—
He said, “How the hell did you find this?”
“Robin found it.”
“Jesus. Whatisit?”
I told him.
He said, “Obscure? So whoever knows about it coulda seen it on this site?”
“Could be.”
A third look at the painting. “Unbelievable. What’s her email?”
I logged back onto Suzanne Hirto’s site. He pointed to the grotesque self-portrait. “What’s that about?”
I said, “Maybe a confident woman.”
“Don’t see a visitor count. PushContact,I’ll do the begging.”
Dear Professor Hirto,
This is Lieutenant Milo Sturgis of the Los Angeles Police Department. You were contacted recently by Robin Castagna, an artist who resides here in L.A., about a painting titled The Museum of Desire. I believe the painting may be related to a case I’m investigating. I know this is a difficult request because of privacy issues but would there be any way for you to be comfortable releasing the email addresses of people who’ve logged onto your site? It’s possible one of them is involved in this crime. I assure you no one innocent will be contacted or otherwise hassled.
Thanks and best, Milo
He exhaled. “She’ll probably ignore me.”
Seconds later:
Hey, Milo. Really? That’s crazy and creepy. What type of crime? Suze.
Thanks for getting back, Suze. Unfortunately, murder.
Holy shit! I have no problems giving you the info, no one should get away with killing someone. Problem is I don’t pay attention to the site anymore, never kept a user file in the first place and I delete my emails every week or so cause I don’t want shit piling up.
Understood, Suze. Would you be willing to have one of our tech people take a look and see what they can come up with?
Hmm. Don’t know about that. A little too black helicopter, you know? Not being paranoid, just prefer to live a quiet life. Speaking of which, major oops: How do I know you’re who you say you are? Are you going to ask me to send cash to Nigeria?
Hahaha. Promise I’m legit. Here’s my office number at LAPD, West Los Angeles Division. You can also google me. I’ve solved a few cases.
A minute passed. Two, three, four.
Milo said, “So much for that. I’m amazed a professorial type even answered.”
“Ex-prof,” I said. “She got fired for speaking her mind.”
“Ah, a woman of taste and discretion.” Fourth look at the painting followed by a headshake. He paced, returned. “Okay, let’s think about which way to go on this.”
Ping.
A few cases? You’re downright Sherlockian, sir. I phoned the #, got transferred to someone named Reid, he assured me you’re his boss. So okay, let me think about it. I don’t like assholes getting away with spilling blood. My brother’s a lawyer, I check everything with him except clay, tools, paint, and brushes. He oks it, maybe but no promises.
More than I could hope for, Suze. Muchas gracias.
Bilingual, huh? Hasta la vista. S.
