Ryan studied the card.
“He should have told me he was leaving.”
I nodded.
Ryan flexed the card back and forth.
“Even if he wants to stop doing the show, it would’ve been okay. He’s my best friend.”
I nodded again.
“You’re a good friend, Ryan. You and Josh should talk about this when he gets back.”
Ryan glanced up.
“He didn’t go to Nevada.”
I didn’t say anything.
Ryan turned and walked down the hall to their studio.
I put on my sunglasses, stepped out into the searing light, and called Wendy Vann.
Standards mattered.
Everything mattered.
Always.
6
A calico cat had appeared at the top of the steps. Two emerald hummingbirds circled a bright red feeder like angry fairies and window-mounted air conditioners thrummed against the heat. The cat noticed the hummingbirds, yawned, then fell onto his side. Otherwise, the courtyard slept.
Wendy Vann answered on the second ring.
“Wendy Vann.”
“Elvis Cole. Can you talk?”
“Man, you’re fast. Find him already?”
Humor.
“Adele gives Josh a biweekly cash allowance, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“Does he pay monthly expenses like his phone and utilities with the allowance, or are they billed to Adele?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“I searched his bungalow, but I didn’t find any billing or account records. It’s possible he pays through an online service, but if the statements go to Adele, I’d like to see his call log.”
“I’ll get back to you.”
“Same for credit and debit cards.”
“Adele doesn’t trust credit cards. If Josh has plastic, I doubt she’d pay for it.”
“Can you find out?”
“Will do. Anything else?”
“Couple of things.”
I snuck a glance at the mauve bungalow. The curtains rippled, but the ripple might mean nothing. Maybe the air conditioner disturbed the air. Maybe a cat slipped behind the curtains, chasing a bug. I turned away, and continued with Wendy.
“The day Josh missed lunch with Adele, did you or Kurt enter his home?”
“The bungalow? Sure. That afternoon. Adele was concerned.”
“Did you check the windows and door locks?”
Wendy hesitated.
“What are you saying, Cole? We had no reason to expect foul play.”
“Just asking. I’m coming into this late.”
“No, we didn’t check, but everything looked fine. Besides, Ryan was there. He hadn’t been able to reach Josh, either, and they had plans.”
I wanted to check the mauve, but pretended to watch the cat.
“Did you talk to the neighbors?”
“A couple of days later, but only two of his neighbors were home, an older woman in the pink house and two kids in the peach. The kids moved in the week before, and didn’t know who we were talking about. The woman wasn’t much better.”
I studied the pink and the peach, and snuck a peek at the mauve. The curtains did not move.
I said, “Okay, last thing.”
“Go for it.”
“Did Ryan mention a woman named Skylar Lawless?”
“Negative. Who is she?”
“She’s a porn actress.”
“Okay. And?”
“She and Josh are friends.”
Wendy Vann hesitated.
“Friends friends, or friends?”
“It’s only a possibility, but I’ll run it down.”
“Josh and a pornstar?”
“Let me know about the phone. Tell Adele I’m on it.”
“I’m not telling her about the pornstar.”
I put away my phone and climbed to the blue bungalow. It was a pretty sky blue with a dark blue door, but nobody answered. I peered through a gap in the curtains and saw rooms without furniture. The blue bungalow was vacant. The peach was across from the blue, but Wendy had spoken with the two people who lived in the peach, so I walked downhill past the mauve to the red. The red bungalow appeared lived in, but nobody was home. Which left the mauve.
I climbed the steps to the cracked maroon door. A long time ago, the cracks had been filled with liquid wood and someone had painted the door. But over time, a relentless sun had shriveled the putty. The cracks had opened, and the paint had bubbled and flaked. Now the cracks looked like varicose veins.
I knocked three times. Nobody answered, so I knocked again.
“Sorry to bother you. I’m looking for Josh Schumacher, your neighbor across the courtyard here. Could I speak with you for a second, please.”