The Gumshoe Diaries Read Online Free PDF Page B

slowly, shining my light along the top and bottom just
in case anything dropped down or popped up.
    When nothing appeared I knelt down and cast
the light onto the tub itself and swept it in quadrants with my
peepers. There was wax residue on inside ledge of the tub which
meant that someone was fond of bubble baths by candlelight. There
was a damp washcloth with a faintly red circular stain indicating
that whoever enjoyed the candlelight also enjoyed a little Merlot
or Cab with the experience. Technically this was another oversight
by CSI; apparently the LAPD had turned this investigation over to
the “B” team. I wasn’t surprised though, Lt. Celaya like cases
closed quickly. Even in police work it was quantity that brought
promotions and accolades, quality was a pleasant surprise but not
exactly necessary. If you produced headline numbers that benefited
the suits at City Hall your career path was gold plated. So what if
an unfortunate few went to the big house undeservedly, they were
the exception to the rule as far as ladder climbers like Oscar were
concerned. Oh well, that was ancient history for me now, I don’t
know why I still let it bother me. Chalk it up to a raging case of
social conscience I guess. In any event their sloppy detective work
might help me piece together Sally’s puzzle sooner than later, and
I had an uncomfortable hunch that it was going to be a necessity
where Lu Rong was concerned. He and Jay were “tootsie rolls,” hard
on the outside and soft in the middle. I’d noted the look on his
face as I left his apartment earlier. His face told me that he
would take this hard, and I was determined to find him closure and
keep him from anything rash or extreme!
    My light ended its sweep of the tub at the
drain. It was one of those designs that had a cheap metal screen
covering the inch and three quarter opening over the drain. There
weren’t any hairs tangled up in the screen so at least CSI was
thorough enough to catch the obvious. But given their performance
thus far I leaned over the side and pried the screen out of the
drain opening. The screen was squeaky clean but when I fished
around the opening with my finger I pulled out a long string of
black hair and what appeared to be yet another dark blue thread.
Scoreboard! In detective speak if a clue knocks three times open
the goddamned door! I whipped out another baggie and placed the
whole mucky stream inside. Thanking my lucky stars and the LAPD I
got up to leave the apartment. I wiped down everything as I
backtracked toward the kitchen. I had been wearing gloves the
entire time, but one can never be too cautious. I turned off my
flash light when I reached the kitchen and was about to exit
through the window when phone on the wall began to ring off the
hook.
    “ WHAT THE F…,” I exclaimed,
startled more than I should have been. Before my heart stopped
racing and my blood pressure stabilized I reached for the
telephone. I knew instinctively who would be on the other line.
    “Hello Lt. Kill-joy,” I said
sarcastically.
    “Hi-ya Roode, find anything interesting,
replied an unpleasant but familiar voice?
    “Nothing worth sharing Oscar,” I answered
smugly.
    “I can always count on you to be you Whitey.
You make it too easy for me,” he continued.
    “What can I say, like the song says, I
gotta be me ,” I replied, trying to sound more bored than
pissed.
    “Why don’t you skip the fire escape and take
the elevator down. No use all of us working up a sweat chasing you
all over town. While you’re at it bring down whatever you’ve found
in there and we can exchange theories while you’re being
fingerprinted and processed.”
    I cursed under my breath before answering.
“Ah come on Oscar, can’t we work together on this one? I’m doing a
little snooping around for Lu and Jay, you know, the mahu couple
who own your favorite deli. The dead girl was Lu’s niece,” I
answered, hating myself for pleading with the rat bastard.
    I hoped his