The alley was a long block between commercial storefronts and an abandoned hotel. The letters from the old neon HOTEL sign loomed over the dark street. I could read the hotel's faded name painted on the bricks-Hotel Farnham. But without the police lights, it would have been impossible to read. The darkness bothered me. The body was a good sixty feet from the near street, so he either took a shortcut he knew well or came with someone else. It would have been scary to come this way alone.

"It was you who found him?"

"I was over on Grand when I heard the shot-one cap. I ran past at first, but I heard him flopping around in here and there he was. I tried to get a handle on the bleeding, but it was too much. It was awful, man ... Jesus."

She raised her hands like she was trying to get them out of the blood, and I saw they were shaking. The clothes she wore were probably spares from another cop's trunk. She had probably changed out of her bloody clothes in the ambulance and washed with the alcohol. She probably wanted to throw away her blood-soaked clothes, but she was a cop with a cop's pay so she would wash them herself when she got home, then have them dry-cleaned and hope the blood came out. Diaz turned away. The coroner techs had their gurney up, and were pulling on latex gloves.

I said, "No wallet?"

"No, they got it. All he had were the clippings, a nickel, and two pennies."

"No keys?"

She suddenly sighed, and seemed anxious and tired.

"Nothing. Look, you can take off, Cole. I want to finish up and get home to bed. It's been a long night."

I didn't move.

"He mentioned me by name?"

"That's right."

"What did he say?"

"I don't remember exactly, something about trying to find you, but I was asking what happened-I was asking about the shooter. He said he had to find his son. He said he had come all this way to find his boy, and he never met you, but he wanted to make up the lost years. I asked him who, and he told me your name. Maybe that isn't exactly what he said, but it was something like that."

She glanced at me again, then looked back at his body.

"Listen, Cole, I've arrested people who thought they were from Mars. I've busted people who thought they were on Mars. You heard O'Loughlin-we got bums, junkies, drunks, crackheads, schizophrenics, you name it, down here. You don't know what kind of mental illness this guy had."

"But you still have to clear me."

"If you were home all night, don't worry about it. He'll be in the system. I'll let you know when the CI pulls a name."

I turned away from the body and saw Pardy staring at me. His pinched face looked intent.

"It's not necessary, Diaz. Don't bother."