"Can I just speak to them?"

"I think people in their position would first need a.s.surance they wouldn't be deported."

"Can you at least keep them in the area while I work on their legal status?"

"If such people exist, seora, they might be persuaded to stay for a few more days."

I gave him a piece of paper with my name and telephone number on it. "Please call me before you let them go anywhere."

He looked at the paper and put it in his pocket. "Mrs. Rose, would you know anything about what happened in the Sepulveda Basin today? Some of my people live down there. One thought he recognized you from this morning."

So he already knew we'd been asking around for the Acevedos.

"Yes, Pastor Sandoval. We organized the event to try to help some of the people who have to live in those awful conditions. The need is so great. Twice as many people showed up as we planned for. I don't think we were able to make much of a dent in their suffering."

His voice softened and he looked at the three of us. "Dis las bendiga. May G.o.d bless you."

Then he reached over and took my hand in both of his. Kindness replaced the wariness in his eyes. "Please understand my first priority is to help and protect my people. If I can, I'll also try to help your friend."

"I believe you, Pastor Sandoval. I just hope you can keep Javier and Graciela-if they exist-from running away."

CHAPTER 28.

Lucy dropped me off at my house and I waved good-bye as she and Birdie drove away. All the motorcycles were gone from Ed's house and the street was quiet. b.u.mper head-b.u.t.ted my ankles as soon as I walked in the door. I reached down to scratch him behind the ears and he purred in ecstasy. One good thing about animals-their love was uncomplicated.

I thought about Arthur's uncomplicated love and loyalty the night he got stabbed while trying to defend me. I decided to pay him a visit at the animal hospital to say thank you. It might be my only chance, since I'd probably never see him again once he went home with Beavers.

I drove to the Boulevard and entered the parking lot next to the hospital. Just as I pa.s.sed the entrance, Beavers and Kerry Andreason, Arthur's veterinarian, came out the front door together. I quietly pulled into a parking s.p.a.ce at the end of a row of cars so I could watch them without being seen.

"Little Miss Scrawny" wasn't wearing her lab coat. As a matter of fact, she wore a s.e.xy hot-pink minidress that showed way too much cleavage. She grabbed Beavers's arm as they walked toward his car, swinging her perky little ponytail and hanging on to him.

He opened the pa.s.senger door; and before she slid in, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, right on the mouth. Her laughter tinkled like bells before he closed her door. I wanted to run right over there and stick all ten fingers in her eyes. Then, smiling broadly, he walked rapidly over to the driver's side and got in. I think they kissed again before he started the car, but I couldn't really see.

They drove right by my car to exit the lot, and I was terrified he'd see me, so I ducked down in the seat, heart in my throat, and stayed there for a good thirty seconds until I was certain they were gone.

I didn't know which one to be angry at the most. That scrawny vet wasted no time getting her claws into Beavers, but then who could blame her? He was quite a catch. However, it had been less than a week since Beavers had broken up with me. Here he was kissing someone else already.

So I was right not to trust him in the first place, and this proved it. At the first sign of trouble in our relationship, he broke up with me. Then he laughed at me. Now he was kissing another woman.

I decided not to stick around. All the way home, I told myself I was lucky to have seen them together. I would just put Arlo out of my life, the way he shut me out of his. I wouldn't think about him anymore. I wouldn't miss him anymore. I wouldn't waste any more tears on him. At least I'd try not to.

My body felt achy and sore from all the exertion of the trip to the wildlife reserve in the morning, the shock and heartbreak of seeing Beavers, and the tension of tracking down Javier and Graciela at the Heart of Zion Church. I opened my prescription bottle, shook out a Soma for muscle pain, and cleaned up the mess in the kitchen from the morning. A lone apple fritter sat in the box from Western Donuts. I'd only eaten a piece of barbequed chicken since the morning, so I brewed a cup of Taylor's Scottish Breakfast Tea and ate the donut while waiting for the muscle relaxer to work.

Why hadn't Aiken called me back? He really should know about Lawanda Price and Barbara Hardisty. Now I also needed his legal help for the fugitives Javier and Graciela. The church pastor hinted they actually witnessed Dax Martin's murder. If we couldn't prevent them from being deported, they'd disappear in the next couple of days and we'd never find them.

I called Aiken's cell phone, which sent me straight to voice mail again. "Simon, this is Martha. Please call me as soon as you get this message. I've found our witnesses, but I can't question them without your help. I also want to tell you about a conversation I overheard between those Army Corps of Engineers people, Lawanda Price and Barbara Hardisty. I'm sure bribery and blackmail were involved in the Beaumont deal. You need to know all the details before you talk to the US Attorney's Office tomorrow. I don't care what the time is, just call me back."

I was still hungry, so I nuked the leftover brisket in the microwave and sauteed zucchini slices in olive oil and salt.

