((A/N: My , has it really been that long? Time does fly when you can't write straight doesn't it? Well in any case I'm back to the mystery. Lucky or not, I wrote it a bit long though, so that I've had to divide in two parts. Good readings to you all. Oh, and if you have an aversion to vomit..well you'll see. it's not that bad actually.

-M))

"Young lady, I would like to get something straight with you," huffed Mrs. Garrideb, standing in the doorway.

Elise smiled "Yes ma'm?"

"I run a respectable household. My neighbors know it and you should too. I will not tolerate any indiscretions, indecencies or--"

"Yes, ma'm I know." The younger woman turned towards me, giving me the look I was used to giving to someone explaining Anime to me.

"Than you can understand why I--"

"Excuse me Miss?" came a second voice, followed by a slim looking figure in light brown coming up behind our landlady. "I'm not here to arrest anybody. And I haven't had any complaints. I'm just--"

Mrs. Garrideb turned around, "What?! Then why--"

"Kars." Elise moved across the room to motion the slim figure on. A man barely out of his teens, whose Sheriff's Department's uniform still hadn't shrunk enough to fit him. "Thank ye ma'am, I'll take care of this right 'way and don't you worry it won't happen again."

Mrs. Garrideb glanced at Elise, the officer, me, and started back down the stairs, muttering something about reputations.

The officer moved nervously from foot to foot, nodding to me and my housemate. " Mr. Rowlands says he wants to speak with you straight 'way."

I could almost the emotion slide off Elise's face. She stood straight, her head tilted up "What makes him think I'd come?"

This wasn't helping the poor nervous Kars, who gulped before speaking "He says there's a problem he needs you're help with" Elise snorted " , there's a new development they think you need to see. " With a defeated sigh he began again, speaking in the rapid pace that defined everything about Southern California (except its freeways) "Look you gotta come. I'm th' only one there right now and is this keeps this up I'm gonna kill them both...oh crap."

"'They'?" A smile was growing on Elise's lips. I was reminded for some odd reason of a dog that'd just caught their favorite scent, ears perked up, tail straight and barely wagging. " 'Them'?"

"Oh crap." said Kars again " Yeah...Ummm...Capt. Fern's there too. "

"Really?! Well than there's no reason for us to just stand here while a trail goes cold, is there?" Brushing past Kars, she headed towards the doorway. "Rev up the car Kars, Lowell an' me are right behind you."

"What?" I asked.

Kars began to nod "Um, wait."

She paused midstep. "Yeah?"

He nodded towards her feet. She followed his gaze with a confused expression, then a disgusted look "Oh, right. Shoes." She turned again, heading towards to the closet door that held the door towards the third floor stairs. Kars went the other way, down the first floor stairs. I stood in the sitting room for a minute longer, feeling like an actor who'd suddenly forgotten his role in the middle of a play, then ran towards Elise

"Hold on." I called. She slowed down "What do you mean 'Lowell and I'll be there' ?"

"Just that." she answered

"What makes you think I'm going."

"You got something better to do?"

"I might."

She turned, hand on the doorknob. "Something besides sitting and watching TV all day? Or star watching?" she paused "Thought so. C'mon. You need to get out, enjoy the fresh smoggy air of the Southland. 'Sides, you wanted to know what I did, now you get to see for yourself. "

************

I have heard all sorts of things about California being an isolated paradise. I grew up thinking of it as millions of little paradises. Every person had their own place, country and city. They were huge territories, and people shared them , but they were ours. The community called Vantage Pointe didn't say "ours." It said "mine." In each little lawn, in each triple bolted gold handled mahogany door, in the security gates that seemed to surrounded every block, not the mentioned the large one that encompassed the entire place. They're own piece of paradise, with complimentary paranoia.

One of the Edens was in front of us now, with only the yellow tape, a crowd, a For RENT sign and an open door to say it was different. Kars '92 Ford let out a loud backfiring POW! that scattered a few of the onlookers and effectively cut off my questioning. Not that it had done any good. Kars insisted he couldn't hear me while he was driving, and Elise's only answer to my questions had been "You'll see soon ...not soon enough" and a look out the window.

"Oh damnit all!" She cried Kars managed to park two houses down "Look't that mess. How they expect anything to get done while they're watching. " She left the car and walked straight at the crowd, as though her mere presence would make the great sea of people part. Kars and I hurried to catch up.

"'Scuse us. out of the way there. Pardon, business. Excuse us please. " Stuttered Kars, fighting to open a pathway . "Could you all please go back to your homes now, we would very much appreciate it."

There was a rumble from the crowd. Surely this man of the law, who was trained in solving things, couldn't possibly solve a crime. Only an mere observer, gawking over the evidence was right for that job.

"I wanna see this." called someone I couldn't see, smashed as I was between two men in black wool suits

"Yeah," said another " How else we gonna know what happened."

"You wanna see a case, go watch Law an' Order." Now that voice I recognized. Another minute of fighting and the crowd pushed me out onto yellow tape. A hand grabbed me.

"C'mon Lowell."

Life on the other side of the tape wasn't much better. The crowd here was moving. Police officer choking up the sidewalk, their vehicles and an ambulance clogging the driveway. Kars led us up this driveway. I almost ran in Elise when she stopped.

"What are you doing?"

She nodded "there. D'you see?"

I looked. Parked in the open garage stood a black Jeep. Next to it a silver Z3. "What? What am I looking at?"

"Ne'ermind just now." she started walking again.

At last we reached the silence of the house itself. The brown tile in the entryway, the white walls, seemed particularly cold, even though I could feel no air conditioner running. I really didn't like the silence. It was as though the house itself was holding its breath. There was a scent I felt that I should know, but it was different somehow.. Kars went on ahead of us, so I looked towards Elise to see if she had the same idea. Apparently, she got a fairly different impression. The smile was on her face again and she was humming a tune to herself that I could have sworn was "Pop goes the weasel" while she looked around.

Kars returned with a tall Spanish looking woman at his side, tall and proud in a dark blue uniform. "Well, happy Friday morning to you girl. I suppose I owe you that Coke now right?" She held out her hand, then rolled her eyes and lowered it. On seeing me she asked "Who're you?"

"David Lowell. I'm...ummm..her...roommate." Oh yes. A roommate. That makes me useful doesn't it?

"Lowell's here to take notes. " Elise said as I shook hands with the woman. "Lowell's this is Captain Fern. Now what about the body?"

It was a mutual reaction "What?!"

Elise sighed and repeated a bit slower "Crowds do not gather for a simple robbery. There is no tow truck, so no one crashed into a tree or fire hydrant during the night. I assume it is a murder."

"Well yes that is one part of the problem."

"Then let see it."

Down the stairs and into a living room of champagne colored carpet, more tile and white walls. A leather piece couch and recliner. Each corner of the room held a plant with long floral leaves that may have been plastic in white ceramic bowls. A stone elephant had been knocked over and glass glittered from the floor. A large lump of pink in a blue dress lay among it. In places around the carpet had gone from champagne white to red wine. Then again, the glass, the disorder of the room , the crowds everywhere. Maybe it wasn't wine. That's why the scent seemed familiar. It was from the day I went with my mother to check on a bloated steer at a farm on the day they were slaughtering pigs. Only this wasn't a pig. My head spun, the room was suddenly full of too many people and too much noise, and it was all starting to become staticy. I tried to breathe through my mouth. No good, now I could taste the scent. I managed to stumble up to one of the plants.

Elsie's voice cut through the confusion "Well, that'd certainly ruin any evidence there." I wiped my mouth and glared towards her, but she was already crouched over the body.