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Move over, Hieronymous Bosch theres a new star in town.
It was the first call of the shift.
Credit: Nancy Pastor/Polaris
John Stanley was the shifts senior lead officer the street boss and his partner was Jacob Ross.
I think this ones yours, Jenkins said.
It wasnt that Jenkins was an ogre but Ballard was more understanding of the emotions of female victims.
Little, Brown and Company
The opposite was true when they rolled up on a case with a male victim.
Roger that, Ballard said.
They got out of the car and headed toward the lighted porch.
Ballard carried her rover in her hand.
As they went up the three steps, Stanley introduced them to the woman.
Her name was Leslie Anne Lantana and she was seventy-seven years old.
Ballard didnt think there was going to be much for them to do here.
But it wasnt you, Ballard said to Mrs. Lantana, stating the obvious.
Thats why the purchase was flagged.
I use a different card for Amazon.
Okay, Ballard said.
Did you call the credit-card company?
Any idea where or when it was stolen?
I went to Ralphs for my groceries yesterday, so I know I had my wallet then.
After that I came home and I havent gone out.
Did you use a credit card to pay?
I always pay cash at Ralphs.
But I did pull out my Ralphs card to get the savings.
Do you think you couldve left your wallet at Ralphs?
Maybe at the cash register when you pulled out the card?
No, I dont think so.
Im very careful about my things.
My wallet and my purse.
And Im not senile.
I didnt mean to suggest that, maam.
Im just asking questions.
Who lives here with you, maam?
No one, Lantana said.
Since you got back from Ralphs yesterday, has anyone knocked on your door or been in the house?
And no friends or relatives visited?
No, but they wouldnt have taken my wallet if they had come by.
Of course, and I dont mean to imply otherwise.
Im just trying to get an idea of comings and goings.
So youre saying you have been home the whole time since Ralphs?
Yes, Ive been home.
Do you walk Cosmo?
Sure, twice a day.
But I lock the house when I go out and I dont go far.
Hes an old dog and Im not getting any younger myself.
Do you take these walks at the same time every day?
Yes, we keep a schedule.
Its better for the dog.
About how long are your walks?
Thirty minutes in the morning and usually a little longer in the afternoon.
Depending on how we feel.
Most people didnt realize that their simplest routines made them vulnerable to predators.
A practiced thief would be in and out of the house in ten minutes tops.
Have you looked around to see if anything else is missing, maam?
Not yet, Lantana said.
I called the police as soon as I knew my wallet was gone.
In Lantanas bedroom, there was a dog on a sleeping cushion.
He was a boxer mix and his face was white with age.
His shining eyes tracked Ballard but he did not get up.
He was too old.
He emitted a deep-chested growl.
Everythings all right, Cosmo, Lantana assured him.
What is he, boxer and what?
Ridgeback, Lantana said.
Ballard wasnt sure whether the we referred to Lantana and the dog or somebody else.
Maybe Lantana and her veterinarian.
When you walked the dog, did you see anything unusual on the street?
Ballard asked the old woman.
Anybody out of place?
No, nothing unusual, Lantana said.
Is there any construction on the street?
No, not around here.
Ballard asked Lantana to show her the e-mail notice she had received from the credit-card company.
It was obviously the home station, where she took care of paying bills and online ordering.
Lantana sat down and pulled up the e- mail alert on her computer screen.
Ballard leaned over her shoulder to read it.
She then asked Lantana to call the credit card company again.
Lantana made the call on a wall phone with a long cord that stretched to the nook.
She was talking to a fraud alert specialist with an English-Indian accent.
The fraud alert specialist said he could not provide that information without court approval.
What do you mean?
You are the fraud alert specialist, right?
I am sorry, the specialist said.
I cannot do this.
Our legal office must tell me to do so and they have not.
Let me talk to the legal office.
They are closed now.
It is lunchtime and they close.
Then let me talk to your supervisor.
Ballard looked at Jenkins and shook her head in frustration.
Look, its all going to the burglary table in the morning, Jenkins said.
Why dont you let them deal with it?
Because they wont deal with it, Ballard said.
It will get lost in the stack.
They wont follow up and thats not fair to her.
