“Nah, that’s okay. I’m sure you’d like a little privacy.”

“Privacy?” Decker let out an incredulous laugh. “Under one roof, I’ve got a wife, two daughters, two sons, a baby nurse, a mother-in-law, a father-in-law, a dog, and a new kitten. To me, privacy is a word in the dictionary. You’re welcome to stay if the mood hits.”

“You’ve twisted my arm.”

“I take it Hollander found you without a hitch?”

“Smooth as silk.”

“Where is Ms. Roberts at the moment?” Decker asked.

“She left directly from the gym to Tujunga Memorial—presumably she’s working the three-to-eleven shift. Don’t worry, Mike’s playacting the janitor at the hospital. He’s keeping watch on her in case she decides to filch something—human or otherwise.”

“Good.”

“So what did Leek McKay have to say for himself?”

Decker sat on a buckskin chair. Ginger, who had been in the kitchen, made her entrance, prancing over to Decker, then sitting at his feet. He petted the setter’s gleaming fur. “Good to see you still remember me.”

The sarcasm went unnoticed by the animal.

He said, “Well, he admitted embezzling petty cash from the old folks. He also admitted looking the other way when Tandy started using his license number.”

“What about lifting Tandy’s employment records from Golden Valley?”

“He claims he doesn’t have them. He doesn’t know what happened to them. I told him that wasn’t what I asked. I asked him if he filched them. He hemmed and hawed, and the upshot is, he thinks Tandy lifted the records herself.”

“How?”

“Leek didn’t want to go into detail. Lord only knows why. He wasn’t shy about confessing his other crimes. As far as involvement in the kidnapping goes, I don’t have any evidence that points in his direction.”

“But we’ve got him for embezzlement.”

“Yes, we do. But now that we’ve got him, I’m not quite sure what I want to do with him.”

“What do you mean?”

“His arrest record is clean. Which means if the case goes to court, his lawyer’ll plead nolo contendere. Which means he’ll probably be sentenced to probation. First thing he’ll have to do is pay back the money he took from the old folks. Unfortunately, it won’t go to them, it’ll go to the home. He’ll probably have to do some community service as well—which in a way, he does anyway. He arranges entertainment for the elderly at the home; he’s in charge of the home’s Halloween party, Christmas party, Easter party—”

“Pete, you are not going to let him get away with embezzlement?”

“I’m just saying if he’s sentenced, he’ll undoubtedly lose his license. Which means the home’ll lose a nurse the old folks are crazy about.”

“Decker, the sleaze can’t break the law.”