Marge said, “Some of the people that we talked to implied that you had a hard time accepting that the relationship was over.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ivan Dresden said that you two had words,” Decker said.
Holmes’s jaw muscles tightened. “So?”
“He told us you threatened him.”
“Not before he threatened me.” The big man leaned forward. “Look, we were both talking out of anger and frustration. Roseanne could be a real frustrating woman.” He threw up his hands. “Hey, it’s all water under the bridge. I’ve moved on. I’m sure the bastard has moved on as well…unless, of course, he’s the reason why Roseanne is missing.”
“You think he murdered her?” Marge asked him outright.
“I wouldn’t put it past him. He was a real asshole. Did he also happen to tell you how many women he was fucking while they were married?”
“I understand that he played around,” Marge said.
“The man was a dog!” Holmes bellowed. “He was spending all of her money on lap dancers, and then he has the nerve to get outraged because Roseanne wanted a little attention.”
“How’d you meet Roseanne?” Decker asked.
“I had a business meeting in Los Angeles and was coming home. She was the flight attendant. She looked a little sad and I asked her about it. She denied anything was wrong. It wouldn’t have been professional for her to talk about her personal life with a passenger. Later, by sheer coincidence, I ran into her at her hotel bar. At first, I could tell that she thought I was just an old fat guy looking for a quick lay. But after we talked awhile…we clicked. I mean we really clicked.” His face darkened. “We spent six months together before we went to bed. We had something special, although I’m sure you find that hard to believe.”
“Not at all,” Marge said.
Holmes checked his watch, placed his hands on his knees, and hoisted himself up. “I’m sorry, but you two really need to leave now. The crew’s coming back very soon and all this talk has opened up wounds. I need a few minutes to compose myself.” He was breathing hard. “I’ll FedEx the calendar pages for you. Then we’re done here.”
Decker stood and gave him his business card. Marge gave him one as well. She said, “One last question, Mr. Holmes. Do you have any idea why Roseanne was in San Jose if she hadn’t been assigned to work here?”
“I couldn’t even hazard a guess,” Holmes said.
“Hazard one,” Decker insisted.
A big sigh. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out.”
Decker didn’t move.
Holmes said, “It might be flattery, but maybe she finally got fed up with Ivan and was thinking about seeing me.”
“But she didn’t visit you.”
“No, she didn’t. Maybe once she got up here, she changed her mind. Or maybe she was visiting some friends. She worked the San Jose route for a while. She had some friends here, you know.”
“Girlfriends or boyfriends?” Marge asked.
“I was thinking girlfriends, but maybe she had another boyfriend. I wouldn’t know because like I said, we weren’t in contact anymore.”
Marge got out her notebook. “Can you tell me the names of some of her girlfriends?”
“Uh…” Another flick of the wrist to see the time. “I remember a Christie and a Janice. Or was it Janet?”
“Last names?” Marge asked.
Another sigh. “Christie…somethingson. Jorgenson, Ivarson, Peterson…”
“A Scandinavian name?”
“I think so.”
“What about Janet or Janice?”
“I never knew her last name.”
“What does Christie look like?” Marge persisted.
“Medium height, shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, button nose, anorexic with long legs and skinny calves. I think we met her around two, three times for dinner. Janice or Janet I met only once. She was a brunette, light brown eyes, good figure, and older. You’ve got to go now. My wife never found out about the affair, thank God, and I want to keep it that way. I been very cooperative and I expect some reciprocalness.”
Reciprocity, Decker said to himself. “We’ll do what we can. You have my card, Mr. Holmes. If you think of Christie’s last name or anything else that could help us track Roseanne’s last movements, we’d be much obliged.”
“Aren’t you curious about what happened to Roseanne?” Marge asked.
“Sure I’m curious, but that’s as far as it’s going to go. Now I’m concentrating on my marriage and my kids.” Holmes smoothed his goatee. “But if you do find something, I wouldn’t mind a phone call. Especially since I’m being so cooperative.”
“I know, sir,” Decker said. “We’ll do what we can.”
“Then I’ll do what I can for you, Lieutenant. You know how it works. I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”
21
A FTER DECKER PULLED away from the curb, Marge asked, “What do you think?”
“The verdict is still out.”
“He was pretty cooperative.”
“I know. He kept telling us how cooperative he was being.”
“That could be his nerves talking.”
“Or it could be guilt. He was sweating a lot.” She thought a moment. “On the other hand, he’s sending us Xeroxes for the dates we requested.”
Decker shrugged. “He could be sending phony ones.”
“But then once we started verifying things, we would trip him up. He’s got to know that. It would be nice if we find Christie Norsewoman. If Roseanne visited her the night before the accident, she’d be Holmes’s alibi.”
“Maybe our next interview knows Christie Norsewoman,” Decker said. “Leslie Bracco. When are we supposed to meet her?”
“Five. It’s only three-thirty.”
“Can you call her and see if she can meet us earlier?”
“Sure, why not?” Marge turned on her cell phone. “I’ve got some messages. Maybe one of them is Leslie.” She listened to her answering machine and then punched in her code. “It’s Vega telling me she’s fine, but she’s turning off her phone to study. That girl is so high-strung-oh, it’s Willie…” She smiled as she listened. “Ah, he’s so cute…this one’s from Scott…”
“What going on with him?”
Marge listened for a moment. “Mike Hollander’s looking for you. He’s all excited. He got hold of the tape of the Wisconsin case.”
“That’s good.”
“Call him back when you’ve got a chance…wait, this is Leslie Bracco…she’s going to be late. ‘Don’t come any earlier than five-thirty.’” Marge snapped the cover back on her cell. “We’ve got two hours to kill. Want me to call back Oliver?”
“Absolutely. See if you can get Hollander’s number. I don’t have it on me.”
“Sure. I’m flagging a little. How about we get a cup of coffee?”
“I wouldn’t mind some food, actually. Last time I ate it was six in the morning and it was only a bowl of Cheerios. I could use something substantial.”
“Rina didn’t pack you a lunch?”
“She offered, but I told her not to bother. Lately it’s been hard to take anything on board. Lord only knows what’s next. Maybe bombs made out of roast beef.”
THE CELL RANG just as Decker was paying for two tuna-fish sandwiches with coleslaw and french fries, plus two cups of coffee, all of it courtesy of LAPD. He was feeling more alert after having eaten, which made him wonder if he’d missed something crucial during the Holmes interview. He recognized the number as the one he had dialed about an hour ago and depressed the green button. “What’s the good word, Mike?”
“Life is good, Pete, and getting better. The name of the technology is Rapid Prototyping and here’s how it works-I think.”
“Hold on a sec, Mike. Let me get inside the car so I can hear you and scribble some notes.”
“Sure. Take your time.”
After he was ensconced in his seat-this time Marge elected to drive-Decker took out a notepad. “I’m going to put you on speakerphone so Margie can hear you as well.” He jacked up the volume, pushed the button, and laid the phone on the dashboard of the rental.
“Hi, Marge,” Hollander said.