This is a work of fiction, using characters from the film, “LA Confidential".  No insult or invasion of privacy or infringement of copyright is intended. The story is for readers over the age of 18 only, and contains adult language. The writer is not responsible for any "discomfort" caused to the reader by this language and these situations.

Shadows

©2007 by: KC

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Bud stood in the doorway of Wanda's room, stopped dead in his tracks by the sight of the empty bed.  Then he wheeled and made it to the nurse's station in three strides.

"What's going on here," he said abruptly.  "Where's Miss White?"

She looked at him, puzzled.  "Oh.  You didn't know--"

"Know what?  Where is she?  Is she getting some tests done or something?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I thought you would have been informed.  She left."

"Left," Bud glowered.  "What do you mean, 'left?'  She wasn't in any shape to--"

"But she insisted, sir.  her nephew came to see her and wanted to take care of her and she wanted to—"

"—her nephew? "

"--yes, I think he said he was her nephew."

Bud exploded.  "What the hell is wrong with you people?  She was the victim of a beating, we had an investigation going--"  He looked back in the direction of Wanda's room.   "And where the fuck is the guard--"

The nurse's face grew red.

"Excuse me, Officer, there's no call for--"

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know.  He said something about a hotel."

~*~

"You must be pretty sick of this," Lynn said, accepting a cup of tea from Joy.

They were sitting alone in Bud's office, the door open so that Joy could keep an ear out for the phone.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean this.  This 'handholding' business.  You're trying to get something started with Ed and you keep having to babysit me."

Joy leaned forward and spoke softly.  "I like to think we've become friends, Lynn.  And I know you can use one, right now.  Besides--" her face brightened.  "I've just had my most exciting date with Ed, yet."

Lynn shot her a puzzled look.  "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he took me with him to the hospital.  To help him.  To interview a witness!  It was like--real police work!  I loved it."

Lynn shook her head in amusement.  "That's your idea of fun, eh?"

"It is.  I always wanted to be a policeman.  My dad was one, you know, and my brother.  But, women, well, you know--" her face assumed a frustrated look.

"Does Ed know about this?"

"Of course, I think it was one of the first things I told him.  I think that's why he took me along."  She beamed.   "Oh, I'm not saying I didn't have to talk him into it--but he went along with it.  And he didn't regret it.  Now he knows I can do other things besides type and answer phones. So, you see--we're cookin'!"

"I guess you are," declared Lynn.

"I mean, it's a little unconventional--but that's why I like it.  That's why I like--him.  He doesn't seem to mind that I--" She broke off, suddenly feeling guilty.  "Listen to me!  Here I am, going on and on about myself when you're so worried--"

"No.  It's all right," Lynn said.  "Anything to keep my mind off of what's going on, right now.  Besides.  I'm the last one to talk about--being 'unconventional'."  Her voice trailed off.

'There it was again,' Joy thought.  'This big secret of hers that everybody seems to know about but me.'  She shrugged it off.  Not that she gave a damn.  She liked Lynn and nothing was going to change that.

"Where is he?!" Lynn finally burst out.  "What is taking so long?  He told me he would wait for Ed, he promised me--"

"He just went back to the hospital," said Joy, trying to soothe her.  "He wanted to talk to his Aunt--after what I told him."

"You don't understand--after what we just found out--he's not thinking straight!  He could be walking into a trap."  Lynn stood up and began to pace.  "His father is crazy--he could do anything!"

"What do you mean, what did you find out?"

"One of the girls--who disappeared--Bud's been looking high and low for her.  Now we know--his father got her.  God knows what he did with her and Bud's so angry--I don't think he knows what he's doing--oh, God--"

Joy took a deep breath.  "Listen, Lynn, you have to calm down.  Let's just wait for Ed to get back.  He'll handle this."

~*~

Bud wished to hell he had taken a Prowler.  Then he could have driven at top-speed toward the Victory.  As it was, he was barely under the limit.  Of course, if he did get pulled over all he would have done was to  have flashed his I.D., but he would have wasted time he couldn't afford to lose.

What was harder was trying to keep the self-control that he couldn't afford to lose.  But thoughts like white-hot darts were piercing his brain: first the girl, Scarlet.  Now, his Aunt…

~*~

Joy had just managed to persuade Lynn to lie back down on the couch when two things happened: the phone rang and Ed came in.  She was on the phone for just a minute, then cupped the mouth-piece with her palm.

"You better take this," she said to him, urgently and handed hm the phone.

Ed took the receiver.  "Captain Exley," he said, curtly.  "What?"  He listened for another minute.  "All right.  Thank you."  Joy could tell he was growing more frustrated by the second.  ''Yes.  Yes, I will look into it.  Thank you."  He slammed down the phone and glared into space.

"The Aunt disappeared.  Bud just found out."

"Oh my God," Joy uttered.

"Yeah," Ed said, almost to himself.

"Well--where is he, now?"

"I wish I knew.  He had a few choice words to say and then he took off.  That's what they were complaining about.  They were more upset about that than they were about losing a patient!  Damnit," he whispered, mindful of the handful of officers milling about.  "Where is he?"

Just then, the police dispatcher phone sounded.  Exley grabbed it.

"Reports of shots fired in the vicinity of the Victory Hotel."

"The Victory Hotel?"

"Affirmative," came the dispatcher's voice.

