The Red 65. Grant Peake

about their everyday lives. Automobiles and trucks surging along the distant freeway, a jet in the hazy sky above, coming in to land at the Los Angeles airport. All these people had a purpose and a reason to be living, breathing souls. He glanced back at the file now laying open on his dishevelled desk. This poor kid never made it to manhood, let alone become something in life.

      Poor little guy, 7 years old, in a strange country and far from home, he must have felt lonely and frightened, but he just disappears like a cherry blossom vanishes when blown by the wind. This kid deserved to be known and have his soul put to rest, if he was dead. Now his elderly parents and siblings want some answers. And answers they will have, thought Marty. Emotions were running high in Hislop’s heart. Not one to show his feelings, he had been touched by the photo of the boy, looking so innocent and yet the eyes told him that this soul wanted to be avenged, to be at peace.

      He swallowed hard and fixed his gaze on Charlie Solomon and said, “Okay, you’re on. La Paz and me, we will find out what happened to this kid. Even if he is dead, we will satisfy the family that we have left no stone unturned to get to the truth. Just one thing I don’t understand boss, why was Billy by himself here and not accompanied by a parent? It seems strange to leave a very young kid alone in someone else’s care, and such a long way from home? There does not seem to be any mention of that in the case notes, Charlie.” Marty closed the file, placed his hands together and laid them on the yellowing manila folder containing next to nothing about this young Billy Parsons from Australia. Starring at Charlie Solomon, Marty awaited a response.

      “Apparently from what we can gather now from his Aussie family,” said Solomon, with a slight wave of his left hand, “the parents could not leave their farm in northern New South Wales. The father was involved with the farm and the wife had the other kids to look to. They lived in a remote part of the country, I understand. Money was scarce, and they had an acute labour shortage, so Billy departed on his own, with a woman chaperone provided from Universal Studios. A free passage was offered to a parent to accompany Billy, mainly Mrs Parsons, but she declined, and now possibly to her eternal regret. The file was in the archives, so I had to get it retrieved Marty. There is nothing else pertaining to the kid at all. No clothing or any personal belongings had been retained.”

      Charlie awaited Marty’s reply.

      Marty got up out of his chair, and said quickly to Charlie, “Well, I had better go through the file in more detail and get La Paz in, to brief him on the case. I think he is down at the DA’s office but he should be back soon. I am not promising anything quickly boss, but we will tackle this head on and keep you informed”.

      Rising from his chair, Charlie Solomon reached over with his hand to shake Marty’s and said, “I knew I could count on you Marty. Any help you need, just let me know. Oh, and by the way, I have to mention that Billy’s elder brother, Andrew, attempted to have the case reopened about 20 years ago. He made the trip over here and made a special plea on behalf of his family, but met with a brick wall. Noel Dawson was the guy Andrew dealt with, I need say no more.”

      Charlie Solomon gave Marty Hislop a knowing look.

      Marty comprehended immediately and said quickly, “Yeah, I understand perfectly. Senior Detective Noel Dawson is a real jerk, as though his shit doesn’t stink!”

      Marty had come up against Dawson before and sparks had flown between the two men. Dawson would have been very down putting to this Andrew Parsons and cast the request aside. So long as Dawson was receiving all the praise and credit for something he hadn’t done, to advance his career prospects, that was all that mattered to this guy. Something like this missing kid would not have interested Dawson in the least. Ancient history to him; hardly any leads, no concrete evidence to go on. Too much work for Dawson. Terminate any further enquiries, would be Dawson’s attitude. Totally different to Hislop, who enjoyed digging around a bit to get the exact facts.

      Charlie Solomon ignored the comment from Hislop, but knew the statement was an accurate description of Dawson. Solomon left the room and Marty to his deep thoughts. Marty wandered over to the window again and tried to imagine being a scarred and bewildered 7 year old kid, leaving his family to go to another country, far from his familiar home. How would he have coped, he wondered? Yes, the family would get answers, but this was going to take time and a lot of planning.

      Where was La Paz? Marty thought. He should have been be back by now. Marty had requested that La Paz report back to him as soon as he was back from the DA’s office about this drug lord case they had been working on. La Paz was never one to get himself in a frenzy, took his time and plodded along, yet he got good results. Marty Hislop would not work with any person who was not up to the task, especially when working with him. Marty was straight to the point, minced no matters and did not put up with any bullshit. Getting annoyed and frustrated, Marty slammed down his pen on the desk with force. He wanted to get on with this new case and get things moving, but he needed La Paz, to tidy up the loose ends and piece together the facts, from what was provided. That was shit all anyway, thought Marty.

      Suddenly the door opened and Detective Sergeant Miguel La Paz entered the room. A striking looking chap, nearing 40, with a good physique and a shock of wavy black hair. A native of Mexico, at 6 foot 3, he was much taller than Marty, but was happy to take the back seat, so to speak, when Marty was around. Marty Hislop was the action man, while La Paz was the thinker and organiser. Between the two men, they made a formidable team, and had worked together successfully for over 12 years.

      “Where the hell have you been La Paz? I’ve been waiting for you for over half an hour and now you decide to come in! I have things to discuss with you and we need to work quick and fast. None of this lumbering along hoping that the next lead will come to us La Paz. What took you so long anyhow?” growled Marty.

      La Paz, never one to take offence at Marty’s gruff words, quietly said, “The DA was in a meeting when I arrived, so I had to wait, before I could ask him about the Henderson case. He reckons boss, that Henderson could go down for 20 years. Even if he squeals about the drug cartel based in Colombia, they have enough to sink him for a long time.”

      Before Marty could reply, La Paz went on to say with some humour in his pleasant voice, “I saw the big boss in the corridor. Said he had just left seeing you about a new case. Says it will keep us busy and to keep quiet about it all, but you would explain the finer points to me boss.”

      With that, he looked knowingly at Marty and waited for the expected outburst. However, Marty realised he had been caught out and managed a smile from the corner of his mouth.

      “Sit down La Paz. This one’s a tough one. Missing kid from 1965. Aussie by birth, came to Universal Studios in March ’65, just after his seventh birthday. Made three films and did a bit of TV ad stuff. On July 21 ’65, he disappears while walking down North Beaumont in the Hollywood Hills. Some dame said she saw the kid, walking on the pavement, she thought, to the drug store on Roy Rogers Avenue. He used to go there for a cool pop! Never made it and just vanished from the face of the earth. Oh, sorry, thanks for going to the DA’s office and yeah, let’s hope that bastard goes down for a really long time.”

      With an air of closure, and satisfied that he had mentioned La Paz’s visit to the DA’s office, Marty flung the file over to La Paz. La Paz was used to this bullet point and not to be messed with, Hislop. La Paz had a calm temperament and had kept Hislop in tow on a number of occasions.

      Marty Hislop was quick to shoot his mouth off and then have to back track to keep face. La Paz liked working with Marty Hislop. He knew his strengths and weaknesses, but he always admired the man for his honesty, sticking to the book but sometimes bending the rules to accommodate a case closure. The other guys always asked him how he could manage working for such a hard nut workaholic, but La Paz could see the other side of Marty Hislop. He had invited the bachelor Hislop home for a meal on a few evenings, with his wife and five children. Four daughters, ranging from 19 years to the youngest, who was 7. Jonas was in the middle, the only son. Hislop was a different man away from the office and loved to play baseball with the kids and eat Mexican food. La Paz’s wife, Gloria was quite a beauty and also an excellent mother and cook. She worked part time two days a week at a beautician salon on Sunset Strip, cleaning the faces