He laughed and drank and ate. “Anyway, that’s the extent of the weird stuff. There was no sexual penetration or fooling with the genitalia or overt sadism. Not much blood loss either, most of it settled, and the lividity showed the body was on its back for a while.”

“Manual strangulation,” I said. “Look in her eyes and choke the life out of her. It takes time. Maybe it’s enough to get you off.”

“Watching,” he said. “Peaty’s thing. With him and Billy being a couple of arrested-development losers— immature— I can see them fooling with a body but being afraid to dig too deep. Now you’re telling me ol’ Billy’s got a temper.”

“He does.”

“But?”

“But what?”

“You’re not convinced.”

“I don’t see Billy and Peaty being clever enough. More important, I don’t see Billy setting up Peaty with that call.”

“Maybe he’s not as stupid as he comes across. The real actor in the family.”

“Brad can obviously be fooled,” I said, “but he and Billy lived together so I doubt to that extent. Learn anything new about the stolen cell phone?”

He flipped the attaché case open, got his notepad. “Motorola V551, Cingular wireless account, registered to Ms. Angeline Wasserman, Bundy Drive, Brentwood. Interior designer, married to an investment banker. The phone was in her purse when it got stolen the day of the call— nine hours before. Ms. Wasserman was shopping, got distracted, turned her head, and poof. Her big concern was the whole identity theft thing. The purse, too— four-figure Badgley-something number.”

“Badgley Mischka.”

“Your brand?”

“I’ve known a few women.”

“Ha! Wanna guess where she was shopping?”

“Camarillo outlets,” I said.

“The Barneys outlet, specifically. Tomorrow, when it opens at ten, I’ll be there showing around pictures of Peaty and Billy, the Gaidelases, Nora and Meserve, Judge Crater, Amelia Earhart, anyone else you wanna suggest.”

“Nora and Meserve may be cavorting as we speak.” I told him about the travel brochures, my calls to the private jet outfits.

“Another subpoena called for, if I had grounds,” he said. “The paper for Ms. Wasserman’s cell came in fast because it’d been reported stolen but I’m still waiting on the phone booth trace. Hopefully I’ll have it in hand tonight.”

“Night owl judge?”

His smile was weary. “I’ve known a few jurists.”

I said, “Meserve’s hoax conviction won’t help with the passenger logs?”

“Misdemeanor offense pled down to community service? Not hardly. You’re liking him and Nora better now? Nor more Andy and Cathy as psychos?”

“Their leaving town puts them in my radar.”

“Nora and Mr. Snow Globe. He hid his own car in Brad’s treasured space, just like Brad assumed, left the globe there for a screw-you.”

“If he and Nora targeted Peaty, they could’ve learned about Peaty’s unregistered van. Left the second globe as a misdirection.”

“Rape kit too?”