Ellroy, James - L.A

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Ellroy, James - L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Version: 1.2

Last updated date: Thursday, 12 September 2002

Last updated by: fnordprefect

Words marked** are corrections the editor is not certain of or probable mistakes

and should be checked against the original text if possible. If you have any

corrections to make, please update the version number and redistribute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

by James Ellroy

PROLOGUE

February 21, 1950

An abandoned auto court in the San Berdoo foothills; Buzz Meeks checked in with

ninetyfour thousand dollars, eighteen pounds of high-grade heroin, a 10-gauge

pump, a .38 special, a .45 automatic and a switchblade he'd bought off a pachuco

at the border--right before he spotted the car parked across the line: Mickey

Cohen goons in an LAPD unmarked, Tijuana cops standing by to bootjack a piece of

his goodies, dump his body in the San Ysidro River.

He'd been running a week; he'd spent fifty-six grand staying alive: cars,

hideouts at four and five thousand a night--risk rates--the innkeepers knew

Mickey C. was after him for heisting his dope summit and his woman, the L.A.

Police wanted him for kiffing one of their own. The Cohen contract kiboshed an

outright dope sale--nobody could move the shit for fear of reprisals; the best

he could do was lay it off with Doc Englekling's sons--Doc would freeze it,

package it, sell it later and get him his percentage. Doc used to work with

Mickey and had the smarts to be afraid of the prick; the brothers, charging

fifteen grand, sent him to the El Serrano Motel and were setting up his escape.

Tonight at dusk, two men--wetback runners--would drive him to a beanfield, shoot

him to Guatemala City via white powder airlines. He'd have twenty-odd pounds of

Big H working for him stateside--if he could trust Doc's boys and they could

trust the runners.

Meeks ditched his car in a pine grove, hauled his suitcase out, scoped the

set-up:

The motel was horseshoe-shaped, a dozen rooms, foothills against the back of

them--no rear approach possible.

The courtyard was loose gravel covered with twigs, paper debris, empty wine

bottles--footsteps would crunch, tires would crack wood and glass.

There was only one access--the road he drove in on--reconnoiterers would have to

trek thick timber to take a potshot.

Or they could be waiting in one of the rooms.

Meeks grabbed the 10-gauge, started kicking in doors. One, two, three,

four--cobwebs, rats, bathrooms with plugged-up toilets, rotted food, magazines

in Spanish--the runners probably used the place to house their spics en route to

the slave farms up in Kern County. Five, six, seven, bingo on that--Mex families

huddled on mattresses, scared of a white man with a gun, "There, there" to keep

them pacified. The last string of rooms stood empty; Meeks got his satchel,

plopped it down just inside unit 12: front/courtyard view, a mattress on box

springs spilling kapok, not bad for a last American flop.

A cheesecake calendar tacked to the wall; Meeks turned to April and looked for

his birthday. A Thursday--the model had bad teeth, looked good anyway, made him

think of Audrey: ex-stripper, ex--Mickey inamorata; the reason he killed a cop,

took down the Cohen/Dragna "H" deal. He flipped through to December, cut odds on

whether he'd survive the year and got scared: gut flutters, a vein on his

forehead going tap, tap, tap, making him sweat.

It got worse--the heebie-jeebies. Meeks laid his arsenal on a window ledge,

stuffed his pockets with ammo: shells for the .38, spare clips for the

automatic. He tucked the switchblade into his belt, covered the back window with

the mattress, cracked the front window for air. A breeze cooled his sweat; he

Side 1

Ellroy, James - L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

looked out at spic kids chucking a baseball.

He stuck there. Wetbacks congregated outside: pointing at the sun like they were

telling time by it, hot for the truck to arrive--stoop labor for three hots and

a cot. Dusk came on; the beaners started jabbering; Meeks saw two white men--one

fat, one skinny--walk into the courtyard. They waved glad-hander style; the

spics waved back. They didn't look like cops or Cohen goons. Meeks stepped

outside, his 10-gauge right behind him.

