like a fireplug. About the only things he had in common with Roland Ballencoa were a dick, dark hair, and a mustache. And yet Lauren Lawton had mistaken him for Ballencoa in the pasta aisle at Pavilions.
“Do you think she’s unstable?” he asked.
Tanner shrugged. “Who could blame her if she was? When Ballencoa was still living here, she claimed he was stalking her, but we had absolutely no proof of that. Not one iota. Not a record of a phone call, not a fingerprint, nothing.”
“She just wants the guy behind bars for something.”
“For anything. At one point she all but told me to fabricate some evidence against him just so I could get him in the box and try to break him down for a confession.
“And let me tell you,” she added. “That guy wouldn’t give it up to save his own mother’s life. He’s as cold as they come.”
“Do you have his sheet in there?” Mendez asked.
Tanner fished it out and handed the pages to him.
“He’s got a history as a peeper, and some B and E charges down in the San Diego area where he was stealing women’s dirty underwear out of their laundry baskets. That got him a slap on the wrist.
“He’s a class-A perv,” she pronounced. “There’s no fixing that. If he didn’t do the Lawton girl, it’s only a matter of time before he does something else. Shoot him in the head and charge his family for the bullet.”
“If only it was that simple,” Mendez said. “I’ve got a sexually sadistic serial killer sitting in prison doing a quarter for attempted murder and kidnapping. The DA let him plead out.”
“Oh, that dentist,” Tanner said. “I read about that. What the fuck happened?”
“We had nothing on him for the homicides,” Mendez said. “No physical evidence except a necklace that may or may not have belonged to one of the victims. As sure as we’re sitting here, he killed at least three women and left another one blind and deaf. And we couldn’t even charge him. But if he hadn’t done it, there was no reason for him to kidnap and try to kill the woman who found that necklace.”
“I’ll never get the sentencing for attempted murder,” Tanner said, shaking her head. “Why should they get off light because they were incompetent? The idea was for the victim to die, right?
“Remember Lawrence Singleton?” she asked. “Kidnapped and raped a teenage girl, hacked her arms off with an ax, and left her to die in a drainage ditch outside Modesto. The guy got fourteen years and was out in eight. It was just a pure damn miracle that girl lived. Singleton should be doing life. Instead, he’s running around loose. It’s only a matter of time before he does it again.”
“We were lucky we got Crane for twenty-five,” Mendez said. “The guy had no record. He was supposedly an upstanding citizen. He had a wife and kid. We both know he’ll be out in half that for good behavior in the joint.”
“Jesus Christ,” Tanner said. “This is why some species eat their young. If only his mother could have seen that in him when he came out of the chute.”
They finished their dinner and Tanner ordered dessert and coffee.
“Doesn’t SBPD pay you well enough that you can afford to feed yourself?” Mendez asked.
Tanner looked at him. “What? I always eat like this. Maybe I’ll catch a case tonight and not get a chance to eat again for twenty-four hours. What are you, Mendez? Cheap?”
“Not at all. It’s just an observation,” he said. “I’ve only ever seen wild animals eat the way you eat.”
“I’m not ladylike, is that what you’re saying?” she asked, clearly enjoying putting him on the spot.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you thought it.”
Mendez said nothing.
Tanner laughed, green eyes dancing.
“What happened to Mr. Lawton?” he asked as the coffee arrived.
“Car accident. Driving under the influence, he took his Beemer over the side of the Cold Spring Canyon bridge.”
“Oh, Jesus.”
The bridge was part of the route
“Do you think she’s unstable?” he asked.
Tanner shrugged. “Who could blame her if she was? When Ballencoa was still living here, she claimed he was stalking her, but we had absolutely no proof of that. Not one iota. Not a record of a phone call, not a fingerprint, nothing.”
“She just wants the guy behind bars for something.”
“For anything. At one point she all but told me to fabricate some evidence against him just so I could get him in the box and try to break him down for a confession.
“And let me tell you,” she added. “That guy wouldn’t give it up to save his own mother’s life. He’s as cold as they come.”
“Do you have his sheet in there?” Mendez asked.
Tanner fished it out and handed the pages to him.
“He’s got a history as a peeper, and some B and E charges down in the San Diego area where he was stealing women’s dirty underwear out of their laundry baskets. That got him a slap on the wrist.
“He’s a class-A perv,” she pronounced. “There’s no fixing that. If he didn’t do the Lawton girl, it’s only a matter of time before he does something else. Shoot him in the head and charge his family for the bullet.”
“If only it was that simple,” Mendez said. “I’ve got a sexually sadistic serial killer sitting in prison doing a quarter for attempted murder and kidnapping. The DA let him plead out.”
“Oh, that dentist,” Tanner said. “I read about that. What the fuck happened?”
“We had nothing on him for the homicides,” Mendez said. “No physical evidence except a necklace that may or may not have belonged to one of the victims. As sure as we’re sitting here, he killed at least three women and left another one blind and deaf. And we couldn’t even charge him. But if he hadn’t done it, there was no reason for him to kidnap and try to kill the woman who found that necklace.”
“I’ll never get the sentencing for attempted murder,” Tanner said, shaking her head. “Why should they get off light because they were incompetent? The idea was for the victim to die, right?
“Remember Lawrence Singleton?” she asked. “Kidnapped and raped a teenage girl, hacked her arms off with an ax, and left her to die in a drainage ditch outside Modesto. The guy got fourteen years and was out in eight. It was just a pure damn miracle that girl lived. Singleton should be doing life. Instead, he’s running around loose. It’s only a matter of time before he does it again.”
“We were lucky we got Crane for twenty-five,” Mendez said. “The guy had no record. He was supposedly an upstanding citizen. He had a wife and kid. We both know he’ll be out in half that for good behavior in the joint.”
“Jesus Christ,” Tanner said. “This is why some species eat their young. If only his mother could have seen that in him when he came out of the chute.”
They finished their dinner and Tanner ordered dessert and coffee.
“Doesn’t SBPD pay you well enough that you can afford to feed yourself?” Mendez asked.
Tanner looked at him. “What? I always eat like this. Maybe I’ll catch a case tonight and not get a chance to eat again for twenty-four hours. What are you, Mendez? Cheap?”
“Not at all. It’s just an observation,” he said. “I’ve only ever seen wild animals eat the way you eat.”
“I’m not ladylike, is that what you’re saying?” she asked, clearly enjoying putting him on the spot.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you thought it.”
Mendez said nothing.
Tanner laughed, green eyes dancing.
“What happened to Mr. Lawton?” he asked as the coffee arrived.
“Car accident. Driving under the influence, he took his Beemer over the side of the Cold Spring Canyon bridge.”
“Oh, Jesus.”
The bridge was part of the route
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