“Deep-pocketbook. Brad’s got nominal power but he serves at the
ugg boots clearance discretionof the estate. Nora’s a ditz but it would be hard to claim she’s not of soundmind, legally. If she demanded control over her own assets, it would pose amajor complication for Brad. If she convinced Billy to do the same, it would bea disaster.”
“Bye-bye, fa?ade.”
“Banished when he’s of no further use,” I said. “Just like when he was akid.”
We walked in
nike jordan heels silence to the cars.
He said, “Michaela and Tori and the Gaidelases and Lord knows how manyothers get done for blood-lust and Nora and Meserve get done for money?”
“Or a mixture of blood-lust and money.”
He considered that. “Nothing new about that, I guess. Rick’s relativesdidn’t just lose their lives in the Holocaust. Their homes and their businessesand all their other possessions got confiscated.”
“Take
nike heels it all,” I said. “The ultimate trophy.”
Chapter 41
We took the Seville to Santa Monica Canyon.
No Porsche or any other car in Brad Dowd’s driveway. Lights out in theredwood house, no reply to Milo’s knock.
I joined the traffic crawl on Channel Road, finally made it down to the coast highway,hit moderate flow from Chautauqua to the Colony. Once we got past Pepperdine University,
chanel bags outlet the land yawned andstretched and the road got easy. The ocean was slate. Hungry pelicans dove. Imade it to Kanan Dume Roadwith some sunlight to spare, turned up onto Latigo Canyon.
An assessors’ map of Billy Dowd’s property rested in Milo’slap. Ten acres, no building permits ever issued.
The Seville’sno mountain car and I slowed as the pitch steepened and the turns pinched.Nothing on
cheap chanel bags the road until I neared the spot where Michaela had run acrossscreaming.
An old tan Ford pickup was parked there on the turnoff. An old tan man stoodlooking into the brush.
Plaid shirt, dusty jeans, beer gut hanging over his buckle. Filmy white hairfluffed in the breeze. A long, hooked nose sliced sky.
