Free The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman Page B

it’s a little late in the game for this. In short, he was just being Cal. If I would’ve thought that there was something wrong, I would have…” He blinked back tears. “Cal hasn’t been happy for a while.”
    “Women problems?” suggested Shirley Redkin.
    Lamar made a conscious effort to shift his eyes from Decker’s face to hers. He thought she looked like an Aztec Indian. “The divorce was years ago. At the time, it was a bad one, although at their son’s wedding, they were on speaking terms. Two children… both live out of town.”
    “Where?” Shirley asked.
    “One’s in San Francisco, the other lives in Nashville.”
    “What do they do?” Decker wanted to know.
    “Not police work.” He shook his head. “The Nashville son, Freddy, is a producer of country songs, whatever that means. Cal Junior… well, what can I say. He bats for the other side.”
    “Do you mean he’s gay?” Shirley asked.
    Lamar nodded painfully. “After Cal J came out, Big Cal was never the same.”
    “How long ago was this?”
    Lamar had to think about it. “Ten years ago, maybe.”
    Decker said, “So it wasn’t a recent thing that pushed Vitton over the edge?”
    “It wasn’t recent, but that don’t mean it didn’t push him over.”
    “So why now?” Shirley asked.
    “I’ve been thinking about that nonstop. Maybe it was a combination of things. Reopening a case that was our biggest failure, his son being gay, no steady work, no women in his life. After a while, everything adds up.”
    Decker said, “Enough to get him to eat his gun?”
    “Cal hadn’t been happy for a long time,” Lamar repeated.
    “Who is Cal’s ex?” Shirley asked him.
    “Francine Vitton. Don’t ask me where she lives, I have no idea.”
    “What about the boys? Do you have a telephone number for them?”
    “No, but I’m sure the number’s in Cal’s directory. He kept in touch with his boys… mostly Freddy, but he was on speaking terms with Cal J. That wasn’t always the case.”
    “No?”
    “Well, you know how it is. When Cal first told his dad, Big Cal wanted nothing to do with him. Cooler heads prevailed later on. They reconciled. I’m sure the boys could tell you where their mother lives.”
    Shirley said, “Are you being completely open with us, Detective Lamar? There isn’t something in Cal’s life that could have driven him to kill himself?”
    “If there was, I didn’t know about it.”
    “Did Cal feel that he gave the Little case one hundred percent?” Decker asked.
    Lamar bristled. “That’s a loaded question, Lieutenant. When the case remains open, you always feel that there’s something more that you can do. But sometimes you just fail. And as you both know, that ain’t a good feeling.”
     
CHAPTER 11
     
    A NUGGET POPPED INTO Decker’s mind.
    When he had asked Arnie Lamar about Calvin Vitton’s sons, the retired detective had responded: The Nashville son, Freddy, is a producer of country songs, whatever that means. Earlier in the day when he had talked to Donatti and asked him about Primo Ekerling, he had said, He’s a music producer. What’d he do?
    There were tens of thousands of people in the recording industry. It wasn’t much of a coincidence, but Decker was alone in an ocean, grabbing at any log that happened to be floating by. As soon as he got into his office, he phoned Lamar. “It’s Pete Decker again.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “A quick question about Cal’s boys. How old would they be?”
    “Freddy’s around thirty-five, Cal J’s a few years younger. Why are you asking?”
    “I like to have a mental picture before I do interviews.”
    Lamar paused. “There’s more to it than you’re lettin’ on.”
    “Then please tell me what I’m holding back. I can use all the help I can get.”
    “Say hello to the Vitton boys for me.”
    He cut the line before Decker had a chance to respond. Just as he set the phone down, Marge knocked on the doorjamb. She was with Oliver, and