D avid Seidman sat on the bench in a long row of benches by the lockers. He was fully dressed. The only thing that needed attention was his salt and pepper hair which curled into little ringlets when it was wet. He looked up to see his competitor just now coming from the shower room. Thaddeus Maldeaux was as cocky and exhibitionistic as ever. He came strolling toward the locker with his towel around his neck rather than around his waist.
‘Didn’t you used to have hair on your chest?’ Seidman asked.
Maldeaux laughed, rubbed Seidman’s chest fur. ‘Sure did. A little vanity is good for the soul. The word we use these days is “buffed”.’
‘So who are you trying to be, some Calvin Klein model?’ Seidman said bitterly. He felt embarrassed. He wasn’t sure if it was for Maldeaux or for himself. Probably himself. Maldeaux looked younger. He wasn’t. People thought Maldeaux had more money. He didn’t. He looked more fit. He wasn’t. He just looked younger and more fit. God gave him better bones and enough confidence to walk around a locker room without his clothes, like he was out for an evening stroll on Mount Olympus.
‘You hear from Julia?’ Maldeaux asked, finishing the process of drying his tanned body.
‘Julia?’
‘Yes. Right. Julia. Is she OK?’
‘I called shortly after she left for Iowa. Couple of times. Her father said she couldn’t speak, then later wouldn’t speak. I finally got through to her and… hell, I don’t know… didn’t seem like the same person. Kind of dead.’ Seidman winced. ‘An unfortunate phrase.’
‘A thing like that, David. It’s utter destruction. Any word on who did it?’
‘No. They’re still trying to make a connection to those rose carving strangulation cases. But it doesn’t make sense.’
‘Really?’
‘I thought I told you about those.’
‘Well yes, but you didn’t mention it in connection with Julia.’
‘We haven’t talked much since then.’
‘No, we haven’t.’ There was a moment of silence. ‘Spectacular game, David.’
‘You won,’ David said.
‘Yes. But you played really well.’
David was quiet. ‘C’mon,’ Maldeaux said. ‘You have to get a life. This unrequited love with Julia was dragging you down anyway. You two were just, what do they say, farting in the wind.’
‘Colorful. You have a way with words.’
‘True though, right?’
David nodded. ‘I guess. I still miss her.’
‘You two never even slept together, did you?’
‘Teddy, stop it. It’s none of your business.’
‘You’re right. Wasn’t very gentlemanly. But, don’t be so uptight. Sometimes, you’re such a prude. Let it out. If you don’t, some day you’re going to pop your cork big time and it won’t be pretty.’
Seidman looked away.
‘C’mon, live,’ Maldeaux said, poking him with some force on the shoulder.
‘This is living isn’t it? I should be thankful. Not many assistant D.A.s can get an afternoon in Hillsborough for a little tennis.’
‘You’ve worked hard. You deserve it.’ Maldeaux slipped on his shirt. ‘No leads on this rose guy?’
‘No, I’ve followed it. I’m following it. I talked with the lieutenant in Homicide. It’s all cooling off. The cops looked through the records, found some dude named Falwell, of all names. Not a “Jerry” though. An “Earl”. Kid had a minor sex crime on his record. He was popped for battery and, while he was off the streets, the murders stopped. It’s interesting, but you can’t hang a whole lot on it. A lot of people came and went in that time when you count California’s prison population. And the guys on the case don’t think he’s bright enough to have covered his tracks so well. He owns a Camaro and that fits with the description of a car at one of the crime scenes. It’s all real vague, way too circumstantial.’
‘Sounds plausible. How much do you need?’
‘Who knows?
‘You should. Aren’t you the prosecutor?’
‘I doubt if I’ll be on this one. Too close. The lieutenant says the guy could be good for it, but the cops say it’s not ready. If it’s him, the murders will start again. The cops will be looking out for him this time. On the other hand, Gratelli’s partner says a guy with the intellect of a Falwell wouldn’t be able to get away without leaving something. Pubes or something. The murderer is too savvy. Too clean. They dusted the car, vacuumed. Nothing. Aside from the IQ factor, the Quantico profile doesn’t paint him out of the picture or in the picture for that matter.’
‘What do they say?’
‘White male, not sure about age. Lonely. The usual. Can’t help himself. Maybe he wants to, maybe he doesn’t. Probably in awe of women, worships them. Doesn’t want to want to do the dirty thing. Not like you at all.’ Seidman laughed. The sound was hollow and he cut it short.
