“One of which was twenty-five years old, so this one should be a snap. We’ve got a hell of lot riding on this solve.”

A potential seven-figure gift could lift LAPD into state of the art. Equipping the department with the newest in forensic machinery could potentially put more felons behind bars. Still, Decker has found that in the end, it was always the human factor: men and women sweating hours on end to extract confessions, noticing a detail that was overlooked, doing just one more interview.

Not that technology didn’t have its place. And with a big endowment…

Money talks, etc.

“What prompted the call?” Decker asked Strapp.

“She read about the Primo Ekerling carjacking in Hollywood and it reminded her of the unfinished business with the Little case.”

“Doesn’t Hollywood have a few cholos in custody for that one?”

“It does, but that’s not the point. The parallels were similar enough to strike a chord in her very wealthy mind.”

“What’s her connection to Little other than the fact that he was her guidance counselor?”

“I think it’s as simple as that. She told Mackinerny that Little was the only one who had been kind to her during her awkward years, and now she has enough money to get people to jump,” Strapp said. “We were both in Foothill when the Little murder happened. From what I remember, he was a good guy.”

Decker hadn’t followed the details closely. He did recall that the case had occupied space in the local newspapers. “How soon do you want me on this?”

“How does yesterday sound, Lieutenant? Top priority. Got it?”

“Got it, and over and out.”

THOUGH HE COULDN’T delegate the thinking, Decker could certainly dole out the grunt work. He assigned one of the newest detectives the necessary but excruciatingly frustrating task of driving from the West Valley to downtown to pick up the Little file. In morning rush-hour traffic that was a heavy one-to two-hour commute, depending on the amount of Sigalerts on L.A.’s arteries. In the meantime, Decker went over his current assignments, clearing most of his paperwork to devote his attention to the Little case.

The department had detectives who worked cold cases routinely, and why they didn’t pick this one up was anyone’s guess. Decker suspected that if West Valley got the solve, a substantial slab of the coveted cash would be directed to Strapp. Also, it was logical that the local detectives might have better luck concluding a case that happened in their own backyard.