“Nah. We faded out of each other’s life for ten years. Then out of the blue, he sent me a Christmas card…telling me what he’s doing. So I wrote him back, telling him what I’m doing. We’ve been exchanging cards now for about five years but nothing more than that. I was happy he found his life, and he seemed happy that I found mine. I hadn’t actually talked to him until last week, when he called to tell me about the interview he had with you.” He looked at Marge. “That’s when he told me that he had gone to Clearwater Park to pick up Leroy. He also told me that Leroy was real jingly, and Jervis knew that something bad had happened. Then I told him about my phone call with Leroy six months after Dr. Ben died. I told him that Leroy said he was there but never admitted to doin’ nothin’”

Arlington stared at the window.

“Maybe Leroy snipped him, maybe he had help. We’re never gonna know because Leroy’s dead.”

“And you’re sure that Leroy never mentioned Rudy Banks in connection with the killing,” Oliver said.

“Leroy didn’t tell me any names. I know that the police talked to Leroy after Dr. Ben’s murder. If they couldn’t get the truth out of Leroy, I figured why should I do their job for them?” He turned to the detectives. “I suppose if you’re determined to arrest me, you’ll do it no matter what I say.”

“We’re not going to arrest you,” Marge said. “But we’re not at that point yet where we have to be concerned with legal matters. We’re just trying to solve an old crime. We’re trying to speak for Ben Little who can’t speak for himself. Thank you for talking to us again. We’ll probably have some follow-up questions if you don’t mind.”

Arlington opened the door to his office and blew the whistle. “Back in formation. I want to see you practice going down the lanes. Keep it smooth.” He turned back to Marge and Oliver. “You can go ahead and ask your questions. And I’ll answer them. But do me a favor, Detectives. Next time you want to talk to me, use the phone.”

CHAPTER 39

DECKER LEANED BACK in his desk chair and regarded his two detectives. A dedicated duo, they had come straight from LAX to work. “So Leroy Josephson told Darnell Arlington that he was there when Bennett Little was shot?”

“Leroy ‘saw it go down’ was the quote,” Marge answered. “Leroy made a point of telling Darnell that he didn’t murder Ben, just that something bad had happened and Little was killed.”

“And that was about the extent of his details,” Oliver added.