Cleaning Up Chapter 5
"It's a trailer park," Harper notes as Lopez approaches the address they have for Sadie Smith.
Lopez turns into the rundown entrance. "The house where Rosalind was killed is in pretty rich territory, even for LA. Rosalind must have had money stashed somewhere. Eli Reynolds, the acolyte the FBI took out, didn't come from money. Rosalind could have helped fund the trap he built for Bailey. If she funded her other acolyte, it doesn't look like any cash found its way to Sadie."
"With what Rosalind knew about Armstrong and the money and drugs he got his hands on, she probably had a way to dip into drug money herself," Harper surmises. "But maybe it only went so far. She wanted Nolan to kill her. Could be that she'd blown whatever nut she had. That would mean Rosalind 2.0 would need to get her hands on some cash. Or she might have promised Sadie a share of the wealth for whatever she has in mind – that's if she contacted Sadie at all."
Lopez points to a mobile home. "That's Sadie's unit. Let's see if she's around." The thin trailer door vibrates under Lopez's knock. After a moment it opens. Angela holds up her badge. "Sadie Smith, I'm Detective Lopez, this is Detective Harper. We need to speak to you."
Sadie's voice quavers slightly as she answers. "I haven't done anything. What is this about?"
Harper flashes her best version of a charming smile. "No one said you did anything wrong. We just need to ask you a few questions. Can we come in?"
Sadie steps back from the door. "Yeah, I guess. But you can't stay long. I have to get ready for work. I'm on swing shift at Petco. I have to do the restocking."
"This shouldn't take long," Harper reassures her.
"So what did you want to ask?" Sadie questions when the two cops are inside.
"Do you have cousins?" Lopez inquires.
"A lot, according to the info I got from sending my spit away. You know, DNA. I have cousins I never met all over the world. But I just got the report back," Sadie adds, "so I haven't had any of those meetups like you see on TV."
"Do you have any cousins you already knew?" Harper asks.
"Just one. I mean I knew her when we were little. She's my Aunt Tami's daughter. Their family moved away when I was 10. I heard that Aunt Tami died. But I don't know what happened to Rosie."
"Rosie is your cousin's name?" Lopez presses.
"Aunt Tami called her Rosie because of her red hair. But her name is Ellen Sims unless she got married or something."
"And you haven't heard from Ellen Sims since you were 10?" Lopez continues.
"No, I'm sorry, I haven't. But what do you want with my cousin? Has she done something wrong?"
"We're not sure, but she might have been working with someone who did," Harper answers. "And that person was very dangerous. So we need to ask her about that. Do you have any idea where she might be?"
"Like I said, she moved away with Aunt Tami. I think they were going to Oregon or maybe Washington. Rosie said they were going to drive along the ocean and there would be a lot of trees. She liked trees. She was always climbing them and watching people from them. That's really all I can tell you."
"That's all right. You've helped a lot, Sadie," Harper replies.
"I have to get ready for work now," Sadie reminds the two detectives.
Harper hands her a card. "We'll get out of your hair. But if you hear from Rosie, please let me know."
"Yeah, sure, all right," Sadie agrees.
"How many Ellen Sims do you think there are on the West Coast?" Lopez wonders as she steers their vehicle out of the trailer park.
"A better question," Harper declares, "is how many Ellen Sims there are who have red hair and were recently in LA."
Ellen Sims saunters down a street she knows super well by now. She observed it to determine the time it would be easiest to steal the dog. She knows Officer Nolan's house, far and away the nicest one on the block. Rosalind said he fixed it up himself and that he loves fixing things.
Well, now he's probably trying to fix Bailey. She shouldn't be around to fix. She should be dead. Damn Eli, anyway. He just couldn't get the f***ing trap right. If he'd used enough chemicals, if the flames had burned longer, then there would have been no bringing Bailey back to life. Nolan would have lost her.
And that's what Rosalind wanted. That's what a woman always wants when she loves a man who doesn't love her back. She wants him to lose everything, including himself. And Rosalind wanted John Nolan to do it by killing her. She wanted to die. She'd made her kills. The voice inside her that made her smarter than everyone else, told her who to kill and how to make the pain last. That voice was also telling her that the ultimate pleasure would be her death. In it, she'd have everything she wanted from John. And she'd defeat the whole world. It could never limit her or hold her for her crimes. She'd be free forever. Ellen gave her that.
The acolyte almost envies her mentor now. Rosalind is one with the wind that scorches the city and steals its breath. But she left work behind. John must lose what he values most and live with the guilt of that loss. Ellen's tempted to finish it the way Rosalind wanted, to make John take her life. But Ellen has bigger plans. The city lived in fear of Rosalind. Ellen wants to feel, taste, and smell that fear again. But this time, it will be fear of her. Maybe she'll do Rosalind one better. It won't just be LA that lives in fear of her, it will be the whole country, maybe the whole damn world. She'll be the queen, no, the empress, and they'll all tremble before her. But first, she has to take care of Bailey.
Ellen strides up to John's front door and rings the bell, smiling at the camera near the door. "I have a message for Bailey Nune." No sound comes from inside. Ellen had thought Bailey would be there, still recovering from drowning under a crown of flames. She shrugs. Maybe Bailey's around the back. John also has the nicest backyard on the block. His lover might be catching some rays. There's no easy way to get back there except through the house, and Ellen's not ready to set off the alarm yet. She doesn't need to drop any more clues. She can check over the fence from the next block over. Then if Bailey's there, the fun can begin. If not, she'll be around later, or tomorrow. There's time. The more of it passes, the more John will relax, and the more Bailey's death will hurt when it comes.
Officer Sperling picks up his radio. This is One-Adam -21. I spotted a red-haired female outside the Nolan residence. She did not attempt to enter. She's leaving on foot. Should I follow?"
"Do not follow," Grey instructs. "She'll be on camera. We can ID her from there, but she may also be working with an accomplice. Continue surveillance on the house."
"Yes, Sergeant," Sperling responds. "Continuing surveillance."
"Lopez, Harper, you on the way in?" Grey inquires.
"ETA 10 minutes," Harper reports.
"Sperling said a woman was at Nolan's house, red hair, slender, medium height."
"That could be Rosalind's other acolyte," Lopez puts in. "We believe she may be a woman named Ellen Sims. Make that ETA at Nolan's place, five minutes."