comes from the French word, m'aidez, which means 'help me',"

she said, coming behind my chair and kissing me on the cheek.

"Anything else I can teach you that you couldn't learn from your

father?"

I turned around so I could return the kiss. "I'm sure there is," I said. "Isn't it time for you to get on the road, Dad?"

"It's Sunday morning. Angel's in church. Frankie's asleep, and two of my drivers are in the kitchen, just to be on the safe side. Do you mind if I hang out here a few more minutes?"

I minded like hell. Diana, on the other hand, started brewing another pot of coffee.

We made small talk until 11:15, at which point I picked up the briefcase. "Time to take care of business," I said.

"I'm right behind you," Jim said. "I got your back."

I was furious. "You think I can't figure out why you've been stalling? You are not fucking going, damn it. That was the deal, and if you don't go home right now, I'll go there and shoot Frankie myself."

Jim looked at Diana. "Mayday," he said. She shook her head and covered her mouth with both hands. She was definitely staying out of this one.

He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. "Okay, but be careful, Mikey. Don't do anything stupid. Call me when it's over."

"Thanks for your concern. Now get the fuck out of here."

He left and as soon as the door closed Diana started laughing into her hands. "Oh, my God," she said, "my father's a rabbi, and I thought he was a Master of Jewish Guilt. Yours is even better at it than mine."

"I knew we had a bond between us," I said. "We're the adult children of pushy men of different faiths. Grab your bag and your pilot stuff. We gotta go."

"We? I thought it was dangerous."

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"Only if my father goes. Otherwise, it's like going into a loan office and paying off a debt. It doesn't make sense to leave you here alone. We've already lost enough of our private time. You can just sit in the car or walk through the mall while I take care of business. The whole deal will only take fifteen minutes. I'll be done at twelve fifteen and we can go flying."

"Cool. But if he ever finds out that you took me to the mall for the Big Payoff, he'll go ballistic."

, I let out a long sigh. "I know. It will be the highlight of my week."

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put the briefcase and the videos back in my trunk, and

I

Diana and I headed for Century City.

"Can I ask you a dumb question?" Diana said, as I pulled onto Wilshire.

"If it's 'Who was that fat man and why do you put up with his constant bullshit?' don't bother asking. I don't have an intelligent answer. Anything else, fire away."

"It's about the Lamaar video. Was that earthquake staged?"

I tried not to laugh, but a small chuckle slipped out. "Why would you ask that?"

"See? I warned you it was dumb."

"Sorry. I only laughed because I'm intrigued. Why would you think they staged the earthquake?"

"When the tape started you told Jim to listen to the man off camera. You meant the voice, but I didn't know that, so I focused on the words. When he says Take One, he also says the

date, May 19, 2002."

v,

I "Right. That's the day they shot it."

"But there was no earthquake in Los Angeles on that day.

So I thought maybe they faked it. But that's crazy. Why would they do that? So then I thought maybe they just didn't shoot it in LA."

"No, they shot it here. I remember Amy talking about Dean shooting it on the Lamaar lot."

"Well, then your guy Lebrecht got the date wrong," Diana said, "because there was no earthquake in L.A. on that day."

We were on Beverly Glen. I slowed down so I could catch a red light. I turned to look at her. "How can you remember a specific day when there was no earthquake?"

"Because my husband and I moved here from New York in April 2002, and I was very nervous about the quakes. He said once you've gone through your first one, you'll see that it's not so bad. My first earthquake in L.A. happened on May 23, 2002."

"And you're sure of the date," I said.

She smiled. "Remember I told you May was my favorite month? I was hoping you'd ask me why. May 23 is my birthday."

The guy behind me tapped on his horn and I pulled out. My mind was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Tell me about the quake," I said. "Do you remember where you were and what time of day it happened?"

"You don't forget the details of your first earthquake. I was asleep. I woke up and the bed was shaking. I freaked. I was screaming, Why the hell did we move here. My husband tried to calm me down by saying, It's your birthday present. I wanted to surprise you. I just screamed till it stopped. He said it gets easier the next time, but he was wrong. They still scare me."

I wished Terry were in the car. We have a rhythm, a patter. I'd have to talk it through without him. "Let's go over it again,"

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I said. "On the tape Lebrecht says it's May 19, which is two days before Dean Lamaar died. But you say the earthquake happened on May 23, two days after Dean Lamaar died."

"Maybe that wasn't the real Dean Lamaar on the tape."

"No, it's him." They might be able to fool me with Hollywood makeup, but they couldn't fool Maxine Green. "But if Lebrecht lied about the date, then the tape was shot on May 23, which would mean Dean Lamaar didn't die on the 21st like they said he did."

It was impossible to believe. Yet, as my mind raced through the events, facts, rumors, and unanswered questions of the past two weeks, it was just as impossible not to.

"And if Dean Lamaar didn't die when they said he did," I said, as I slowly worked my way to the next logical conclusion, "then I'm willing to bet that he didn't die at all."

