For the second time in a couple of days, the two San Francisco Homicide detectives found themselves in Sausalito, passing the busy main streets to get to the north side of town, where according to their R&I information an Ellen Willis could be found.
And according to Mike's latest hunch, along with a decent amount of deductive logic, the forty-five-minute trip could lead to a potential case break.
The article about Willis, a successful but now retired actress, depicted the woman's early life and her steep career up until a life-threatening car crash left her missing a leg, ending her steep rise to immortal fame. So far, in Seavers' vast collection of newspaper cutouts talking about limbs found, this was the only article about a limb missing.
It was safe to assume that Winston had made some sort of connection between the lady and the many cases of missing appendages, possibly even decided to follow up on the lead himself.
As far as Steve was concerned, he wasn't too far out on that hunch.
"That's it right there. 3778 Rodeo Avenue…", Mike said and pointed at a black wrought iron gate surrounded by an impressive stone archway. A six-foot privacy wall extended along the road and halfway up the steep hill, where an expensive villa overlooking town was carved into the landside.
Steve let his eyes drift over the four balconies on the south side of the building, most of them facing east. Tall, expensive windows allowed for maximum sunlight to reach the mansion while a carefully selected group of small trees and shrubs surrounded the floor level for added privacy.
Besides the meticulously maintained landscaping, the properly looked barren, lacking any signs of life they'd normally expect such as open doors, smoking chimneys or parked cars in the circular driveway below.
"Does it say anywhere in this article if she's single?", Steve pried with a broad grin, only to have Mike shake his head.
"Don't hold your breath, Buddy Boy, she is way out of your league…"
"I was thinking about you, actually.", Steve countered mischievously, "Think of all the parties we could have in there. You could even cordon off parts of the building for Jeannie and Eric to move in and raise their children…under your watchful eye of course!"
"Come on, let's get out of here.", Mike nudged with a feigned grunt, "There's only so much life advice I can handle from you in one day."