Billie ran a check on Burt Randall after visiting Aaron Flynn’s law office. Besides getting his address, she had discovered that Randall was an ex-marine with combat experience and former LAPD.
Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the detective had a patrol car follow her to Randall’s house. Brewster drove along Northwest Twenty-third until she reached Thurman, then turned left into the hills. Randall’s modern A-frame was set back from an unpaved street on the outskirts of Forest Park. A black pickup truck stood in the driveway. “Let’s you and me go to the front door,” Billie told Ronnie Blanchard, a uniformed officer who had played linebacker at Portland State. “Radison can cover the rear of the house.” “Sounds like a plan,” Tom Radison, Blanchard’s partner, said. He headed toward the back of the house. “You know this guy’s background,” Billie said.
“Let’s not take chances.” The house was dark. Billie rang the bell.
There was no answer. She tried again while Blanchard tried the door.
It was unlocked. The officer looked at Billie and she nodded. He edged the door inward. “Mr. Randall,” Billie called out. Silence. “I’m Billie Brewster, a police detective. Are you home, sir?” The living room had a vaulted ceiling. The dying rays of the sun cast a pale light through ceiling-high picture windows. Billie pointed to a dark hallway. Blanchard edged down it while Billie cautiously climbed the stairs to a sleeping loft that overlooked the entryway and the living room. The moment Billie’s head cleared the landing she knew something was wrong. She gripped her weapon a little tighter before climbing the rest of the stairs in a crouch. The blinds were closed and all Billie could tell was that there was someone sprawled across the bed. “Mr.
Randall?” she said loudly. There was no answer. “I do not fucking like this,” Billie mumbled to herself as she stepped onto the landing. As soon as her vision adjusted Billie made out Burt Randall in a T-shirt and boxer shorts. There were two bloodstained holes in the T-shirt and a third in the center of Randall’s forehead.