Jessica knew exactly which photo Connor was referring to. It was a candid shot of Tony mingling with friends and fellow art lovers at the small gallery where his work had been on show. The exhibition had featured in several local arts publications. She remembered how happy he’d looked in the photo and how proud she had been of his achievement, and she felt like her heart was breaking all over again.

Connor said, “I printed off the photo of Tony Shaw and made my way immediately to Eagle Rock. I’d already shown the local motel owner pictures of another father and daughter who I’d thought might be the ones I was looking for, with no luck.

“I tried Hopper again, and this time, he identified the guy in the photo as Rob Young. A fair bit older and grayer, with shorter hair, and carrying a little more weight around the middle, but definitely the same guy who’d dated Eleanor Lavelle and split town around the time of her murder.

“I told him I was an investigative journalist, working closely with Bill Geersen, and slipped him fifty bucks to keep quiet about what I’d shown him. I told him there would be more ‘tip fees’ for contacting me right away if anyone else showed up in Eagle Rock asking questions about the Lavelles.”

“Why not just tell him you were a PI?”

Connor shrugged. “It was the cover story Geersen and I came up with. Journalists seem to be less intimidating than PIs. Some folks think of us the same way they do the cops. They’re edgy, on the defensive. With journalists, you’d be surprised how many people are willing to open up to you if they think there’s a chance their picture might appear in the paper.”

Connor stood suddenly and walked over to the nightstand. It wasn’t yet noon, but he cracked the seal on a bottle of Wild Turkey anyway.

“I need a drink,” he said. “You want one?”

“I don’t want anything from you.”

“Suit yourself.”

Connor returned to his spot at the end of the bed and sipped the liquor.

“I was excited,” he said. “I thought I was about to crack one of the most famous unsolved cases in LA. I never actually lived in Eagle Rock, but I wasn’t lying when I said I remembered it being all over the news, the effect it had on local communities. A lot of bad shit goes down in LA, but people were genuinely shocked by what happened and worried they might be next.”

He took another swallow of bourbon. Jessica kept her finger on the trigger, the gun still pointing at the floor.