The men waved: big smiles, no harm meant. Meeks checked the road--a green sedan

parked crossways, blocking something light blue, too shiny to be sky through fir

trees. He caught light off a metallic paint job, snapped: Bakersfield, the meet

with the guys who needed time to get the money. _The robin's-egg coupe that

tried to broadside him a minute later_.

Meeks smiled: friendly guy, no harm meant. A finger on the trigger; a make on

the skinny guy: Mal Lunceford, a Hollywood Station harness bull--he used to ogle

the carhops at Scrivener's Drive-in, puff out his chest to show off his pistol

medals. The fat man, closer, said, "We got that airplane waiting."

Meeks swung the shotgun around, triggered a spread. Fat Man caught buckshot and

flew, covering Lunceford--knocking him backward. The wetbacks tore

helter-skelter; Meeks ran into the room, heard the back window breaking, yanked

the mattress. Sitting ducks: two men, three triple-aught rounds close in.

The two blew up; glass and blood covered three more men inching along the wall.

Meeks leaped, hit the ground, fired at three sets of legs pressed together; his

free hand flailed, caught a revolver off a dead man's waistband.

Shrieks from the courtyard; running feet on gravel. Meeks dropped the shotgun,

stumbled to the wall. Over to the men, tasting blood--point-blank head shots.

Thumps in the room; two rifles in grabbing range. Meeks yelled, "We got him!,"

heard answering whoops, saw arms and legs coming out the window. He picked up

the closest piece and let fly, full automatic: trapped targets, plaster chips

exploding, dry wood igniting.

Over the bodies, into the room. The front door stood open; his pistols were

still on the ledge. A strange thump sounded; Meeks saw a man spread

prone--aiming from behind the mattress box.

He threw himself to the floor, kicked, missed. The man got off a shot-close;

Meeks grabbed his switchblade, leaped, stabbed: the neck, the face, the man

screaming, shooting--wide ricochets. Meeks slit his throat, crawled over and

toed the door shut, grabbed the pistols and just plain breathed.

The fire spreading: cooking up bodies, fir pines; the front door his only way

out. _How many more men standing trigger?_

Shots.

From the courtyard: heavy rounds knocking out wall chunks. Meeks caught one in

the leg; a shot grazed his back. He hit the floor, the shots kept coming, the

door went down--he was smack in the crossfire.

No more shots.

Meeks tucked his guns under his chest, spread himself deadman style. Seconds

dragged; four men walked in holding rifles. Whispers: "Dead meat"--"Let's be

reeel careful"--"Crazy Okie fuck." Through the doorway, Mal Lunceford not one of

them, footsteps.

Kicks in his side, hard breathing, sneers. A foot went under him. A voice said,

"Fat fucker."

Meeks jerked the foot; the foot man tripped backward. Meeks spun around

shooting--close range, all hits. Four men went down; Meeks got a topsy-turvy

view: the courtyard, Ma! Lunceford turning tail. Then, behind him, "Hello, lad."

Side 2

Ellroy, James - L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

Dudley Smith stepped through flames, dressed in a fire department greatcoat.

Meeks saw his suitcase--ninety-four grand, dope--over by the mattress. "Dud, you

came prepared."

"Like the Boy Scouts, lad. And have you a valediction?"

Suicide: heisting a deal Dudley S. watchdogged. Meeks raised his guns; Smith

shot first. Meeks died--thinking the El Serrano Motel looked just like the

Alamo.

PART ONE

Bloody Christmas

CHAPTER ONE

Bud White in an unmarked, watching the "1951" on the City Hall Christmas tree

blink. The back seat was packed with liquor for the station party; he'd

scrounged merchants all day, avoiding Parker's dictate: married men had the 24th

and Christmas off, all duty rosters were bachelors only, the Central detective

squad was detached to round up vagrants: the chief wanted local stumblebums

chilled so they wouldn't crash Mayor Bowron's lawn party for underprivileged

kids and snarf up all the cookies. Last Christmas, some crazy nigger whipped out

his wang, pissed in a pitcher of lemonade earmarked for some orphanage brats and

ordered Mrs. Bowron to "Strap on, bitch." William H. Parker's first yuletide as

chief of the Los Angeles Police Department was spent transporting the mayor's

wife to Central Receiving for sedation, and now, a year later, _he_ was paying

the price.

