H Is for Homicide

but Dolan made an impatient gesture, silencing him. "Let's just discuss it before you say anything."
    "The answer's no."
    Again, the two men exchanged a look I couldn't quite read. It seemed clear they were working every angle in the book, which was laughable in my view because I wasn't going to yield.
    Dolan sat forward in his chair and his voice dropped a notch. "One more thing you should know and then you can do anything you want. Your friend Parnell Perkins was one of Raymond's employees. We think Raymond killed him, but we don't have any proof."
    "I don't believe it."
    "Perkins's real name was Darryl Weaver. He was working for an insurance company down in Compton. Raymond was running all his claims through Weaver until the two had a falling-out. Weaver left Los Angeles and moved up here, changed his name, and went to work for California Fidelity."
    Suddenly I understood why he'd passed Bibianna's file on to Mary Bellflower. He probably assumed that Raymond and Bibianna were back together, that Raymond would be on his trail if he didn't do something quick. The sight of Bibianna's name must have made his heart stop…
    Santos came to life again, taking up the thread. "He came to us about a month ago and offered to cooperate. After he was killed, Santa Teresa Police Department ran the prints and notified us, which is why I'm here."
    "That's why you buried the homicide investigation," I said, "to protect the larger one."
    "That's right," Dolan replied. "We can't afford to have Raymond find out what we're up to. We haven't dropped the investigation, we're just pursuing it quietly."
    The room was suddenly still. They let the silence accumulate. I took my time, stalling long enough to consider the implications. A little voice inside sang, Don't do it. Don't do it. "What's the timetable?" I said cautiously. I was hooked and they knew it.
    Dolan looked at Santos. "Tight. Half a day at best."
    "What are you really asking me to do?"
    "Three things. Find the leak. Find out where the files are, and find us proof that Raymond killed your buddy."
    Santos chimed in again, the two of them working me like sheepdogs. "You just tell us what you need. We'll give you anything you want."
    Dolan said, "The object is to get yourself recruited. You can take it from there, with or without Bibianna's cooperation."
    I thought it over briefly, all the time wondering at the wisdom of my consenting. I could feel my mental processes kick in despite the lingering misgivings. "If you're talking about staged accidents… it seems like it'd be smart to have a dummy policy in the name of Hannah Moore."
    "Could you arrange that through CF?" Dolan asked.
    "I could, but it'd be better if it came from you. You'd have to clear it with Mac Voorhies and it'd probably still have to go through channels."
    "The fewer people who know the better, and we have to work fast," Dolan said.
    "Is that going to present a problem?" Santos asked me.
    I said, "I think CF would be willing to cooperate."
    "We'll ask you to wear a wire," Santos said. "We can get a tech here by nine this morning and get a unit on you then."
    "Won't Raymond and his cronies search me?"
    Santos said, "I doubt it, but if they do, we'll be in earshot, don't forget."
    Dolan seemed to sense I wasn't comforted. "If you're wired, we can have a car full of plainclothes parked half a block away. We want you to have all the protection you can get. This may be the best opportunity we have to get at these folks and we don't want to blow it. Any questions?"
    "I'm sure I'll think of some."
    Santos said, "We'll have another chance to brief you. Right now, we're going to put you back in with Bibianna. Morning comes, we'll get the two of you bailed out. Take the credit yourself. It's good to have the woman in your debt. We'll delay your release until the wire tech comes in."
    "Won't she be suspicious if she's out and I'm not?"
    "I'm sure you'll find a way to cover," Dolan said dryly. "In the meantime, make arrangements to connect with her later in the day."
    "What if Raymond shows up before then?"
    "We'll think of something else. Oh, and while we're on the subject…" Dolan jotted down a special telephone number where he could be reached at any hour. I tucked the slip of paper in my sock. He glanced at his watch and then got up as a signal to end the meeting.
    I got to my feet. Santos and I shook hands. "What time is it?" I asked.
    "Two minutes after four."
    "I'm too old to be up at this hour," I said, and then