“There was never any danger,” she said. “Rand was a good person.”

Same claim he’d made. Neither Milo nor I answered.

Cherish Daney said, “I don’t expect you to believe this, but eight years transformed him.”

“To?”

“A good person, Lieutenant. He wasn’t going to be with us long term, anyway. Just until he found a job and a place to stay. My husband had made inquiries with some nonprofits, figuring maybe Rand could work at a thrift shop, or do some landscaping work. Then Rand took the initiative and came up with the idea of construction. That’s where he went Saturday.”

“Any idea how he ended up in Bel Air?”

She shook her head. “He’d have no reason to be there. The only thing I can think of is he got lost and someone picked him up. Rand could be very trusting.”

“He never phoned you?”

“He didn’t have a phone,” she said.

He’d called me from a pay booth.

Milo said, “How close is the construction site?”

“Up a few blocks on Vanowen.”

“Not very far, in terms of getting lost.”

“Lieutenant, Rand spent his entire adolescence in prison. When he got out he was extremely disoriented. His world was a buzz of confusion.”

“William James,” I said.

“Pardon?”

“Pioneer of psychology. He called childhood a blooming, buzzing confusion.”

“I probably learned that,” said Cherish. “I took psychology in seminary.”

Milo said, “So you kept in regular contact with Rand while he was in custody.”

“We did,” she said. “Right after Troy died, we initiated contact.”

“Why then?”

“Initially, we were more involved with Troy because we knew him before the trouble.”

“The trouble being Kristal Malley’s murder,” said Milo.

Cherish Daney looked away. Her stoop became more pronounced.

“How’d you know Troy before, Mrs. Daney?”

“When my husband and I were students, part of our community service seminar involved identifying needs in the community. Our apartment wasn’t that far from 415 City, so we knew its reputation. Our faculty adviser thought it would be a good place to find kids with needs. We talked to Social Services and they identified several prospects. Troy was one of them.”

“Rand wasn’t?” I said.

“Rand never got his name on any lists.”

“Troublemaker lists?” said Milo.

She nodded. “We met with Troy a couple of times, tried to get him involved with church or sports or a hobby, but we never really connected. Then, after . . . he must’ve mentioned us to his lawyer because she contacted us and said it would be a great time to start counseling him spiritually.”

Bible in a cell. Smooth talk about sin.

“Why didn’t you connect initially?” said Milo.

“You know how it is. Kids don’t always take to talking.”

She looked to me for confirmation. Before I could offer any, Milo said, “Being arrested help Troy’s communication skills?”