~*~

He parked the jalopy out of sight of the Victory and made his way surreptitiously toward the rear of the decaying hotel, one hand tucked tightly around his gun.  A peek into a few of the broken windows.  No sign of anything, just the smell of rotting wood and dust.  Had he leapt to conclusions when he heard the phrase, "hotel?"  He found the rear door: it simply caved in when he pushed it.

Inside.  A wave of bloody memories deluged him: he could almost feel the bullets bursting into his body... he shook himself back into the present and tried to keep his mind straight--a feat that was growing farther from his grasp.  Gun clasped tighter in his hand, he started to check room by dilapidated room...

Then, he heard a sound.  No.  A moan... at the end of the hall.  His stomach rolled into a tight ball and he quickened his pace.  The place was silent again.  'Which room,' he thought, frantically, 'where?'

Then he saw the dried blood just visible under the door.  Just across from where he was standing.

~*~

"What's going on?"  Lynn was standing outside Bud's office, more frantic than ever.  She heard Ed speaking in staccato tones into the phone.

"Send all available units to the Victory Hotel!"  He crashed the receiver back into the receiver and started out the door.

"Ed, you're not going without me!"

He forced himself to stop at the door and turned to Joy.  "Stay with her, will you?"

"I'm not staying with her or anybody else!  Take me with you!"

"Are you nuts, Lynn, do you know what could be going on--"

"-- if Bud's in trouble, I'm going to be there with him, do you hear me?  It's not going to be like last time--"

"Listen to me, you're right, it's not like last time, it's worse.  He's walking into a trap!  By himself--"

"All the more reason for--"

"I don't have time for this--talk to her, Joy--"  He tried to leave again.

"Leave Joy out of this," Lynn tried to sweep past him.  "If you won't take me, I'll--"

Ed got a look on his face that neither of the women could read.  "All right, fine!"  He turned to Joy.  "You ride shotgun with me, okay?  I may need you to work the radio."  He wheeled back on Lynn.  "No arguments!"

"No arguments, let's just go," Lynn pleaded.

~*~

At first, the door wouldn't budge.  He gave it a hard shove with his shoulder and it finally caved.  The room was very dark; it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the light.  And in the next moment, the sight that he saw made him wish he was temporarily blind.

Scarlett lay on the bed, spread-eagled, her thin arms handcuffed to the posts of the headboard,  her small, lifeless body was nearly obscured by the stiff, frilly skirt that ballooned incongruously over and above her, the overwhelmingly red fabric blending into the bloody bullet hole in the middle of her chest.  Her blank eyes stared in the direction of the door and at Bud, who stood there paralyzed with guilt.

With enormous effort, he moved to the bed and knelt beside her touched her hand.  It was still warm.  This had just happened.  "Shit," he said to himself, "shit, shit, shit!"

Too late, he heard the creaking of the floorboards.  He whirled around, saw the flash of something metallic coming down hard at him.  He ducked, escaping the full impact but not quite missing the tire iron crashing into the back of  his head.  His gun skittered across the room.

~*~

Red lights flashing and siren blaring, Ed sped across town.  He had said not a word and Joy didn't dare ask any questions.  Lynn, sequestered behind the glass that separated the front and back seats was effectively silenced--and, Joy knew, terrified.  She knew because she was scared as hell herself.  She couldn't help but wish she was in the back seat with Lynn.

~*~

Wendell White knelt beside Bud's struggling figure.

"You never did know when to stop," he sneered.  "Did you?  You couldn't let bygones be bygones.  It was bad enough you ruined every set-up I made, no matter where I was, with your little investigations.  The cops were always onto me.  So," he laughed, "I decided to join you, sonny boy, here in L.A., all those years ago.  I figured you'd never think I'd be right under your nose.  And I was right.  You never did figure that out, Mr Hot Shot Detective."

Bud could barely hear him for the black, bloody swarm in his brain.  He tried to reach for his knife; Wendell kicked him, square in the stomach.

"I had a good thing going, too.  Until Smith, that fucker, got too greedy and blew our cover and tipped you and that creep, Exley, off.  I wish I could have killed you, that night, right here.  But I had to high-tail it, then.  But now I'm back and this time I'm gonna--"

A bullet whizzed past the both of them, hitting the wall.

"Leave him alone, Wendell!"

Wanda stood in the hall, just outside the room, the fragments of a rope still dangling from one wrist, the other holding Bud's gun.

"You stupid bitch!" Wendell screamed.

Wanda cocked the gun, again.  "Leave him alone or I swear to god I'll kill you."

He laughed.  "You?  Kill me?  You can barely hit the wall, you stupid slut.  You and your precious nephew.  You ruined everything I tried to do.  So now I'm gonna take care of both of you!"   He turned back to Bud.  "And don't worry, sonny boy.  That gorgeous whore of yours, she'll be in good hands--"

Bud gave a roar and tried to grab at him.  Wendell grabbed raised the tire iron again.

Wanda fired again and this time the bullet whizzed close enough to Wendell's head to take off a piece of his ear.  Wendell screamed, reached for his gun and fired.

~*~

Ed braked noisily outside the hotel.  "Stay here," he ordered Joy.  And--you better call for an ambulance."

In the back seat, Lynn grabbed for what she thought would be the door handle, too late realizing that there was none.  She was trapped.  She pounded on the glass.  "Ed!  Let me out!"

"Stay here," Ed commanded Joyce.  "And keep her here!"

Chapter Fifteen

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