I said, “Maybe Nora’s not the only one with theatrical interests. Only reason we knew about the snow globe in the first place was Brad brought it up when we talked to him at his house.”

“Painting Meserve as a gold digger. What was that? Another misdirect?”

“Or it was true and he had good reason to hate Meserve.”

He loosened his belt, crushed ice with his molars and swallowed it. Picked up the check.

“On you or the department?” I said.

“For your information, I’m trying out that bumper sticker wisdom, spontaneous acts of kindness blah blah blah. Maybe the Almighty will reward me with a close on this mess.”

“Never knew you to be religious.”

“There’s things that can get me praying.”

* * *

Walking to the parking lot, I said, “Three personal real estate parcels for Billy and Nora, none for Brad. Just like the birthday parties. His childhood was one big exclusion because the Dowds never stopped seeing him as anything but an imposition. Amelia recruited him for the Kolor Krew only because he could sing. When his behavior grew troublesome, she sent him away.”

“Used and discarded,” he said. “Persimmons.”

“I’d put money on a whole lot more antisocial behavior. The point is, the same pattern’s continued into adulthood: As long as Brad serves a purpose— taking care of Nora and Billy— he gets creature comforts. But at the root, he’s hired help. Doesn’t even own the house he lives in, legally he’s just another tenant. In a sense, it’s to his advantage, spending other people’s money and living large. But still, it has to grate.”

“Hired help passing himself off as the boss,” he said. “Wonder how he finagled himself into that position.”

“Probably by default— Nora and Billy are incapable. He’s the caretaker and the payoff is cars, clothes, properties that he palms off as his. Image. He pulls off the aw-shucks big-money thing beautifully. Angeline Wasserman’s part of that world and she bought it.”

“Good actor.”

“Good at impressing women,” I said. “Young, naive women would be no challenge. Tori’s ex-husband figured she’d been dating someone with money. A starving actress serving fish to make the rent on a North Hollywood dump and a guy with a Porsche? Same for Michaela.”

“Michaela never indicated to you that she was seeing anyone?”

“No, but it wouldn’t have come up. My consult focused on her legal problems. One thing she did make clear: Dylan was no longer her style. Maybe because she’d found someone better.”

“Mr. Hot Wheels,” he said. “Still doesn’t answer the question of how Brad got to pull the reins. Why would the Dowds hand over all that control?”