The back seat, booze-packed, had his spine jammed to Jell-O. Ed Exley, the

assistant watch commander, was a straight arrow who might get uppity over a

hundred cops juicing in the muster room. And Johnny Stompanato was twenty

minutes late.

Bud turned on his two-way. A hum settled: shopliftings, a liquor store heist in

Chinatown. The passenger door opened; Johnny Stompanato slid in.

Bud turned on the dash light. Stompanato said, "Holiday cheers. And where's

Stensland? I've got stuff for both of you."

Bud sized him up. Mickey Cohen's bodyguard was a month out of work--Mickey went

up on a tax beef, Fed time, three to seven at McNeil Island. Johnny Stomp was

back to home manicures and pressing his own pants. "It's _Sergeant_ Stensland.

He's rousting vags and the payoff's the same anyway."

"Too bad. I like Dick's style. You know that, _Wendell_."

Cute Johnny: guinea handsome, curls in a tight pompadour. Bud heard he was hung

like a horse and padded his basket on top of it. "Spill what you got."

"Dick's better at the amenities than you, _Officer White_."

"You got a hard-on for me, or you just want small talk?"

"I've got a hard-on for Lana Turner, you've got a hard-on for wife beaters. I

also heard you're a real sweetheart with the ladies and you're not too selective

as far as looks are concerned."

Bud cracked his knuckles. "And you fuck people up for a living, and all the

money Mickey gives to charity won't make him no better than a dope pusher and a

pimp. So my fucking complaints for hardnosing wife beaters don't make me you.

_Capisce_, shitbird?"

Stompanato smiled--nervous; Bud looked out the window. A Salvation Army Santa

palmed coins from his kettle, an eye on the liquor store across the street.

Side 3

Ellroy, James - L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

Stomp said, "Look, you want information and I need money. Mickey and Davey

Goldman are doing time, and Mo Jahelka's looking after things while they're

gone. Mo's diving for scraps, and he's got no work for me. Jack Whalen wouldn't

hire me on a bet and there was no goddamn envelope from Mickey."

"No envelope? Mickey went up flush. I heard he got back the junk that got

clouted off his deal with Jack D."

Stompanato shook his head. "You heard wrong. Mickey got the heister, but that

junk is nowhere and the guy got away with a hundred and fifty grand of Mickey's

money. So, Officer White, _I_ need money. And if your snitch fund's still green,

I'll get you some fucking-A collars."

"Go legit, Johnny. Be a white man like me and Dick Stensland."

Stomp snickered--it came off weak. "A key thief for twenty or a shoplifter who

beats his wife for thirty. Go for the quick thrill, I saw the guy boosting

Ohrbach's on the way over."

Bud took out a twenty and a ten; Stompanato grabbed them. "Ralphie Kinnard. He's

blond and fat, about forty. He's wearing a suede loafer jacket and gray

flannels. I heard he's been beating up his wife and pimping her to cover his

poker losses."

Bud wrote it down. Stompanato said, "Yuletide cheer, Wendell."

Bud grabbed necktie and yanked; Stomp banged his head on the dashboard.

"Happy New Year, greaseball."

ooo

Ohrbach's was packed--shoppers swarmed counters and garment racks. Bud elbowed

up to floor 3, prime shoplifter turf: jewelry, decanter liquor.

Countertops strewn with watches; cash register lines thirty deep. Bud trawled

for blond males, got sideswiped by housewives and kids. Then--a flash view--a

blond guy in a suede loafer ducking into the men's room.

Bud shoved over and in. Two geezers stood at urinals; gray flannels hit the

toilet stall floor. Bud squatted, looked in--bingo on hands fondling jewelry.

The oldsters zipped up and walked out; Bud rapped on the stall. "Come on, it's

St. Nick."

The door flew open; a fist flew out. Bud caught it flush, hit a sink, tripped.

Cufflinks in his face, Kinnard speedballing. Bud got up and chased.

Through the door, shoppers blocking him; Kinnard ducking out a side exit. Bud

chased--over, down the fire escape. The lot was clean: no cars hauling, no

Raiphie. Bud ran to his prowler, hit the two-way. "4A31 to dispatcher,

requesting."

