I said, "I was home all night. I spoke to a friend about nine-thirty. I can give you his name and number, but that's the only time I can cover."

Pardy glanced at O'Loughlin, but didn't seem particularly impressed.

"That's great, Cole; we'll check it out. Would you be willing to give us a GSR? In the interest of helping us. Not to be adversarial."

O'Loughlin frowned at him, but didn't object. A gunshot residue test would show them whether or not I had recently fired a gun - if I hadn't washed my hands or worn gloves.

"Sure, Pardy, take the swabs. I haven't killed anyone this week."

O'Loughlin checked his watch as if he suspected this was going to be a waste of time, but here we were and there was the dead man. Diaz called over a criminalist, and had me sign a waiver stating I knew my rights and was cooperating without coercion. The criminalist rubbed two cloth swabs over my left and right hands, then dropped each into its own glass tube. While the criminalist worked, I gave Pardy Joe Pike's name and number to confirm the call, then asked O'Loughlin if they made the murder for a botched robbery. He checked his watch again as if answering me was just another waste of time.

"We don't make it for anything right now. We're six blocks from Skid Row, Cole. We have more murders down here than any other part of the city. These people will kill each other over six cents or a blow job, and every goddamned murder clears the same. He sure as hell wasn't carrying government secrets."

No, he was carrying news stories about me.

"Sounds like you've got it figured out."

"If you'd seen as many killings down here as me, you'd have it figured, too."

O'Loughlin suddenly realized he was talking too much and seemed embarrassed.

"If we think of anything else to ask you, we'll follow up. Thanks for your cooperation."

"Sure."

He glanced at Diaz.

"Kelly, you good with letting Jeff have the lead on this? It'll be a good learning experience."

"Fine by me."

"You good with that, Jeff?"

"You bet. I'm on it."

Pardy turned away to call over the coroner's people, and O'Loughlin went with him. Two morgue techs broke out a gurney and began setting it up. I studied the body again. His clothes were worn but clean, and his face wasn't burned dark like the people who live on the streets. When I glanced up at Diaz, she was staring at him, too.

"He doesn't look homeless."

"He's probably fresh out of detention. That's good news for us; his prints will be in the system."