Cindy handed her father another shot of espresso. “I love this machine. I can even steam milk. It saves a bundle on my outside coffee bills.”

“Yeah, what do they charge now for designer coffee? Something like five dollars for an amount the size of a thimble?” Decker held up the file. “Thanks so much for this. It really, really helps.”

Cindy sized up her father. “I keep waiting for you to lose passion about your cases. It never happens.”

“Some cases get more attention than others. This one has a lot of money riding on a solve.”

“And you think Ekerling has something to do with a fifteen-year-old murder case?”

Decker simply shrugged. He finished his espresso and wiped his mouth on a napkin. “I can’t put it off much longer. Traffic’s going to be horrible, so I might as well bite the bullet.”

“I’d ask you to stay for dinner, but I think we’re meeting some friends tonight.”

“No, I have to get back to my wife and your sister, although Hannah’s never around anymore. But Rina still loves me.”

“I’m sure Hannah loves you as well.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she does, but at her age, she has a funny way of showing it.”

CHAPTER 12

AFTER WRITING COPIOUS notes on two packs’ worth of index cards, Decker had a neat summary of the Primo Ekerling case. He had come away with the following account.

At five-thirty in the afternoon, Ekerling and his brand-new silver 550S Mercedes sedan left his office on San Vicente Boulevard and disappeared into the ether. His initial absence from the world was noticed by his girlfriend, Marilyn Eustis, when she failed to reach Ekerling by phone. She left messages but wasn’t particularly wary when he didn’t return the calls. He had an eight o’clock dinner meeting that night, and Marilyn figured that they’d meet up at the designated restaurant. Primo could be lax with phone calls, but he was always punctual with his fellow associates and this evening mixed business with pleasure.