“What is your thing?”

“R & B. Hip-hop. I play bass. That’s what I played in orchestra. Later on, I switched to electric bass.”

“Do you still play music?”

“Once in a while, I’ll fill in a spot in the school orchestra. The kids get a kick outta that. Every so often I think about getting another band together, but with my own kids and my job, there’s no time left over.”

“You’ve played in bands?”

Arlington looked down and smiled. “Sure, before I got married.” He laughed. “Singing and playing was always a good way to get the girls. When I first moved in with Nana, she made me join the church choir. I didn’t want to sing in no church choir. I was resentful. But after a while…I really liked it. Being musical separates you from the crowd.”

“Did you have a band when you lived in L.A.?”

“Nah, my peeps were more into rap. Wanna know what’s funny? I had more talent than any of them. If anyone could have made it in rap, it woulda been me. Nana hated rap. She called it idiotic doggerel and told me I was too good for that stuff. I still like rap, but now as a parent, I see her point.”

“But your nana let you play in a band.”

“Nana loves R & B. She’s got good taste.”

“By the way, Rudy Banks went to North Valley High.”

Arlington smiled. “So that’s why I remember him from chorus. The other one…Ekermen—”

“Ekerling.”

“Did he go to North Valley?”

“No, he grew up back east.”

“So that’s why he don’t sound familiar and Rudy does.”

Marge nodded.

But the ages didn’t match up. Marge would check it again, but she had thought that Rudy had dropped out by the time Arlington was a freshman. If there was a reason to reinterview him, Marge would point out the inconsistency at that time.

THE ONLY REASON Decker heard his cell was because it was still in his jacket hanging up in the bedroom closet. Once again, he’d forgotten to plug it into the charger. But this time it was fortunate. He slipped out of bed carefully, so as not to wake up his wife, and barely made it to the cell before the message machine kicked in. He closed the door to the closet and said hello.

“What do you want from me this time?”

It took a moment for Decker to wipe the sleep from his brain. The smooth, albeit irritated voice was instantly recognizable. “What time is it?”

“Your time or my time?”

“On either time, you’re up late.”

“It must be the drugs.”

“What do you know about a guy named Rudy Banks?”

A small laugh over the phone. “You throw names at me like I know every sleazeball in the world.”