She nodded toward the kitchen, where the crime victim was sitting and looking forlorn.
Nobody said anything about anything being fair, Jenkins said.
It is what it is.
After five minutes the supervisor came on the line.
There is no need for this fluid situation, as you say, he said.
The system only works if we catch the guy, Ballard said.
Stopping the card from being used is only part of it.
That protects your corporate client.
It doesnt protect Mrs. Lantana, who had someone inside her house.
I am sorry, the supervisor said.
I cannot help you without documentation from the courts.
It is our protocol.
What is your name?
My name is Irfan.
Where are you, Irfan?
How do you mean?
Are you in Mumbai?
I am in Mumbai, yes.
And thats why you dont give a shit.
Because this guys never going come into your house and steal your wallet in Mumbai.
She stepped back into the kitchen and hung up the phone before the useless supervisor could respond.
She turned back to her partner.
They were diverted to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center by the watch commander to check out an assault.
Ballard noted the time for the report she would write later.
It was 12:41 a.m. according to the clock over the reception window in the ER waiting room.
There was a P-1 standing there, his skin as white as a vampires.
Ballard gave him the nod and he came over to brief them.
We found her in a lot on Santa Monica by Highland, the officer stated.
Looked like she had been dumped there.
Who- ever did it probably thought she was dead.
But she was alive and she sort of woke up and was semiconscious for a couple minutes.
Somebody had worked her over really good.
One of the paramedics said she might have a skull fracture.
They have her in the back.
My TOs back there too.
The assault may have now been elevated to an abduction, and that increased Ballards level of interest.
She checked the patrolmans plate and saw his name was Taylor.
Taylor, Im Ballard, she said, and this is Detective Jenkins, fellow denizen of the dark.
When did you get to Super Six?
First deployment actually, Taylor said.
Right from the academy?
Youll have more fun in the Six than youll have anywhere else.
Whos your training officer?
Officer Smith, maam.
Im not your mother.
Dont call me maam.
I mean
Youre in good hands with Smitty.
You guys get an ID on the vic?
She was in and out, not making a lot of sense.
Sounded like she said her name was Ramona.
She say anything else?
Yeah, she said the upside-down house.
Thats what she said.
Officer Smith asked if she knew her attacker and she said no.
He asked where she was attacked and she said the upside-down house.
Like I said, she wasnt making a lot of sense.
Ballard nodded and thought about what that could mean.
Okay, she said.
Well go back and check things out.
Ballard nodded to Jenkins and headed toward the door that led to the ERs treatment bays.
She was wearing a charcoal- gray Van Heusen suit with a chalk pinstripe.
She always thought the formality of the suit went well with her light brown skin and sun-streaked hair.
And it had an authority that helped overcome her slight stature.
The intake center consisted of six patient assessment and treatment bays behind closed curtains.
Doctors, nurses, and technicians were moving about a command station in the cen- ter of the room.
There was organized chaos, everybody with a job to do and some unseen hand choreographing it all.
It was a busy night, but every night was at Hollywood Pres.
He had three hash marks on his sleeves fifteen years on the department and Ballard knew him well.
Smitty, the doc in there?
Officer Melvin Smith looked up from his phone, where he had been composing a text.
Ballard, Jenkins, hows it hanging?
Then: Nah, shes alone.
Theyre about to take her up to the OR.
Fractured skull, brain swelling.
They said they need to open her head up to relieve the pressure.
I know the feeling, Jenkins said.
So shes not talking?
Not anymore, Smith said.
They sedated her and I over- heard them talking about inducing a coma till the swelling goes down.
Hey, hows Lola, Ballard?
Havent seen her in a while.
Lolas good, Ballard said.
Did you guys find her, or was it a call?
It was a hot shot, Smith said.
Somebody mustve called it in but they were GOA when we got there.
The vic was just lying there alone in the parking lot.
We thought she was dead when we first rolled up.
Did you call anybody out to hold the crime scene?
Nah, theres nothing there but blood on the asphalt, Bal- lard, Smith said.
This was a body dump.
Come on, Smitty, thats bullshit.
We have to run a scene.
