My pulse began to hammer.
In a separate window I opened the TruPath autopsy report, written by Dr. Philip Schue.
A black monochromatic tattoo measuring 3 cm in diameter is present on the left pectoral, approximately 12.5 cm lateral of the midline and 7.5 cm superior to the left nipple (see diagram). The tattoo appears to be that of a triskelion, or Celtic triple spiral (see box 13 for examples of similar iconography), although tissue degradation hinders positive identification.
The thrill died: left pec, not right.
Then it returned.
The gym photo was a mirror selfie.
Right was left.
He was Adam Valois.
His other half... I knew that ash-blond hair, those roots; the chin with its small, inoffensive cleft.
Livvy the Liar.
Pläegroünd wasn’t the only site CaliRoyal247 belonged to. At WildBullPen.com, appreciative users wrote on their wall.
super cute love her ass
bueatiful ppl xoxoxo
y’all wanna chat? share pics/fantasies?
User Dameinator had posted a 510 phone number, adding I got what u need.
I clicked the profile.
Beefcake shot of Damian Roby. No attempt to conceal his face.
He wanted to meet women and couples, ages eighteen through ninety-nine, for dating, threesome, swingers, polyamory, hookups, group, meetups, short-term, casual.
CaliRoyal247 had responded on his wall.
Saw ur message DM us let’s have some fun
“What is all this shit?” Regina squinted at the screen. “Shibari?”
I’d driven down to Santa Cruz. We both felt that this was a discussion worth having in person.
It was my first time seeing her new office, and its hominess disarmed me: soft colors, silk flowers, a chaise longue that invited you to stretch out and unburden yourself. She’d started off a social worker.
On the other hand, there was the needlepoint hanging over the tea station.
“Japanese bondage,” I said.
“Goddamn hipsters,” she muttered. “TPE?”
“ ‘Total power exchange.’ It’s a dominance thing.”
“Please tell me ‘CBT’ means cognitive behavioral therapy.”
“Cock-and-ball torture.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” she said. “My favorite.”
“Breathplay is choking and asphyxiation.”
“Sweet baby Moses on a motorbike... CNC?”
“Consensual nonconsent. Rape fantasies. Kidnapping fantasies. Stuff like that.”
She looked at me. “ ‘Stuff like that’?”
“Regina Klein, I didn’t expect you to be this judgy.”
“I’m not judging, I’m just impressed with Livvy’s vocabulary.” She sighed and laced her fingers behind her head. “Okay. Let’s hash it out.”
I said, “He and Olivia have a shared profile.”
“Soliciting people to torture and strangle.”
“Consensually. Right now, there’s no direct link between them and Denny or Linus.”
“They’re all on Playtime.”
“Pläegroünd,” I said. “We do have a direct link to Roby.”
“Two,” she said. “The eyewitness plus this other site, Bullfucker.”
“WildBull—”
“Whatever. Who comes up with these stupid-ass names, anyway?”
“Focus groups. Roby, on the other hand, isn’t on Pläegroünd, at least as far as I can tell. So nothing links him to Denny or Linus.”
“Except Adam and Olivia,” Regina said. “It’s them. They’re the common denominator.”
“Yup.”
“What a shitshow.”
“Yup.”
Silence.
“One thing bothers me,” I said.
“Just one?”
“We’ve been lumping Adam with the vics. For good reason: He ended up dead. How’s that fit with him being a predator?”
“Let’s ask Livvy.”
“Like she’ll tell us. Now that I’m thinking about it, though, he could be both. What if Livvy started out playing with him but traded him in for Roby?”
“Let’s ask him.”
“Like he’ll talk to us, either.”
“We create a profile,” she said. “Ping Dame. We’re a couple. Interested in hooking up but want to meet him in person first.”
“He’s seen my face.”
“Not mine. I’ll go alone.”
“Forget it.”
“This feels like a double standard,” she said.
“Is that right.”
“I let you fly solo with Livvy.”
“No, you didn’t. You bugged me. Nonconsensually.”
“Still not over that, huh.”
“You bring up anything material with Roby, it’s guaranteed to backfire. He’ll run faster and farther.”
“You know what, Clay, I don’t appreciate all the negativity.”
I stared at CaliRoyal247’s profile. “Where’s Fuller in all of this?”
“The boat’s the party scene.”
“I’m not seeing him on either site.”
“Classic lawyer,” she said. “Work your nefarious magic from the background.”
“He’s definitely not going to talk to us.”
“Okay, Your Highness. Thou hast shat upon all my suggestions. What’s your plan?”
“You’re not gonna like it.”
“I’m a big girl.”
“We have to give it to Winterholz.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I don’t like it.”
“He’s got the only confirmed homicide. Let him start putting in warrants.”
“That takes it out of our hands completely.”
“Feels like we’re headed that way, regardless.”
Silence.
“This sucks on so many levels,” she said. “Including financial.”
I nodded.
“When’d you last invoice Rick and Liz?” she asked.
“June.”
“Not for July.”
“Not yet.”
“Do it today,” she said. “I don’t want to get stiffed.”
Chapter 34
Ian Winterholz said, “Thanks for coming, everyone.”
We were in a conference room on the fourth floor of San Francisco’s Hall of Justice, overlooking the freeway and a downtown shrouded by late-summer fog.
Seatbacks pilled and dark with cop sweat, seat cushions molded to cop asses. The carpet breathed stale coffee. Fresh coffee on a side table; Styrofoam cups and bagels.
Regina hadn’t spoken a word since getting off the elevator. Displaced from her natural habitat, she looked edgy, one of two women present, the other being Parks detective Tiffany Reuss, whom we’d met in person for the first time that morning. She was thirties, mocha brunette, tan pantsuit and a smile under renovation by Invisalign.
Her partner, Gary Kinney, had opted for ill-fitting gray glen plaid. Alan Mendes hadn’t bothered to dress for the occasion, his chest filling out a Concord PD T-shirt.
Presiding at the head, the SF detectives, dapper and confident on their home turf. Ian Winterholz, still going for faculty lounge, had enjoyed a recent haircut. John Pettit’s one o’clock shadow had been mowed into temporary submission. Upon arrival he’d introduced himself and shaken my hand as if we’d never spoken.
No one was there to represent John Doe #57.
Winterholz said, “Our goal today is to review what we have and get our ducks in a row. First things first: I want to acknowledge that a major part of why we’re here is due to Clay and Regina’s work. Thanks, guys.”
Tiffany Reuss said, “Thank you.” Mendes and Pettit murmured agreement. Gary Kinney allowed a curt nod. He’d been the hardest to move, objecting to our participation when Winterholz called him to get the ball rolling.