Chapter 26

Bret arrives late to Buckley and demands a meeting with Dr. Croft, intending to present Robert Mallory as responsible for Matt Kellner’s death and possibly tied to the Trawler murders. He cites Matt’s injuries, a cassette suggesting torture, Robert’s institutional history, and a timeline linking Robert to victims.

Croft remains skeptical, emphasizing the ruling of accident and Buckley’s distance from the case. He challenges motive, notes Bret’s agitation, and then shifts the power dynamic: Liz Schaffer called alleging Bret’s involvement with Terry. Croft also reveals Robert had already spoken to him, implying Bret and Matt had an intimate falling-out, undercutting Bret’s accusations.

Realizing the tape could implicate him, Bret withholds it and leaves. He drives to the Benedict Canyon house tied to Robert, enters through an unlocked laundry door, and finds a largely empty but maintained home. In an upstairs room clearly used by Robert, Bret sees a futon, weed paraphernalia, candles, porn magazines, a jar of Vaseline, an electric typewriter, a boom box with cassettes, class paperbacks, and a notebook filled only with Katherine Latchford clippings. He pockets a Century Towers key.

Downstairs, Bret picks a locked door and discovers a basement stairwell to another sealed door. In nearby cupboards he finds pet supplies, transport cages, empty fishbowls, and a live iguana in a glass box. Disturbed, he flees the house.

Outside, Bret spots the familiar beige van idling down the road. He gives chase on foot, falls and injures his knee and palms, and then unsuccessfully pursues the van by car. He spends the rest of the day driving aimlessly across Southern California, returns home exhausted, takes Valium, and sleeps through a string of new silent phone calls.