From the winding roads of Sunset, Decker hooked onto the 405 heading north into his home turf of the San Fernando Valley. Morning clouds had given way to full sun, necessitating air-conditioning. Although the car was old, it valiantly sputtered a stream of Freon-laden air, which felt good on Decker’s sweaty face. He loosened his tie and waited for phone reception as the Vic chugged through the mountain pass. When he reached the top of the hill, he used his voice-activated earpiece to talk hands-free. Cindy picked up on the third ring.

“Are you busy?” he said without introduction.

“Just sitting down to a vegetarian club salad.”

Decker checked his watch. It was eleven-thirty. “Early lunch?”

“Joe’s hungry and the timing works. What’s up?”

“I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes. It would be helpful if you had some privacy.”

“Hold on.” Decker heard Cindy talking to her partner. Several moments later, she was back on the line. “Is everything okay?”

“Just fine. Did I make you nervous?”

“Of course you did. You never call me during working hours.”

“That’s because the call is business. Sorry if I scared you. I need a favor, Cin.”

“A favor, huh?” A pause. “Well, now I know I’ve arrived.”

“Weren’t you involved in the car recovery of the Primo Ekerling case?”

“Initially Joe and I were assigned to the case until we popped the trunk and discovered the body. Then it immediately went over to Homicide.”

“So the car was reported as stolen?”

“Yes, but the vehicle wasn’t the main issue. Ekerling’s girlfriend reported that he, along with the car, went missing. About a week later, a traffic officer was about to write a ticket on the Mercedes when he noticed that the car already had a ticket on the windshield. The car was parked on Prince right off Hollywood Boulevard.”

“That’s a residential area, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. The car was being ticketed because it was parked on the wrong side on a street cleaning day. The first ticket was for the same violation. The car had been sitting there for at least a week.”

“And no one called it in?”

“It was a brand-new Mercedes. I suppose it didn’t look out of place. The miracle was that no one vandalized or stole it, especially with all the bars in the area. Lots of bars mean lots of drunks doing stupid things.”

“That is often the case.”

“Anyway, the officer ran the plates and the car came back hot. Joe and I caught the call. When we got to the location, we peeked inside the vehicle. Something just didn’t look right. Just as important, something didn’t smell right. Joe jimmied the lock on the trunk and the rest is history.”

“And no one complained about the smell?”