Static, then: "Roger, 4A31."

"Last known address. White male, first name Ralph, last name Kinnard. I guess

that's K-I-N-N-A-R-D. Move it, huh?"

The man rogered; Bud threw jabs: bam-bam-bam-bam-bam. The radio crackled: "4A3

1, roger your request."

"4A31, roger."

"Positive on Kinnard, Ralph Thomas, white male, DOB--"

"Just the goddamn address, I told you--"

The dispatcher blew a raspberry. "For your Christmas stocking, shitbird. The

address is 1486 Evergreen, and I hope you--"

Side 4

Ellroy, James - L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

Bud flipped off the box, headed east to City Terrace. Up to forty, hard on the

horn, Evergreen in five minutes flat. The 12, 1300 blocks whizzed by;

1400--vet's prefabs--leaped out.

He parked, followed curb plates to 1486--a stucco job with a neon Santa sled on

the roof. Lights inside; a prewar Ford in the driveway. Through a plate-glass

window: Ralphie Kinnard browbeating a woman in a bathrobe.

The woman was puff-faced, thirty-fivish. She backed away from Kinnard; her robe

fell open. Her breasts were bruised, her ribs lacerated.

Bud walked back for his cuffs, saw the two-way light blinking and rogered. "4A31

responding."

"Roger, 4A31, on an APO. Two patrolmen assaulted outside a tavern at 1990

Riverside, six suspects at large. They've been ID'd from their license plates

and other units have been alerted."

Bud got tingles. "Bad for ours?"

"That's a roger. Go to 5314 Avenue 53, Lincoln Heights. Apprehend Dinardo,

D-I-N-A-R-D-O, Sanchez, age twentyone, male Mexican."

"Roger, and you send a prowler to 1486 Evergreen. White male suspect in custody.

I won't be there, but they'll see him. Tell them I'll write it up."

"Book at Hollenbeck Station?"

Bud rogered, grabbed his cuffs. Back to the house and an outside circuit

box--switches tapped until the lights popped off. Santa's sled stayed lit; Bud

grabbed an outlet cord and yanked. The display hit the ground: exploding

reindeer.

Kinnard ran out, tripped over Rudolph. Bud cuffed his wrists, bounced his face

oh the pavement. Ralphie yelped and chewed gravel; Bud launched his wife beater

spiel. "You'll be out in a year and a half, and I'll know when. I'll find out

who your parole officer is and get cozy with him, I'll visit you and say hi. You

touch her again I'm gonna know, and I'm gonna get you violated on a kiddie raper

beef. You know what they do to kiddie rapers up at Quentin? Huh? The Pope a

fuckin' guinea?"

Lights went on--Kinnard's wife was futzing with the fuse box. She said, "Can I

go to my mother's?"

Bud emptied Ralphie's pockets--keys, a cash roll. "Take the car and get yourself

fixed up."

Kinnard spat teeth. Mrs. Ralphie grabbed the keys and peeled a ten-spot. Bud

said, "Merry Christmas, huh?"

Mrs. Ralphie blew a kiss and backed the car out, wheels over blinking reindeer.

ooo

Avenue 53--Code 2 no siren. A black-and-white just beat him; two blues and Dick

Stensland got out and huddled.

Bud tapped his horn; Stensland came over. "Who's there, partner?"

Stensland pointed to a shack. "The one guy on the air, maybe more. It was maybe

four spics, two white guys did our guys in. Brownell and Helenowski. Brownell's

maybe got brain damage, Helenowski maybe lost an eye."

"Big maybes."

Stens reeked: Listerine, gin. "You want to quibble?"

Bud got out of the car. "No quibble. How many in custody?"

"Goose. We get the first collar."

"Then tell the blues to stay put."

Side 5

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Ellroy, James - L.A. CONFIDENTIAL~~~~~~~~~~~~~Version:1.2Last updated date: Thursday, 12 September 2002Last updated by: fnordprefectWords marked** are corrections the editor is not certain of or probable mistakesand should be checked against the original text if possible. If you have any corrections...

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