About two hours later, Beavers called. My hands started shaking as I remembered how he kissed Kerry Andreason just a couple of hours ago. I was tempted to hang up.

He got straight to the point. "I've been thinking about what you said this morning. Kaplan still has the lead on this case, but I want you to tell me what you know."

Oh, so now he's willing to listen. I knew he'd be smart enough to get my hint about something huge going on between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Beaumont School. After the way he dismissed me this morning and betrayed me this evening, I wasn't in the mood to cooperate.

"You want to know what I know? I know you're a stubborn cop full of pride who thinks he's been cheated on, which he has not. So you behaved like a wounded puppy. No, strike that. Your wounded dog behaved much better than you. You're self-righteous and unforgiving and were mean to me today. I also know you're completely untrustworthy. That's what I know."

Beavers's voice was taut. "The murder. Tell me what you know about the murder. You were being deliberately cagey this morning, but you clearly know something you wanted me to look at. Stop playing games and talk."

I wanted to tell him everything, but I couldn't risk sabotaging Aiken's defense strategy for Ed. If the cops tried to go after Javier and Graciela, Pastor Luis Sandoval would help them disappear.

"I'd take a real close look at the Beaumont School baseball stadium project. I'd want to know which government agencies were involved-both local and federal. I'd follow the money trail to see where the funds came from to build the stadium and where they went. I'd take a close look at the personal lives and finances of all the people involved, including the murder victim. That's what I'd do. But then, if I did, I'd just be meddling in police business."

"Do you have specifics?"

"You said so yourself. I have a weird knack for educated guesses that turn out to be right."

"What about the homeless witnesses? I know you better than to believe you went in the wildlife reserve just to distribute quilts."

I would be so insulted . . . if he wasn't so right.

"I don't know where they are." Not exactly a lie, but less than forthcoming.

Then I took a deep breath, knowing I was about to open up a tender subject. I still felt terrible about putting his dog in harm's way, but I also wanted to see if he'd admit to dating that vet. "When is Arthur coming home?"

Beavers grudgingly answered me. "He's walking, and Kerry says he's making a remarkable recovery. He'll be able to come home tomorrow."

He's not even trying to hide he's on a first-name basis with the blond vet. However, just hearing him use her familiar name sent pangs into my heart. I tried to avoid reacting, but tears immediately sprang to my eyes and I swallowed hard.

"I'm so glad to hear he's going to be okay." Beavers's silence lasted so long that I thought he'd hung up. Then he said in a quiet voice, "So you and Levy-"

"Never happened." Then I thought about his kissing the vet and added, "At least not yet."

"I thought-"

"Yeah, I know what you thought. The trouble is, instead of asking me about it, you walked away and treated me very badly. Apparently, it hasn't taken you long to get on with your life. Frankly, I'm glad I saw this side of you before falling even more deeply in love."

Oh, my G.o.d! Did I just use the L-word? Where did that come from?

Beavers was silent again for a long time. "Martha, we should talk about this."

"Now you want to talk? I'm going to have to think about having any further conversation with you. There's a lot going on in my life right now, and I don't have the bandwidth to deal with your c.r.a.p at the moment."

Someone knocked.

"I've got to go. There's someone at my door."

I looked through the peephole. Simon Aiken stood there; his new diamond still sparkled in his ear. I let him in and he sat in a cushy chair in my living room while I settled on the cream-colored sofa.

"You got my message?"

Aiken nodded. "Yes. You sounded urgent, so I came over right away. What have you found out?"

I told him about a conspiracy involving payoffs and possible blackmail between the Beaumont School and the Army Corps of Engineers, Hardisty's new Jaguar, and Price's demand for hush money.

"Simon, you really need to get the baseball stadium doc.u.ments from the corps. Dax Martin may have known enough to get him killed. If so, his murderer might be anyone involved in that deal who wanted to silence him."

I also told him I was pretty sure Price was the one watching us from the Sepulveda Dam service road and called the police with the false report of gang activity. "She was probably afraid we'd find the witnesses to the murder, especially if they could lead us back to the corps."

"Good work, Martha. I'll contact my friend in the US Attorney's Office first thing tomorrow. Tell me about locating the homeless witnesses today."

I told Aiken about my conversation with Pastor Luis Sandoval and his determination to protect the couple from deportation to their country, where they'd meet certain death. "If you can talk to your friend at the US Attorney's Office about getting them political asylum, they will probably be willing to step forward and tell us what they saw. They might even be able to identify the killer. We only have a couple of days to do it. Otherwise, they'll leave Los Angeles and disappear. We'd never find them."

