“This place is patrolled, you know. But the guys don’t look too scary. I could probably take ’em down if I had the weapons.”

Decker’s eyes went to Erin’s young face. The steely way she had spoken those words had sent a chill down his spine. “I’ll put in a call to West L.A. police for protection. They’ll send over some cruisers to keep watch until we can sort this out.”

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to my aunt. She’s the only person in the world who has ever been nice to me.”

Stated so plaintively. She was a broken soul, but that didn’t mean she was harmless. Street junkies—especially young ones who have experienced so much rough trade in so few years—were notoriously unpredictable.

“So even when Darrell was living with you, he stayed out all night?”

“Sometimes.”

“Ever tell you about it?”

“Nope. I just assumed he was with Ruby, doing their thing.”

“And you didn’t care what Darrell was doing?”

“You mean, was I jealous?” She laughed. “I didn’t care as long as he was nice to me.”

Nice, as in supplying her habit. He said, “I was thinking more like the illegal things. Weren’t you worried about the police catching up with you?”

“A little. Still, it was worth the free junk.” She rubbed her nose. “Think I should get tested?”

“For AIDS?”

“Yeah. When I started living with Darrell, he made me get tested. I was negative. I’ve only done it with, like, three other guys since then. Think I should get tested again?”

“It’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” She sniffed. “You’re gonna take me into, like, custody, right?”

“Right.”

“I gotta get a lawyer, right?”

“Right,” Decker said. “If you can’t afford one, we’ll get you one.”

“My parents are flush. They’ll hire me out someone.” She looked at him. “What about my jones? I’m not going cold.”

Barking orders as if she had a choice. But why rile her up? It would just make it harder to get her in. “If you cooperate, I’ll try to get you into a hospital under a doctor’s supervision.”

“You mean like methadone?”

“If you cooperate,” Decker stressed. “A couple more questions, Erin. Did you ever meet Ernesto Golding?”

She didn’t have to think about the answer. “Long time ago. Ruby brought him over to PEI a couple of times. Right before he trashed the synagogue.”

“Did you know that Ernesto was going to trash the synagogue?”

“You mean, like, before he did it?”

“Yes, that’s what I mean.”

“No, I didn’t know before…just afterward. Because it was all over the news.”

“Erin, I think Ernesto had help in that crime. What do you think?”

“I dunno.”