Why dont you guys clear here and go hold the lot until we can get a team there.
you could sit in the car and do your paperwork or something.
Smith looked to Jenkins as the senior detective for approval.
Shes right, Jenkins said.
We have to set up a crime scene.
Roger that, Smith said, his tone revealing he thought the assignment was a waste of time.
Ballard went through the curtain into bay 4.
The victim was on her back on a bed, a light green hospital smock over her damaged body.
She was tubed in both arms and nose.
The woman was small and looked to be no more than 120 pounds.
Ballard leaned in close over the bed to study the wound on the lower lip.
She saw that it was a deep bite mark that had savagely split the lip.
The torn tissue was being held together by two temporary stitches.
It would need the attention of a plastic surgeon.
If the victim survived.
Jesus Christ, Ballard said.
She pulled her phone off her belt and opened the camera app.
Jenkins watched without comment.
He knew how she worked.
Ballard unbuttoned the top of the smock to examine the chest for injuries.
Look at this, Ballard said.
Looks like it, he said.
He pulled back, disgusted by what he saw.
He was a good detective when he wanted to be.
But he was like a lot of guys who had been around for so long.
He just wanted a place to be left alone to do his job.
The police headquarters downtown was called the PAB, for Police Administration Building.
But Jenkins was a rare volunteer for the eleven-to-seven shift.
Ballard took more photos.
The left breast was round and full, the right smaller and flat.
Implants, one of which had burst in- side the body.
Ballard knew it took a hell of an impact to do that.
She had seen it only once previously, and that victim was dead.
She gently closed the smock over the victim and checked the hands for defensive wounds.
The fingernails were broken and bloody.
Ballard guessed hours, not minutes.
Santa Monica and Highland she should have understood.
She reached down to the hemline of the gown and raised it.
She confirmed that the victim was biologically a man.
Shit, I didnt need to see that, Jenkins said.
If Smitty knew this and didnt tell us, then hes a fucking asshole, Ballard said.
She shoved the flare of anger aside and got back on track.
Before we left the barn, did you see if anybody was working in vice tonight?
Uh, yeah, they have something going on, Jenkins said.
I dont know what.
I saw Pistol Pete in the break room, brewing a pot.
She then forwarded the photo in a text to Pete Mendez in the Hollywood vice unit.
She included the message:
Recognize him?
Mendez was legendary in the Six, but not for all the right reasons.
A wire recording from one of Mendezs encounters was still played at retirement parties and unit get-togethers.
Mendez had been standing on Santa Monica Boulevard when a would-be customer rolled up.
About six inches, Mendez responded.
The john was unimpressed and drove on without another word.
A few moments later a vice sergeant left his cover location and drove up to Mendez on the street.
Their exchange was also recorded.
Mendez, were out here to make busts, the sergeant chided.
Next time a guy asks how long your dick is,exagger-ate,for crying out loud.
I did, Mendez said to his everlasting embarrassment.
Ballard pulled the curtain back to see if Smith was still hanging around but he and Taylor were gone.
She walked to the command station to address one of the nurses behind the counter.
Ballard, Jenkins, LAPD, she said.
I need to speak to the doctor who handled the victim in bay four.
Hes in two right now, the nurse said.
As soon as hes out.
When does the patient go up for surgery?
As soon as space opens.
Did they do a rape kit?
We also need to get fingernail clippings.
Who can help us with that?
They were trying to save his life that was the priority.
Youll have to talk to the doctor about the rest.
Thats what Im asking.
I want to speak to
Ballard felt her phone vibrate in her hand and turned away from the nurse.
She saw a return text from Mendez.
She read his answer out loud to Jenkins.
Ramona Ramone, dragon.
Real name Ramon Gutierrez.
Had him in here a couple weeks back.
Priors longer than his pre-op dick.
Nice way of putting it.
Considering his own dimensions, Jenkins said.
Drag queens, cross-dressers, and transgenders were all gen- erally referred to as dragons in vice.
No distinctions were made.
It wasnt nice but it was accepted.
Ballard had spent two years on a decoy team in the unit herself.
She knew the turf and she knew the slang.
It would never go away, no matter how many hours of sensitivity training cops were subjected to.
She looked at Jenkins.
