Free Compulsion by Jonathan Kellerman Page B

bit of weight. Maybe he ate before because he didn’t eat much at Len’s table. He got up before dessert, went to the bathroom, came back announcing he’d called a cab, was going to wait outside. Ella was so embarrassed. We all pretended it never happened, just went on normally with the meal.”
    “Any reason he left early?”
    “That’s the thing, there was no conflict or anything.
Boom,
he just gets up and announces. Like he was mad at something, but for the life of me nothing happened to make him mad.”
    “Tony have a temper?” said Milo.
    Hochswelder scratched a temple. “Not really, I couldn’t say that, no. Just the opposite, he’s always been kind of quiet. No one understands him.”
    “Being effeminate and all that.”
    “That and just being strange – like getting up before dessert, no warning, and leaving. Like always keeping to himself. His father was like that, too, but Tony Senior would at least go to family gatherings and pretend to be social. Though, frankly, most of the time he’d sit outside and smoke – big smoker, that’s what caused his heart attack. He worked for a milk company, they delivered to the studios and Tony got Tony Junior a job at one of them. Paramount, I think. Basically a janitor job, moving stuff around, but those people pay well, lots of union pressure. Tony Junior would’ve been set up financially but he claimed he hurt his back and quit and since then he’s been doing nothing.”
    “Claimed?”
    “I’m sure he’s got some pain. We all do.”
    “Let’s talk about his drug use.”
    “All I know is what the kids said.”
    “Your kids?”
    “Mine and my brother Len’s. Not that Tony was a big topic of conversation, it just came up. We talk about everything in our family.”
    “What did Tony’s cousins say he used?”
    “It was never specific. More like Tony was stoned all the time, that’s why he bombed out in school. Which was hard for Ella, I’m sure. Education was important to her.”
    “She ever mention being disappointed?”
    “Ella wasn’t one to share her feelings. But everyone had a sense Tony was a
big
disappointment to her. Also, I think he gambles. In fact, I know he does. My boy Arnold saw him at one of the Indian casinos near Palm Springs. Arnold and his family were vacationing and he and Rita – Arnold’s wife – were playing the slots, just fooling around, they’re not gamblers. When they went to get the kids at the day care the casino has, Arnold spotted Tony at the blackjack table. Arnold was going to say hi, even though he and Tony weren’t close, just to be friendly. But then Tony played a hand and lost all his money and stomped away from the table cursing. Arnold didn’t think it was a good time to be social.”
    “Do you have any other examples of Tony’s gambling?”
    “No, but Arnold said from the way Tony was sitting – all hunched over, hiding his cards – it looked like he was used to it.”
    “Drugs and gambling,” said Milo. “Anything else?”
    “And gay,” Hoschswelder reminded him. “But I’m not accusing, just passing the information along. Don’t want you to think I’ve got something against Tony. I don’t, I feel sorry for him. Frankly, Tony Senior couldn’t have been easy to live with. That one
had
a bad temper, the Italian hot blood. But with what happened to Ella… I just thought I should talk to you.”
    Milo said, “Let’s be theoretical, Mr. Hochswelder, and assume Tony does have some connection to Ella’s murder. What motive would you say he’d have?”
    “Oh, no, Lieutenant, I couldn’t go that far.”
    “Theoretically,” said Milo. “Just between us, right now, with nothing on the record.”
    Hochswelder gnawed his upper lip. “Knowing Ella, she probably left everything to Tony. No reason she shouldn’t, he was her only child. Though, in my opinion, giving money to someone who doesn’t work is like flushing it down the toilet.”
    “You don’t buy Tony’s injury.”
    “Who