“Knowing the idea was bullshit but too polite to say so,” said Kleffer. “It kind of drove home how she outclassed me.”

I said, “Stability.”

“Chicks want that.”

Milo said, “Most people want that.”

“Yeah, sure. Maybe even I want it, who knows?” Kleffer looked at the ground. “Can I ask what exactly happened to her?”

“We’re keeping the details confidential right now.”

“Oh. Yeah, sure. I just hope she didn’t suffer a lot.”

I said, “Would Kathy let a stranger into her apartment?”

Kleffer straightened his leg. “She let him in?”

“That surprises you.”

“I was thinking some scumbag broke in to steal something and got crazy.”

“Why’s that?” said Milo.

“Because that’s what happens mostly, right?”

Neither of us replied.

Kleffer said, “It didn’t happen that way?”

Milo said, “There was no sign of forced entry.”

Kleffer pressed his back to the wall and began sliding down. Lowering himself several inches, he lost balance and forced himself upright. “She let some asshole in? Oh God, I used to tell her be more careful.”

“She was careless?”

“Not like crazy reckless, more like, don’t go shopping by yourself at night. You need stuff, tell me and I’ll pick it up for you. I also said get an alarm, you’re a chick living alone. She said thanks for caring, I’m fine. You’re telling me she let someone in. Fuck! The new guy? Maybe I should’ve found out who the hell he was.”

Milo said, “At this point, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions, sir.”

“She let him the fuck in,” said Kleffer. He punched stucco. Bloody speckles rose on his knuckles, dark dew. He wiped his hand on his apron. Fresh red human stain mixed with the blood of other species. “Stupid girl.”

CHAPTER

14

Darius Kleffer returned to work, plodding slowly and smoking and rubbing his hand.

Milo and I lingered in the alley. He said, “Any thoughts besides he’s a litterbug?”

“We know he didn’t kill Kathy Hennepin himself and I don’t see him hiring out. Plus, he’s not someone Ursula would likely be attracted to.”

“So total waste of time.”

I said, “Maybe not. His suspicions about another man could dovetail with Fellinger getting together with Kathy.”

“Someone to provide stability.”

“A Century City lawyer would fit the bill.”

“You don’t see that as Kleffer’s low self-esteem? When he drinks he gets low.”

“It’s possible,” I said. “But Kleffer’s reasoning makes sense. Right from the start he and Kathy made an odd couple. She resisted him, finally gave in but eventually she went back to being a conventional woman with conventional tastes. Maybe because an older lawyer flirted with her in the elevator of a high-rent office building. Someone self-confident and worldly and smooth around the edges, talk about the anti-Kleffer.”

His turn to kick the wall. “And hell, maybe he even cooks.”

“Catering to her every need.”