The whole time we talked, Simon held his cell phone in both hands, texting notes with his thumbs. He looked up from the small screen. "It'll be a tough sell, but I'll get right on it. The problem is time. The US Attorney's Office is pressuring the DA to arrest Ed. Based on what you've just discovered, I guess the US Attorney's Office is getting heat from their sister agency, the Army Corps of Engineers. With all these Feds involved, they'd like nothing better than to wrap up the case fast in order to prevent any scandal with the engineers over this Beaumont thing."

What chance will a little guy like Ed have in fighting the whole US government?

I looked anxiously at Aiken. "What are we going to do?"

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I'm trying to contact the DA to work out something."

"There's one more thing I've got to warn you about. You know a detective came into the wildlife reserve this morning? Well, he's also working on Dax Martin's murder. Until recently, he was my boyfriend."

"Have you told him anything?"

"Not really. He's been asking me what I know and I've managed to give him only vague answers. If I'm officially questioned, I'll be compelled to answer truthfully. I can't claim attorney-client privilege."

He thought for a moment. "You told me Pastor Sandoval spoke in hypotheticals, right?"

"Yeah. He never said he actually knew Javier or Graciela or where to find them. He said things like 'if they exist' and 'people like that.'"

"Then you should be okay. You really have nothing specific to tell the police."

I walked Aiken to the door. He bent over and gave me a filial peck on the cheek. "I'll see you at Ed's house tomorrow night."

I closed the door behind him and headed for bed. All I wanted to do was give my aching body a chance to lie comfortably on my memory foam mattress. I longed to fall asleep early and forget about Dax Martin, the Beaumont School, Lawanda Price, the riot police, and Pastor Luis Sandoval.

I especially didn't want to think about Arlo Beavers and the fact that, even though I saw him kissing someone else, I'd told him I loved him. What had gotten into me? Right now, all I needed was the uncomplicated affection of my orange cat curled up next to me on the Ohio Star quilt covering my bed.

CHAPTER 29.

I slept like the dead on Sunday night and woke up early Monday morning. My body still ached and my head pounded with a migraine. I suffered a fibromyalgia hangover from too much stress and activity the day before.

I struggled out of bed and reached for my pain medications. b.u.mper rubbed against my ankles and begged for breakfast. I learned a lesson from my uncle Isaac when I was a little girl. I had found a stray kitten and he said, "You have a big responsibility now. Your ketzel is relying on you to look after her. Torah says you must first take care of your animals even before you take care of yourself. Always remember that."

And I did. I stumbled into the kitchen and poured some kibble in a dish and changed b.u.mper's water before starting a strong pot of coffee for myself.

While my cat crunched loudly on his star-shaped kibble, I poured myself a cup of dark Italian roast. The extra caffeine in the coffee worked with my meds, and my headache slowly receded, but I felt fuzzy-headed and weak. The best way to get past a fibro flare-up was to spend the day resting. So, for the second day in a row, I'd have to postpone going to a Weight Watcher's meeting. I fetched my Dresden Plate quilt from my sewing room, settled in my most comfortable easy chair, and put up my feet. My mind wandered in quiet meditation as I focused on guiding the one-inch needle through the fabric, making rows of small, even st.i.tches.

My phone rang at eleven. My back and legs were stiff as I rose from my chair. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Wonder Woman, this is Hilda. Something horrible has happened!"

"What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but you gotta do something. They've torn up the wildlife reserve."

"They did what?"

"A construction crew showed up early this morning. All the people who lived down there were given ten minutes to get their things and leave. Ten minutes wasn't enough time and a lot of people were forced to leave their tents and other belongings behind. The people who weren't even there this morning will come back to find they have nothing left."

"How can that be? The reserve is a federally protected wildlife habitat. No one can come in and destroy it. A construction crew you said? Not the army?"

"Yeah. Men with chain saws cut down the trees and big yellow bulldozers plowed the ground. They dumped all the tents and trees and brush into the lake and filled it over with dirt. The earth has been sc.r.a.ped clean. Plants, trees, lake-it's all gone. There's nothing left."

"And n.o.body from the army was there?"

"I did see someone in one of those camouflage outfits sitting in an army jeep watching the whole thing from the service road."

"Can you describe them?"

"I only saw red hair."

Lawanda Price! She didn't have the authority to order such flagrant destruction of protected land, but Barbara Hardisty, the woman who approved the Beaumont Stadium, did.

I could think of only one reason she'd do it. Hardisty must have gotten nervous when she found out we went into the reserve yesterday. She wasn't going to take any chances someone might find witnesses to Dax Martin's murder. So she made a preemptive strike and drove out all the homeless who lived in the basin.

This woman was a heartless monster. Where would those displaced people go now?

"How could you tell a privately owned construction company destroyed the wildlife reserve?"

"The name painted on the door of the truck was 'Valley Allstar Construction.'"

Holy c.r.a.p. Valley Allstar is the same company that built the Beaumont Stadium.

"Where are you now?"