Before she could speak, he did.
No, he said.
I know what youre going to say.
Youre going to say you want to keep this one.
Its a vampire case has to be worked at night.
Theyll work it nine to five and nothing will get done.
Its not the job.
It was the main point of contention in their partnership.
But they kept no cases.
They wrote up the initial reports and turned the cases over to the appropriate investigative units in the morning.
Robbery, sexual assault, burglary, auto theft, and so on down the line.
Sometimes Ballard wanted to work a case from beginning to end.
But it wasnt the job and Jenkins was never inclined to stray one inch from its definition.
He was a nine-to- fiver in a midnight-shift job.
He didnt care about overtime money- or workwise.
Come on, what else are we going to do?
Then we go back to the barn and write up reports on this and the old ladys burglary.
If were lucky, there will be no more callouts and well ride the paperwork till dawn.
He made a move to leave but Ballard didnt follow.
He spun and came back to her.
Whoever did this is big evil, Jenks, she said.
Dont go down that road again, because Im not going with you.
Weve seen this a hundred times before.
Some guys cruising along, doesnt know the territory, sees a chick on the stroll and pulls over.
He beats the living shit out of the guy and drives on.
Ballard was shaking her head before he was finished with his summation of the case.
Not with those bite marks, she said.
Not if he had brass knuckles.
That shows a plan, shows something deep.
She was tied up for a long time.
This is big evil out there and I want to keep the case and do something for a change.
Technically he was the senior partner.
He made the call on such things.
Im going to swing by the crime scene and then go back to start writing, Jenkins said.
The break-in goes to the burglary table, and this this goes to CAPs.
Maybe even homicide, be- cause that kid isnt looking too good in there.
Decision made, he again turned toward the doors.
The burglary table, the crimes against persons table, and so on.
Ballard was about to follow him out, when she remembered something.
She went back to the nurse behind the counter.
Where are the victims clothes?
We bagged them, the nurse said.
Jenkins stayed by the door and looked back at her.
Ballard held up a finger, telling him to wait.
Some cheap jewelry and sequined clothing.
There was a small mace dispenser on a key chain with two keys.
No wallet, no cash, no phone.
She handed the bag to Ballard.
Ballard gave the nurse a business card and asked to have the doctor call her.
She checked the screen.
It was the watch commander, Lieutenant Munroe.
L-T.
Ballard, you and Jenkins still at Hollywood Pres?
She noted the urgent tone in his voice.
Something was hap- pening.
She stopped walking and signaled Jenkins closer.
Put it on speaker.
Okay, go ahead, she said.
Weve got four on the floor in a club on Sunset, Munroe said.
Some guy in a booth started shooting the people he was with.
An RA is heading your way with a fifth victim that at last report was circling the drain.
Ballard, I want you to stay there and see what you’ve got the option to get.
Jenkins, Im sending Smitty and his boot back to grab you.
RHD will no doubt be taking this over but they will need some time to mobilize.
The Dancers over by the Hollywood Athletic Club, Munroe said.
Then, Jenkins, get over there.
Ballard, you come as soon as you finish up with the fifth victim.
L-T, we need to set up a crime scene on this assault case, Ballard said.
We sent Smitty and
Not tonight, Munroe said.
The Dancers is an all-hands investigation.
Every forensic team available is going there.
So we just let this crime scene go?
Turn it over to day shift, Ballard, and let them worry about it tomorrow, Munroe said.
I need to go now.
You have your assignments.
Munroe hung up without another word.
Jenkins gave Bal- lard a told-you-so look about the crime scene.
And as if on cue, the sound of an approaching siren flared in the night.
Ballard knew the difference between the siren from a rescue ambu- lance and from a cop car.
This was Smitty and Taylor coming back for Jenkins.
Ill see you over there, Jenkins said.
Right, Ballard said.
The siren died as the patrol SUV came down the chute to the sally port.
She could now hear the distant sound of a second siren heading her way.
An ambulance bringing the fifth victim.
Ballard looked back in through the glass doors and noted the time on the ER clock.
It was 1:17 a.m. and her shift was barely two hours old.
Copyright 2017 by Hieronymus, Inc.
