Thackrey looked up at the night sky. “Before you two make judgments about the messiness of this, you should know the drama I’ve been exposed to. When Elise was in one of her manic binges, she went shopping. I was with her once when she bought five hundred dollars’ worth of art supplies—brushes, paints, canvases. All excited about some project. She never took the stuff out of the bags when she got home.”

Victor smiled. “As I remember, you said you liked her energy.”

“One time we drove nine hours down to LA just because she wanted to have breakfast at Nick’s Café. You know that place in Chinatown where the cops eat? Then we turned around and drove back. Me doing a hundred on Interstate 5, her asleep in the back seat. Eighteen hours, door to door.”

“You told us, you met this new fun girl. You used the word spontaneity.”

“Then there were the down times, when I found her on the bathroom floor, cutting her ankles. Blood smeared everywhere, and she’s dabbing at the cuts with a Kleenex. Or she drives up here at four in the morning, pounds on the door, and wants me to give her a bottle of OxyContin. ‘Just give it to me, Benny, and I’ll go away. I’ll swallow them all and be done. You won’t have to worry about me. I promise I won’t take them until I get home. No one will know it was you.’”

“Water under the bridge now.”

Russell bent close to his tablet. “Something here you ought to see, Ben. VCI talked to a former roommate named Jessica Alvarez, who told them Elise was dating a guy who made money in computers and drove a silver car. And the meth dealer we went to see, Arturo Peña, said he saw three men fitting our description with your girlfriend last Saturday.”

Victor took a long toke from the joint and put it back in the ashtray. “Sounds like the boys in blue will be here sooner than later. Good luck with that, Ben.”

“What makes you think I’m the one they arrest?” Thackrey pulled the gun from his waistband and laid it on the armrest. “How about if I shoot you two right now? I say you killed Elise. Your car’s the one driving into the park. You threatened me, and I shot you in self-defense.”

Victor faced Thackrey. “You’re not going to do that.”

“Really? You know that? What do I have to lose?” He picked up the gun. “I could put a round in each of you before you stood up.”

Russell leaned forward. “Okay. Let’s calm down. What do you want, Ben?”

Thackrey looked to the end of the deck. “We need to do something with the dogs.”

“Petey and Oscar? What do you mean?”