Ballard started walking back toward Cindy Carpenter’s house and met the forensics tech as he was getting out of the BMW. He popped the rear hatch.
“Ballard, Hollywood Division,” she said. “I called.”
“I’m Reno,” the man said. “Sorry if I scared you back there. These things are so quiet. I’ve had people literally walk in front of me without looking.”
“Well, maybe if you slowed down some, that wouldn’t happen.”
“Do you know the speed on these things? You barely touch the pedal and you’re at forty. Anyway, what do you need here?”
He closed the rear hatch and stood ready, holding the handle of a large equipment case in one hand, its weight tilting his shoulders. He was a slightly built man in dark blue coveralls. sid was stitched in white letters over a breast pocket.
“We had a hot prowl rape with two suspects last night,” Ballard said. “I cannot find point of entry but I think it was the garage. I want you to start in there. There’s a screwdriver on a workbench — maybe we get lucky with that. After that, there’s a closet in the guest room I want you to take a look at.”
“Okay,” Reno said. “Victim in the hospital?”
“No, she refused further medical. She’s inside.”
“Oh.”
“She knows you’re coming and I’ll stay with you. But I want you to do the car, too.”
She pointed to the Toyota parked on the street behind Reno’s car.
“Was it in the garage?” Reno asked.
“No, but she left the remote in the car, and I’m thinking they got in the car, then got in the garage, then got in the house. Just a knob lock on the door into the kitchen.”
“Wasn’t the car locked?”
“Not sure. Possibly. The remote’s on the visor.”
“Got it.”
“Be quick, okay? She’s had a very bad day.”
“Sounds like it. I’ll be quick.”
“And I’ll go get the key to open the car.”
While Reno was organizing his equipment, Ballard stepped back into the house and asked Cindy for her car key. She explained why and Cindy seemed to take it as another level of violation — her house, her body, and now even her car had been invaded by these evil men. She started crying.
Ballard recognized that Cindy was moving into a very fragile state. She asked if there was a friend or family member she could call to see if they could stay with her. Carpenter said no.
“I saw on the incident report that you listed your ex-husband as closest relative,” Ballard said. “Would he come?”
“Oh my god, no,” Carpenter exclaimed. “And please don’t call him. I only put him down because I couldn’t think straight. And he’s the only one in L.A. My entire family is down in La Jolla.”
“Okay, I’m sorry I asked. It’s just that you seem kind of fragile.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
Ballard realized she had walked right into that one.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was stupid. What about Lacey from the shop?”
“You don’t seem to understand. I don’t want people to know about this. Why do you think I thought about it for so long before calling you people? I’m fine, okay? Just do what you have to do and then leave me alone.”
There was no comeback to that. Ballard excused herself and took the key out to Reno. He was already using silver powder on the driver’s-side door handle, looking for fingerprints.
“Anything?” she asked.
“Just smears,” Reno said.
“Like it was wiped?”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
That was useless. Ballard put the car key on the roof of the car.
“I’m going to knock on a few doors. I should be back before you’re finished. If not, have coms call me. I don’t have a rover.”
“And she knows I’m coming in?”
“Yes, but knock first.”
“Got it.”
“Her name is Cindy.”
“Got that too.”
Ballard stuck with the houses on the east side of Carpenter’s house, her thinking being that there was a better chance of the residents on that side seeing something unusual, because the west side led to the dead end. Anyone leaving Carpenter’s house by foot or car would have to go east.
Canvassing a neighborhood after a rape was a delicate thing. The last thing a victim needed was for everyone on the street to know what had happened. Some victims steadfastly refused to be stigmatized but others ended up feeling ashamed and losing confidence after such an attack. On the other hand, if there was a danger in the neighborhood, residents needed to know about it.