still a suspect?”
“It’s not a matter of that, sir. A lot of the job is the process of elimination. Once we clear you completely, we’re free to move on. But if it’s a problem for you, we understand.”
“No problem, hell, why not?” Corey returned to his makeshift desk, scrawled something on a piece of paper, thrust it at Milo. “Okay?”
Milo read. “If you could sign and date, please.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Scratch scratch scratch. “Here.”
Retrieving his glass, he went into the kitchen and poured three fingers of gin. Drank with his back toward us as we saw ourselves out.
We walked to the harbor side of Corey’s building. The deck railing was crusted with birdshit and in need of refinishing. Several ducks floated past Corey’s slip. Empty slot, no boat. Seagulls hovering above screeched territorially. We returned to the Seville.
Milo said, “Odd fellow, Mr. C. First he cries, then he gets kind of … I don’t know, matter-of-fact? Maybe a little paranoid, too? Both lawyers screwing Ursula? Unless it’s true and he’s learned to face reality.”
“Calling her a gun cocked and ready to shoot?”
“Yeah … so despite his alibi, you don’t see him as any less of a suspect than before we met him.”
I laughed.
He said, “Thought you might say that.”
CHAPTER
5
Ursula Corey’s address on Lobo Canyon was a thirty-minute drive from Richard Corey’s Oxnard condo.
I said, “Freeway-convenient. The two of them split up but Richard didn’t settle far.”
Milo said, “Maybe he was telling the truth about staying BFFs.”
“Or only he saw it that way.”
“He wanted to keep tabs on her?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time an ex hung on.”
As I raced along the 101, he looked out the window. “I keep thinking about the way he described her sex life. Weird.”
“Weird, voyeuristic, and ambivalent,” I said.
“Love her madly, the filthy slut.”
“One minute he’s grief-stricken, the next he’s telling us she won’t be wearing underwear because she wanted to be ready for action.”
“Let’s see if he was right.” He made a call to the crypt. The body had arrived but hadn’t been looked at.
I said, “What’s especially strange is telling us she slept with both lawyers. Something we’d never have known. If it’s not paranoia.”
“Wifey doing the monkey-man.”
“Turning it into a joke,” I said, “was probably his way of keeping Ursula’s sexuality partially under his control. She wasn’t abandoning his bed for another man, she was providing amusement.”
“So maybe he’s one of those guys gets off watching the missus do another dude.”
“Maybe, but that’s always a risky game. Priorities change, all of a sudden the actress wants to direct. Maybe that was the real reason for the divorce.”
“Ursula got too independent,” he said. “He did admit she threatened divorce all the time.”
“But again, he was out for control: reducing Ursula’s threats to impulsive bullshit and claiming the ultimate decision was his.”
“Calling her bluff. That’s nothing
but
hostility. The more I think about it, the more I’m feeling we just talked to an extremely angry man.”
I said, “What if the choice wasn’t his and Ursula finally made good on her threats? His alibi doesn’t mean much—people at his level hire out. Toss in a few million dollars of additional motive even after estate taxes and you’ve got something.”
“That assumes Ursula willed him her share of the estate.”
“As an ex, she might not have wanted to, but as a business partner she could’ve had no choice. That fits with the two of them repeatedly trying to assess the value of Urrick. If the partnership ever came to an end, both their interests would be protected. But even if Ursula willed everything to the daughters, Richard might figure he could control their share.”
“Daddy knows best,” he said. “Let him continue to run the business and they enjoy the benefits. Sure,
“It’s not a matter of that, sir. A lot of the job is the process of elimination. Once we clear you completely, we’re free to move on. But if it’s a problem for you, we understand.”
“No problem, hell, why not?” Corey returned to his makeshift desk, scrawled something on a piece of paper, thrust it at Milo. “Okay?”
Milo read. “If you could sign and date, please.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Scratch scratch scratch. “Here.”
Retrieving his glass, he went into the kitchen and poured three fingers of gin. Drank with his back toward us as we saw ourselves out.
We walked to the harbor side of Corey’s building. The deck railing was crusted with birdshit and in need of refinishing. Several ducks floated past Corey’s slip. Empty slot, no boat. Seagulls hovering above screeched territorially. We returned to the Seville.
Milo said, “Odd fellow, Mr. C. First he cries, then he gets kind of … I don’t know, matter-of-fact? Maybe a little paranoid, too? Both lawyers screwing Ursula? Unless it’s true and he’s learned to face reality.”
“Calling her a gun cocked and ready to shoot?”
“Yeah … so despite his alibi, you don’t see him as any less of a suspect than before we met him.”
I laughed.
He said, “Thought you might say that.”
CHAPTER
5
Ursula Corey’s address on Lobo Canyon was a thirty-minute drive from Richard Corey’s Oxnard condo.
I said, “Freeway-convenient. The two of them split up but Richard didn’t settle far.”
Milo said, “Maybe he was telling the truth about staying BFFs.”
“Or only he saw it that way.”
“He wanted to keep tabs on her?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time an ex hung on.”
As I raced along the 101, he looked out the window. “I keep thinking about the way he described her sex life. Weird.”
“Weird, voyeuristic, and ambivalent,” I said.
“Love her madly, the filthy slut.”
“One minute he’s grief-stricken, the next he’s telling us she won’t be wearing underwear because she wanted to be ready for action.”
“Let’s see if he was right.” He made a call to the crypt. The body had arrived but hadn’t been looked at.
I said, “What’s especially strange is telling us she slept with both lawyers. Something we’d never have known. If it’s not paranoia.”
“Wifey doing the monkey-man.”
“Turning it into a joke,” I said, “was probably his way of keeping Ursula’s sexuality partially under his control. She wasn’t abandoning his bed for another man, she was providing amusement.”
“So maybe he’s one of those guys gets off watching the missus do another dude.”
“Maybe, but that’s always a risky game. Priorities change, all of a sudden the actress wants to direct. Maybe that was the real reason for the divorce.”
“Ursula got too independent,” he said. “He did admit she threatened divorce all the time.”
“But again, he was out for control: reducing Ursula’s threats to impulsive bullshit and claiming the ultimate decision was his.”
“Calling her bluff. That’s nothing
but
hostility. The more I think about it, the more I’m feeling we just talked to an extremely angry man.”
I said, “What if the choice wasn’t his and Ursula finally made good on her threats? His alibi doesn’t mean much—people at his level hire out. Toss in a few million dollars of additional motive even after estate taxes and you’ve got something.”
“That assumes Ursula willed him her share of the estate.”
“As an ex, she might not have wanted to, but as a business partner she could’ve had no choice. That fits with the two of them repeatedly trying to assess the value of Urrick. If the partnership ever came to an end, both their interests would be protected. But even if Ursula willed everything to the daughters, Richard might figure he could control their share.”
“Daddy knows best,” he said. “Let him continue to run the business and they enjoy the benefits. Sure,
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