I went over and retrieved a black plastic squeeze bottle. The van’s interior was spotless, but stale smelling. No obvious evidence of extreme cleanup. When I got back, Holman was saying, “… so I decided to circle—thank you.” Swigging and licking his lips. “It didn’t take long for Backer’s BMW to pull out and head north. I followed, made sure to allow several car lengths—something I’ve picked up from police shows. Am I right?”

Milo smiled. “Good technique, Professor Holman.”

“Professor emeritus, Lieutenant. That’s Latin for has-been. Be that as it may, when Backer reached Wilshire and kept going, I was surprised. He turned east and continued beyond Westwood, didn’t turn until Comstock, then headed north, again, to Sunset. You see where I’m going with this.”

Milo said, “Borodi Lane.”

“When I saw the news this morning, I was stunned. Mulled for a while and decided I needed to call you. Good citizen, and all that.”

“We really do appreciate it, sir.”

“Do I get extra points for humiliation? A psychic Purple Heart, perhaps?”

Neither of us replied.

Holman said, “Back to Borodi Lane. You’ll be wanting to know exactly when this occurred, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And I can tell you precisely. April second. Right after April Fools’, at nine twenty-eight p.m. I keep a log of Marjie’s adventures. But this turned out not to be Marjie’s adventure. I should’ve known, she really is a creature of habit, no reason for her to break the pattern.”

She already had, behind a construction trailer in Santa Monica. No sense stomping her husband’s toehold on dignity.

Milo said, “Backer was there with another woman?”

“That woman,” said Holman. “The one whose face was in the news. And yes, I’m certain, because she and Backer went out to eat afterward and I got a good look at her.”

“Not your wife, but you continued following.”

“Because in the beginning I was pretty sure but couldn’t be certain. It was dark when they left, they hustled quickly into Backer’s car. The woman appeared shorter than Marjie, different hair, different walk, but I wasn’t close enough to be confident of my judgment, so I stayed on their trail.”

“Where’d they go for dinner?”

“Beverly Hills. Kate Mantilini, Doheny and Wilshire. Fortunately, they got a window seat and I was able to cruise by and felt tremendous relief. Then I realized Marjie was still out there and suddenly I needed to know where she was. So I called her landline at the office and she answered, said she was working on a proposal that would probably end up nowhere because Helga never followed through on anything.”

Milo said, “Backer’s car was at the office but you didn’t see the woman back there.”

“But she must’ve been nearby, Lieutenant, because she wasn’t inside the office with Backer and Marjie.”

“How do you know?”