Stacey smiled. "That's right. But boys will be boys. They're not going to execute the lad for public drunkenness. In May that same year, he was arrested for burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Probably screwed a thirteen-year-old. That'd be about his speed. Put on probation. In February of '65, he was arrested for another burglary. He pleaded guilty; sentence was six months in jail and probation. Judge is really cracking down on him," he said, tongue in cheek. "June 1965. Burglary again. This time, his probation's revoked and he's sentenced to state prison, six months to fifteen years; released after serving ten months. December 1965. Drunk and disorderly, assault, and marijuana possession. Admitted for psychiatric evaluation and treatment of drug and alcohol dependency." Stacey snorted derisively. "The guy's a creep. We all know that. April 1966-burglary and escape. November 1966-robbery, kidnapping, attempted rape. This time they threw in assault and possession of a dangerous weapon. March 1967-another burglary. Oh, and here's a good one. I can't believe this guy's back on the street. In January 1968, Frankie abducted a woman from a supermarket parking lot. He was later arrested on charges of kidnap, assault, robbery, oral copulation, sodomy, and attempted murder. You better believe she hasn't had a good night's sleep since she ran into him. January 1969-attempted kidnap, statutory rape, contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Now we're getting down to business. In March 1969, he was picked up on charges of armed robbery, assault, and attempted murder. Case dismissed. Cops probably beat a confession out of him, and the public defender had the whole thing thrown out. Sometime in June, he met a sixteen-year-old girl named Iona Mathis. He was married to her briefly-six months I think. About as long as some of his jail time, as it turns out. Which brings us to Venice, California, late July, when Frankie killed Cathy Lee Pearse." Stacey shook his head. "God bless the courts. If they'd done their job right, they could have saved her life."

I said, "How'd he manage to get away with all that shit?" ."Easy," Dolan said. He stubbed out one cigarette and fired up the next. "He knew how to work the system. Every time he was charged with multiple crimes, he'd plead guilty to one in exchange for the others being dropped. You haven't met Frankie. He can be as charming as all get out. He had judges and prosecutors bending over backwards, trying to give him a chance to straighten up and fly right." Stacey returned the report to the manila folder. "Lot of times he was sentenced to state prison under the old indeterminate sentence system. Other times he was released on automatic parole. Longest he ever went between crimes was this period between March of '67 and November of '68." Dolan said, "Bet you a dollar he just didn't get caught. He hasn't gone that long between crimes since he started out."