because it was home to some of the gangsters. Poor Irish, Jews, Mexicans, Italians, blacksâthey all lived there, too, and mostly they got along but sometimes they didnât. Thereâs not much left of it now. Mechanic Arts High School is gone, the synagoguesâSons of Moses, Sons of Abrahamâthe grocery stores, Diamondâs Bar. It was carved up in the fifties and sixties when they built the freeways.â
âHow do you know these things?â Harry asked.
âItâs my town.â
âThe immediate area where the car was found has been recently gentrified.â Bobbyâs voice was low, and he spoke with a measured cadence. He used his finger as a pointer. âAlong here theyâve constructed new condominiums and apartment buildings. On this corner is the Gopher Bar. Itâs a run-down joint with a lot of upper-class traffic mixing with the lowlifes. It serves the best chili dogs this side of Chicago.â
âWhy bring Chicago into it?â I asked just to break the tension. It didnât work. I was starting to worry about Bobby as much as Honsa was.
âThe van was reported stolen two weeks ago,â Bobby said. âWe could canvass the bar and condos, asking if anyone had seen the driver, make it sound like a simple GTA. Patrolmen only. No plainclothes, no FBI. That should reduce suspicion if there is anyone to see.â
âI agree,â said Honsa. âIn the meantime, weâll get a city wrecker to tow the van to our facilities and have a forensics team standing by.â
âGo,â Bobby said.
Honsa turned. He spoke into a handheld as he walked away. Bobby seemed to relax slightly. He was in control.
âLet me hear the tape again,â he said.
Â
I was sitting in a maroon wingback chair and staring at the empty fireplace when Shelby descended the stairs. She was carrying a number of large books under her arm. I stood as she crossed the floor. She didnât speak until she was within striking distance.
âI thought you had left,â she said. Her voice didnât sound much different than Bobbyâs. Her fist was clenched, and for a moment I wondered what I would do if she punched me. Nothing, I decided.
âHowâs Kate?â Bobby asked. Shelby turned her head as he approached. âHowâs Katie holding up?â He wrapped his arm around Shelbyâs shoulder.
âKatieâsheâs asleep. She fell asleep.â
âThatâs good.â
âYes.â
âHow are you?â
âMe?â
âHow are you holding up?â
âIâm not.â
Shelby rested her head against Bobbyâs chest, and he wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her close.
âBobby, what ifâwhat ifâ¦â
âShhhhh.â He stroked her short blond hair. âItâll be all right, youâll see.â
I turned away. I would have liked to do that, too, comfort Shelby. Only it wasnât my place. It never would be.
I returned to the dining room table and sat down. A few moments later Shelby and Bobby joined me, Bobbyâs arm still around her shoulder. Shelby set the books on the table. They were Bobbyâsâand myâ high school and college yearbooks.
âYou said before that you might know thisâthis person,â she said. âMaybe these will help.â
âVery good thinking,â Bobby said and kissed her hair just above the ear.
âIâm going to get some coffee and go back upstairs. I want to be there if Katie wakes up. I donât want her to be frightened.â
âGood idea,â Bobby said. He kissed Shelby again, this time on the cheek.
Before she left, Shelby rested her hand oh so briefly on the point of my shoulder and gave me a gentle squeeze. I turned to look at her, but she was already walking away. I caught Honsaâs eye as she passed him on her way to the kitchen. He was smiling the same reassuring smile he