think she was at work. A secret visit, so to speak. They talked out on the deck. Later, they came inside, and I spoke to Simone a little bit. She is a tiny thing, smaller, even, than Rell, skinny as a cross-country racing ski, and timid as they come. She’s also very pale, much more so than you would imagine for a person who supposedly skis and is out in the sun.”
Joe got up and walked over to the fridge. “Would you like another beer?”
“No thanks,” I said.
He pulled one out, opened it, and came back to his chair. He took a drink and made more of his mouth movements.
“A few weeks later, Simone and Rell got brave. Rell picked her up at her house when the boyfriend was supposed to be away. But it turns out that this boyfriend is very suspicious. He’d been watching. So he followed them to our house. When I heard a knock and opened the door, he pushed in and nearly knocked me over. He was like an angry bull, and about that size, too. He grabbed Simone’s arm and dragged her out the door.”
My vision darkened a little as Joe Rorvik talked. Back on the San Francisco PD, I’d seen insecure men who beat up on women and children. The mental image, and the disgust, never softens.
“Do you know the boyfriend’s name?”
“No. But the cops must. I’m sure they would have looked it up because Rell went to talk to them. Oh, one more thing,” Joe said. “The boyfriend forbid Simone to ever see Rell again. He even made her quit her job so Rell couldn’t see her during her shift.
“But one day, Simone called Rell and told her that her boyfriend said she had to get a job on the other end of town where Rell wouldn’t see her. So Simone got a waiting job at one of the Casino cafés. Rell has gone there a couple of times.”
“You said that Rell talked to the police about Simone?”
“Yes, she did. After the boyfriend came to our house and dragged Simone out of here, Rell was so concerned that she went down to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. She explained what she’d heard about Simone and her boyfriend and what she’d personally witnessed as well. The police said that there is a community women’s organization that could help Simone find a safe house if she were willing to press assault charges. So Rell explained all that to Simone, but Simone was still unwilling to file charges. Simone says she’ll be dead if she takes any action. In lieu of her pressing charges, I understand that somebody has to witness him assaulting her.”
I nodded.
“One time,” Joe said, “Rell went to Simone’s house, but no one was home. So Rell talked to one of the neighbors. The neighbor told Rell that he’d seen Simone get beaten. But he was unwilling to testify because he also thought he’d get killed by her boyfriend. He was apologetic, but he said that he had a wife and two little kids to think of.”
“Joe, you’ve probably pondered this at length, but can you see that guy coming over to teach Rell a lesson for talking to Simone without his permission? Can you imagine him throwing Rell off the deck?”
“Yes, I have thought about it. The answer is that I can certainly imagine that, but I don’t think it happened that way. I’ll tell you why. I have no doubt that this is the kind of guy who could kill an old woman. But a hothead like him exacts vengeance. He wouldn’t just push an old lady over a deck railing. He’d hit her first. Probably multiple times. I talked to the doctor who examined Rell. He is confident that all of Rell’s injuries came from striking the rocks.”
“Good bit of deduction,” I said. “You could be right.” As I said it, I wondered if Simone’s boyfriend would break pattern and simply toss Rell over the deck in order to disguise his involvement. But that would take some forethought.
“Simone’s boyfriend,” I said. “Did you get any sense of his smarts?”
“He just gave me the impression of a dumb thug,” Joe said.
“Think about how he acted. Was he
Joe got up and walked over to the fridge. “Would you like another beer?”
“No thanks,” I said.
He pulled one out, opened it, and came back to his chair. He took a drink and made more of his mouth movements.
“A few weeks later, Simone and Rell got brave. Rell picked her up at her house when the boyfriend was supposed to be away. But it turns out that this boyfriend is very suspicious. He’d been watching. So he followed them to our house. When I heard a knock and opened the door, he pushed in and nearly knocked me over. He was like an angry bull, and about that size, too. He grabbed Simone’s arm and dragged her out the door.”
My vision darkened a little as Joe Rorvik talked. Back on the San Francisco PD, I’d seen insecure men who beat up on women and children. The mental image, and the disgust, never softens.
“Do you know the boyfriend’s name?”
“No. But the cops must. I’m sure they would have looked it up because Rell went to talk to them. Oh, one more thing,” Joe said. “The boyfriend forbid Simone to ever see Rell again. He even made her quit her job so Rell couldn’t see her during her shift.
“But one day, Simone called Rell and told her that her boyfriend said she had to get a job on the other end of town where Rell wouldn’t see her. So Simone got a waiting job at one of the Casino cafés. Rell has gone there a couple of times.”
“You said that Rell talked to the police about Simone?”
“Yes, she did. After the boyfriend came to our house and dragged Simone out of here, Rell was so concerned that she went down to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. She explained what she’d heard about Simone and her boyfriend and what she’d personally witnessed as well. The police said that there is a community women’s organization that could help Simone find a safe house if she were willing to press assault charges. So Rell explained all that to Simone, but Simone was still unwilling to file charges. Simone says she’ll be dead if she takes any action. In lieu of her pressing charges, I understand that somebody has to witness him assaulting her.”
I nodded.
“One time,” Joe said, “Rell went to Simone’s house, but no one was home. So Rell talked to one of the neighbors. The neighbor told Rell that he’d seen Simone get beaten. But he was unwilling to testify because he also thought he’d get killed by her boyfriend. He was apologetic, but he said that he had a wife and two little kids to think of.”
“Joe, you’ve probably pondered this at length, but can you see that guy coming over to teach Rell a lesson for talking to Simone without his permission? Can you imagine him throwing Rell off the deck?”
“Yes, I have thought about it. The answer is that I can certainly imagine that, but I don’t think it happened that way. I’ll tell you why. I have no doubt that this is the kind of guy who could kill an old woman. But a hothead like him exacts vengeance. He wouldn’t just push an old lady over a deck railing. He’d hit her first. Probably multiple times. I talked to the doctor who examined Rell. He is confident that all of Rell’s injuries came from striking the rocks.”
“Good bit of deduction,” I said. “You could be right.” As I said it, I wondered if Simone’s boyfriend would break pattern and simply toss Rell over the deck in order to disguise his involvement. But that would take some forethought.
“Simone’s boyfriend,” I said. “Did you get any sense of his smarts?”
“He just gave me the impression of a dumb thug,” Joe said.
“Think about how he acted. Was he
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