J

I wanted to spin the Acura around and head for the Federal Building, but I wasn't driving to the mall to catch a movie. I still had a brother in deep shit.

I turned onto Little Santa Monica and into the parking garage. There were spaces everywhere. I pulled into a spot near the multiplex, killed the engine, and turned to Diana. "Are you sure about the date?"

K "I know I'm blonde, so some of the things I say are highly suspect, but I felt my first earthquake on May 23, 2002, my birthday. At least I think it's my birthday. Would you like to see my driver's license, officer?", '

"Only if I can frisk you." I kissed her lightly. "Is it possible that there was an earthquake on the 19th and what you felt on the 23rd was just an aftershock?"

"You mean being an inexperienced, seismically deprived New Yorker I might not have been aware of the first series of gut-wrenching shocks. But four days later, I had developed the sensitivity it requires to feel my bed doing the cha-cha around the room."

She returned the kiss and whispered in my ear. "Interesting theory, Detective, but I seriously doubt it will hold up in court. Now go get your bag of cash, give it to the Mafia guys, and make your Daddy proud. I'll wait in the car."

"I like a woman who does what she's told." I popped the trunk, grabbed the metal case, and took the escalator steps two at a time. As soon as I got to street level I pulled out my cell and dialed Muller at home.

"Write this down," I said. "We have a videotape that supposedly was shot in L.A. on May 19, 2002. Now we think it could have been shot May 23-There was a small earthquake during the shoot and the camera picked it up."

"Gotcha," Muller said. "So the earthquake time-stamps it. And if I tell you when the quake happened you'll know when the tape was made. Easy."

"I also need the magnitude and the duration of the shock. The one on the video is twentytwo seconds long, and it was a duck-under-the-desk, shelf rattler."

"You just made it even easier. Unless you're trying to protect the ignorant, tell me why we care if this video was shot on the 19th or the 23rd."

"Because the star of the tape is Dean Lamaar," I said. "And if you believe everything you read in the papers, he died on May 21. I'll call you back."

I got to the box office, bought a ticket, and went into Theatre Six. The lights were still on. Cappadonna'sboys were in the next-to-last row. I sat behind them and leaned forward in my seat. "Sorry, boys, change in plans," I said.

They both stiffened. V-Neck leaned forward in his own seat. "Stay away from the ankle holster," I said. "I have the money.

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What I don't have is fifteen minutes to sit around while you count it. So here are the new rules. I leave. You stay. If your boss has a problem with that, tell him to call our friend in Vegas, because what I have to do is important to her and she wouldn't want me wasting time staring at the back of your thick necks and inhaling your cheap cologne."

.; The house lights dimmed. I shoved the case with my foot "and they could hear it scrape the floor beneath them. "Are you cool with that little change?"

Cream Pants reached down and put the case on his lap. "Flexibility is our middle name."

"Good. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

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"mi're fast," Diana said, when I got back in the car. "Usually it takes me at least an hour to spend that much money in the mall." I We pulled out of the garage and I called Muller. "What have you got?"

"May 19, 2002, there were six earthquakes that registered over 3-5. Uzbekistan, Guatemala, Greece, The South Sandwich Islands, Taiwan, and the Molucca Sea. Nothing in the U.S. Repeat, nothing."

And Lamaar didn 'tfly to Uzbekistan to shoot a video. "How about May 23?"

"Five quakes. India, Chile, Siberia, the Molucca Sea again-- and bingo, Southern California. It registered a 5.2, and lasted twentytwo seconds. The epicenter was Inglewood, but it rattled cages from Long Beach to Thousand Oaks." §,, "Would they have felt it at Lamaar Studios?" Ś'Ś "The night watchman would if he was awake. The first jolt came at 4:49 a.m. Middle of the night, so most people would have slept right through it."

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Perfect time for a dead man to shoot a video without attracting any attention.

"Thanks. I owe you." I turned to Diana. "You were right. The earthquake was on May 23-Do you realize what this means?"

"Yes, now that you know my birthday, you have no excuse for not buying me a gift." Then she tapped her forehead, "Oh, and I helped you solve the crime of the century. Where are we going, partner?"

"You're going home. I'm going to work. This is big."

"Lights and sirens big? As long as you're dumping me, you could show me a good time on the way home."

"You can have lights." I grabbed my Kojak light, slapped it on the roof, and it started strobing. "But no sirens. I have to call my other partner.".

"First call your father and tell him both his sons are okay."

Exactly the wayfoanie would have put it. Not a nag; just the right thing to say. I called. "Dad, it went fine. Tell Frankie he's officially an unmarked man."

"If I were smart I wouldn't say a word," Jim said. "Then he'd stay locked up in the house and keep his ass out of trouble."

"C'mon, Dad, where's your sense of adventure? If Frankie doesn't get in any more trouble, our lives would become meaningless and boring."

I hung up, called Terry, and told him the news. "Leave it to you to figure out a way to fuck up my day off," he said. "Let me put on some pants."

"Excuse me, Romeo," I said. "Sorry if I interrupted you and Marilyn."