‘Can’t you just run a photo of this guy by Julia? You suppose she could identify him?’
‘They did. Faxed it out to the Iowa City Police. No I.D. She might not have seen him. A ski mask. If he ever took it off, she doesn’t remember. Maybe something will come to her.’
‘You think she might eventually remember him?’
‘Possible. With time. Maybe with some help,’ Seidman said, looking into Teddy’s eyes. ‘Since you’re so interested, it’s not uncommon for there to be some amnesia – even in accidental cases. Victims can’t remember anything immediately, then after a time they often remember everything except that which actually preceded the trauma.’
‘Really, never?’ Maldeaux asked.
‘Sometimes never. Sometimes they get some of it back.’
‘So, maybe, right?’
‘An outside chance.’
‘At any rate, she’s in Iowa, right?’
‘For now.’
‘She’s coming back?’
‘Don’t know. She’s not cut off everything here,’ Seidman said. Was there hope in his voice? Dread?
‘All right, enough gloom. When are we gonna get you some women?’
‘Just pick one out of the herd, right Thaddeus?’
‘Don’t start using that high moral tone, OK? Women are equal to men. Superior in most cases. But let’s not forget sex is part of the human condition, not just the male condition. Men and women want it. So, David, it’s all right to have sex with women. Some of them even enjoy it.’ Maldeaux grinned. ‘And if you should ever have sex with a woman, remember you don’t have to marry them.’
‘I have sex with women.’
‘News to me.’
‘Oh c’mon, I just don’t talk about these things.’
‘Not even to me?’ Maldeaux asked, slipping on a pair of boxer shorts. ‘You pay for it, right?’ When Seidman didn’t say anything, Maldeaux said: ‘That’s it. Bingo! Mr Holier than Thou puts the cash on the nightstand.’
‘Not so loud.’
‘Assistant Prosecutor. Going to run for mayor some day.’
‘Hey, that’s enough. You know now. You never heard me say prostitution should be illegal. So shut the fuck up.’
Maldeaux sat down next to his friend. ‘Talk to me, David. I’m concerned, really.’
‘No, let’s just move on to another subject.’
‘C’mon, David. You’re acting like you did when you were a senior in high school and refused to take your turn with Cindy what’s her name.’
‘It’s all very clean, very quiet and very safe and very pleasant. Not at all like what’s going through your jaded little mind. So shut up.’
‘Were you doing this when you were seeing Julia?’
‘Yes. It was a separate thing.’
‘I bet. Quirky, kinky stuff with the girls you can’t bring to charity events.’ Maldeaux laughed.
‘Enough. You know…’ Seidman was flustered. ‘I’m a guy…’
‘So it appears.’
‘I have needs. Julia and I are… were working on romance. It wasn’t there at the time. In the meantime, I can’t play monk. I don’t feel the need to be celibate. But what I do is my business. Unlike you, I don’t want my private life public knowledge.’
‘You ever read Genet?’
‘Not my cup of tea.’
‘ The Balcony , remember. The judges needed to do penance for all the punishment they’d dished out. They’d go to prostitutes and humiliate themselves in front of them, kiss their feet, beg for the rod?’
‘I didn’t read it.’ David’s face was in full blush.
‘Here, you, Mr Prosecutor, punish the guilty and those who can’t afford to be innocent,’ Thaddeus said, putting on his shirt. ‘You try to be fair, I know. But you win most of the time. Still some criminals go free, some innocents are punished. You must be punished. The riding crop, or whip?’ Maldeaux’s laugh continued.
‘I don’t want this kind of talk.’
‘I’m just having a little fun with you. Learn how to laugh, David. It makes life much more bearable. Enjoy life. Live.’
‘You’re such an ass.’
‘Aren’t you at all curious about what makes us tick? Look at that preacher. What was his name? Swaggart. Preaching hellfire and damnation during the day and then has some woman in black lingerie whip him. Gets his butt in a sling, more or less, with some dominatrix. You know what a dominatrix is, don’t you?’
‘Will you get off it?’ Seidman said. He stood. ‘You don’t see what I see every day in court. You, in your fairy tale life know nothing about what really goes on out there. Just because you’ve seen the Ganges, Teddy, doesn’t mean you suddenly know what it’s like to be an Indian.’
Maldeaux smiled. ‘I don’t think you quite get it.’
‘Get what?’
‘What I do, how I live. I do live, David. That’s where we’re really different.’
‘I’ll see you around, Teddy.’