Savage Noir

  Chapter 34 Jason Powers’ panel truck was cruising north  along Highway 101.  Cocoa was listening to music with her headphones. Rhonda had a desultory conversation with Sheena about dangerous “shelters” for the homeless.           After that the two were quiet for a while.          “What do you guys hunt?” Rhonda asked.          Jason checked her in his rear view mirror, then glanced at Sheena, who said nothing.          It was going to be up to him.          “Depends on where we are,” said Jason. “Down in the desert we hunt wild pigs. They call ‘em  javelina .”          She had heard the term before.          “Do you hunt in the forest? That’s wh...

  Chapter 33 Inside a sunlit Starbucks in Petaluma,  Rhonda Stone was thinking: This is the second time we’ve met and he still hasn’t tried anything. When Sheena introduced them, he told Sheena to take her shopping for clothes. He obviously cares for me, she thought that day.          “He” was Jason somebody.          The three of them smoked some dope together, then Jason drove them up to Petaluma. At first she was leery. Jason resembled the guy whom she glimpsed on Haight Street that day. She suspected that he was pimping the Indian girl. But that could have been her imagination. She didn’t get a good look at him, after all.          Jason possessed big dark eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. Shorter than Rhonda by three inches, he was barrel chested and burly. She was disappointed that things were moving so slowly. Other than his hello...

  Chapter 32   The following day I got onto the northbound L  Taraval streetcar and transferred to the Number Six bus, which went through the Haight -Ashbury District.          It had been a while since I had walked along Haight Street. It was as colorful and lively as I remembered it. Head shops were still the big thing. Many of them sold cigarettes and hookahs and tacky items strictly for tourists.          I turned left on Cole Street and walked slightly uphill on the even-numbered side. Across the street was a deli that looked inviting.  I was famished. I had eaten nothing in Starbucks, actually nothing since a meager breakfast of corn flakes. I crossed the street and entered the deli. A cute brunette, maybe thirty-something, came up to the counter.           “How big is your club sandwich?” I asked.    ...

  Chapter 31 My investigation was stalled.   I had the eerie feeling that there had been a key bit of evidence I had missed somehow. Or maybe not. Maybe I had seen it but didn’t understand its connection. Back to the beginning. Back to the Murder Book. For once, Colin agreed with me. “Your hunches are often right,” he said. “But meet me later this time. Seven, seven-thirty, tonight, when Slim and Shorty won’t be around.” “How about your office this time?” “Fine.” The invitation was pleasant enough, but I would never feel comfortable in a cop shop, particularly the City’s. After all, I spent the worst night of my life in their cell. I took Muni to the Powell Street station. From there I walked up Powell and took the first right, which was Ellis. John’s Grill sat just ahead, still there after ninety-plus years. I said hello to John, who remembered me.  The bar was busy, as usual, but the bartender remembered me too. “Where you been hiding, Kelly?”    ...

Chapter 30 It was a hot fall day in the Haight.  Sheena had been shopping along the notorious street for at least a half hour, yet there was nothing in her tote bag but a small purse and wallet, a switchblade knife and a can of mace.          She wiped sweat from her brow as she trudged along the last block of the western end of the district.  Tufts of blonde hair poked out from her Raiders cap, which she wore backwards, and stuck to her damp forehead.  So far she had seen no one who reminded her of Rainbow. Jason had asked her to find a young woman who “embodied” Rainbow’s spirit.           Whatever that meant.  To Sheena, Rainbow had been a naïve woman who seemed to be wandering in a perpetual daze. She was well over thirty, yet she kept saying things like “The universe will provide.” Maybe Rainbow was just plain dumb.  Who else but a dope would risk s...

Chapter 29 The FBI Field Office was on Golden Gate Avenue , just northeast of the Civic Center area. After I went through the metal detector, I looked up to see Agent John Driscoll waiting for me. He was wearing his brown suit, the same one he always wore—at least when he was with me. His dark curly hair was shorter than I remembered.           He was checking me out, too.  “Good to see you, Kelly.”          “It’s been a while,” I said.          We shook hands quickly.          “Run into trouble?”          It was only 2:10.  Or 14:10 for Driscoll.          “I took the J Church and—”                  ...

Chapter 28 After the meeting with Joy Rollins , I felt like I was on a roll. I called Amy Feingold’s number.  After two rings she answered. I told her who I was and why I wanted to talk to her.           She hesitated.          “Miss Feingold?”          “Amy. Sorry, I just flashed on something.           Like her friend’s corpse lying on a sidewalk?          “Would you mind repeating that?” she asked.          “Like I said, I’m trying to find out who killed your friend, Katherine. And I’m a friend of Mike Rollins,” I quickly added.  If you want to confirm that I can give you his number.”          “I know his number.”    ...