"Cole, look, I don't know why anyone does anything. I chased bomb cranks four years after I left the squad. These freaks were the sickest, most mentally fucked-up degenerates you can imagine. You know the difference between them and everyone else? Real people get the urge to do something weird, they don't do it. Assholes get the urge, they just do it."

"No impulse control."

"This kid had no impulse control. I see kids with no impulse control every day. That's why they have to deal with me; they get in trouble. But this isn't just some unhappy kid acting out a bad home life -"

She fingered through the report and articles, looking for examples.

"Assaulting this kid with a bat, pissing in this woman's yard - this is showing a lack of impulse control. But here where he throws the hammer at this car - she says he stood there laughing? - and here where he's in the middle of the street talking to himself? This is getting into psychosis."

Starkey glanced up, and her eyes were serious.

"I've been thinking about this, Cole. Here you have a kid with this history, and he and his father up and disappear, leaving behind all this money? All right, no evidence was found linking their disappearance to a crime, but the Sheriffs were investigating check fraud and forgery - they thought the Reinnikes were victims. They weren't investigating a kid who would spear a collie with a garden stake. I'm thinking you should check out the unsolved violent crimes in their area just before they left."

I nodded. It was a slow nod, but Starkey made sense. I could see it happening that way; George was protective of David, and defensive about him. He had gone to bat for David again and again, but had also made excuses for his son's behavior that bordered on denial. George might well have left to protect his son. He might have abandoned the money and never looked back.

"That's a good idea, Starkey. That's a really good idea."

"Of course it is, Cole. It's also a long shot and totally unlikely, but it'll give you something to do in your spare time."

I thought about it. George probably wouldn't have abandoned his money unless David had done something so bad that George was afraid David would go to prison or be taken away from him. It would have to be something serious; arson, or a crime against persons, like rape, armed robbery, or homicide.

I said, "If I wanted a list of the open major crimes that occurred in Temecula between certain dates thirty-five years ago, could I get it?"

Starkey pouched out her lips, thinking, then opened her cell phone.

"Lemme make a couple of calls. I can find out."