Shallow Graves

Clean-shaven... Yes, of course ‘down there, too.’ How long have you been living off this dodge, Melanie?... Probably Wednesday next week, maybe into Thursday... Yes, well, how’s your period been the last three... All right, all right. If it isn’t, call me at least twenty-four before the shoot, got it?... Yes, love you, too.“
    Yulin hung up. “The fucking cunt!”
    I decided to play along. “One of your favorites?“
    “You have no idea, Mr.—tell me, now that you’ve heard me use foul language, can we call each other by first names?“
    Just like Lindqvist. “Sure, George.“
    “Well, John, models have egos the size of their bottoms rather than their brains. They love the glamour and the travel—when they work, that is, which might be only two or three days a week. They have time off like a stewardess and get paid like a company president. Plus all the stroking, the wining and dining, propositioned by every Platinum Card in sight. But no matter how many great spreads you get them, a lot of the girls are so unappreciative, so bitchy, it drives you up a wall.“
    “Was Mau Tim like that?“
    “Mau Tim? Oh, right. No, no, she was pretty professional, actually. A good kid, if a little quiet.“
    “Erica led me to believe that Mau Tim was on the verge of stardom.“
    Yulin leaned back in his chair, combing the fingers of his right hand through the grizzly-bear hair over his ear. “Are we going to play lawyer/witness here, or can you just ask me questions?“
    Maybe Yulin had a little more juice than I thought. “Erica said something about a file and a book you kept on Mau Tim?“
    “Sure. Just a second.“
    Yulin left the office for maybe twenty seconds, coming back carrying a yellow suspended folder and a six-inch by nine-inch loose-leaf album. He handed me the folder and set the album on the desk near me. Then he pulled over another director’s chair so we were sitting side by side.
    “Why don’t you just go through the file, John? I can give you a running commentary on it.“
    “Fine.“
    I opened the folder. There was a cover sheet with MAU TIM (DANI) and date of birth at the top.
    Yulin said, “That’s the casting card.“
    “How come her last name is in parentheses?“
    “Because she goes by her first name professionally. A lot of the girls do.“
    “Why?“
    “They think it’s sexier. Also, it keeps the creeps from finding out who they are and where they live.“
    Lindqvist had already taken me down that road. I pointed to a smattering of telephone numbers, some of which had been lined through and others arrowed in. “What are all these?“
    “The places we can reach her. Sorry, could reach her. Sometimes a job will crop up after a model’s called in for the day.“
    “Why so many numbers?“
    “Well, some are out of date. The ones with arrows are more recent.“
    “Can you tell me which numbers went with which times?“
    Yulin craned over my arm. “That first number was her uncle’s, I think. He’s a lawyer, downtown. The second is Oz Puriefoy’s. He’s the photographer who scouted her.“ Yulin looked up at me. “Who sent her to us in the first place.“
    “Right. But they’re scratched out.“
    “All that means is she got her own place.“
    “Meaning she used to live with her uncle, then with Puriefoy?“
    Yulin gave me a knowing grin. “Mau Tim was the sort of girl who could probably live anywhere she wanted.“
    I said, “You know these numbers by heart?“
    “Not anymore. Just the current ones. But you call them so many times, you remember which one was which, you know?“
    I pointed back down to the card. “How about these two newer entries in the margin?“
    “That one’s the number at her apartment.“ Yulin dropped his voice. “Where she was killed.“
    “And the number in red?“
    “That’s Larry Shinkawa.“
    “The police said he was one of the men at the party.“
    “I’m not surprised. Mau Tim and Larry have been... They were a thing for some months before she died.“
    “He’s in advertising, right?“
    “An exec at one of the smaller agencies.“
    “Advertising agency?“
    “Right. Berry/Ryder. Just down the street.“
    “Do you know how they met?“
    Yulin gave me a funny look. “I introduced them, as a matter of fact. At a party we threw at the Cactus Club.”
    A trendy bar around the corner on Boylston Street . I went back to the card. Mau Tim’s height, weight, bust, waist, hips, dress size, shoe size, and so on. I picked up