He returned the globe to the box, walkie-talkied one of the techs at the murder scene. “Lucio? Drive up a ways. There’s more.”

* * *

While the crime scene crew did their thing with the van, Milo located the VIN number and did a search.

Stolen four years ago in Highland Park and never recovered, the registered owner Wendell A. Chong. Chong had a home address in South Pasadena that Milo copied down.

I said, “Peaty cleans lots of buildings on the east side, probably spotted an opportunity a year after he arrived in California and never bothered to tell the boss. Brad Dowd’s paying for van-pool pickup. Peaty used the service most of the time. Meanwhile, he had an option.”

“Equipped with a burglary/rape kit.” He frowned. “Okay, let’s boogie.”

* * *

It was twelve thirty-four when I followed him to a Coco’s at Pico and Wooster. He spent a long time in the men’s room, came out with hands scrubbed pink and damp hair.

“Didn’t know they provide showers,” I said.

“I prayed to the sink.” He ordered Boston cream pie and coffee for both of us.

I said, “Not hungry.”

“Good. This way I get two without looking like a pig. So Peaty’s an extremely bad guy. What does the globe mean?”

“The globe Dylan gave to Nora could’ve been part of a duo. Or a collection. One got left in Dylan’s car because Peaty was bragging. The other he kept for masturbatory memories.”

“Meaning, if you’re Prudential, don’t write a policy on Nora and Meserve. Any guesses where to start looking for their bodies?”

I shook my head. “The van and the kit say Peaty could’ve traveled anywhere. They also provide a scenario for Michaela. He targeted her at the PlayHouse, followed her home, found out she lived close to him. After that, it was easy for him to watch her from the van. When the time was right, he snagged her, drove her somewhere secluded, and strangled her. Maybe even in the van.”

He frowned. “Abduction and seclusion sounds like bringing Dylan and Michaela’s hoax to life. You think that’s what stimulated Peaty?”

“He’d probably been watching Michaela for a while but the hoax clinched it. And Michaela getting kicked out of class meant she spent more evenings at home alone.”

“Wherever he did her, Alex, he brought her back to the neighborhood. What’s that, staying in his comfort zone?”

“Or just the opposite,” I said. “Whoever killed Tori Giacomo dumped her in Griffith Park and concealed her body quite efficiently. The park’s miles from Tori’s apartment in the Valley and even farther from Peaty’s. It’s also a brief freeway detour from the Valley to Pasadena— get off the 101 and take the 5 for one exit, do your thing, get back on.”

“Dropping her off on the way to work,” he said. “Same way he stole the van.”