San Diego Noir

She and I steamed the windows pretty good while we waited to see if he’d make an appearance. A little after one a.m., Caleb pulled his truck up to Betty’s parking spot. It was obvious from his facial expression that he was royally pissed to find the space occupied.

If I was ever going to do this, now was the time.

I got out and confronted him. “You like parking in this spot, don’t you, Caleb?”

He relaxed when he saw it was me. “I just got back from serving three tours in Iraq. I think I deserve whatever parking space I want, don’t you?”

Caleb was taller than me by a few inches, but he was also scrawnier. He didn’t appear armed but you never know. I had a damned good switchblade in my jeans pocket.

“Do I think you deserve a good parking space? I think you deserve a life sentence. I think you liked this parking space enough to kill for it.”

I saw his body go tense, but he regrouped quickly. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you know, but that woman’s death was a suicide. It’s all over the papers.”

“That right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I stared him right in the eye. I lie more effectively that way. “I’m a programmer for a high-tech company that subcontracts to Google Earth. You’ve heard of Google, haven’t you, Caleb?”

“Of course; I’m not a moron.”

“Well, Google Earth gets mapping data from hundreds of satellites that orbit the earth 24-7. And guess what one of those satellites caught you doing the morning of the seventeenth? You shoved Betty Lou Thomas, owner of this parking space, to her death.”

For a long moment, Caleb just stood there. I could almost hear his mental gears click. Would he bite the bait? I had no idea whether any commercial satellites, let alone Google’s, could pick up that level of detail. But depending on what he did in the military, Caleb probably wouldn’t know either.

“You can’t prove anything. If you could, you’d have given evidence to the police and I’d be under arrest.”

There it was, his admission of guilt. Now I knew this scuzz had pushed Betty off her roof. Frankly, I didn’t care if he had PTSD or a bad case of athlete’s foot. It’s an all-volunteer service and counseling is available. Another vet might’ve gotten my sympathy but not a jerk with a hypertrophic sense of entitlement.

“Just tell me why, Caleb. Maybe then I can have some peace.”

“I ran into her that morning when I took my garbage out. She was at the dumpster too. The minute she saw me, she started in with her whiny nagging. Said she was going to report me to the building manager if I parked in her space again.” Caleb shifted in the long shadows. “I didn’t serve years in Iraq to come home to that kind of crap.”

“So you were bitching at each other when you took the garbage out … and then what?”

“Then a few minutes later I saw her go up to the roof by herself.” He glanced down at the oil-stained floor. “Perfect opportunity.”

I shook my head in disgust, turned away, and walked back to my car. I kept my hand on my switchblade, hoping with each step that he wouldn’t attack me from behind.

I got in the car and drove away.

Caterina asked, “What if he follows us?”

“I’m counting on it.”

She regarded me with something that might be admiration.

“You think our little boudoir games are edgy?” I asked. “Baby, if you want to know what edgy really is …” I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Caleb’s truck two blocks behind us. “I want justice for Betty. I can use your help. Are you in?”

The adrenaline rush affected both of us, but Caterina practically glowed in the dark.

We hadn’t been at my place more than three minutes when Caleb pulled up. “You understand what to do?” I asked my coconspirator. If there was a wild card in my plan, it wasn’t Caleb.

“Of course, darling.”

As expected, he messed with my circuit breaker and snuffed the lights. The window creaked as he raised it to crawl in. I heard a whump! followed by a nervous giggle. I reached into the blackness and fumbled for a moment before landing a second blow that guaranteed Caleb a permanent journey to Nod.

I felt the limp weight of his limbs as we carried him into the moonless night. Heard the rustle of critters with chatoyant eyes, then the metal chime of the suspension coils. Counted steps across the wooden planks. As we tensed for the final effort, I smelled Caterina’s breath. The crash was quieter than expected. In the soft deep black of night, I felt her fingernails pierce my forearm.