Long Way Down

At first, the case seems routine. A well-dressed, unidentified Caucasian male is found murdered in the apartment of Dianne Farley, a nude model with a suspended morals charge against her. The weapon is a switchblade knife; the motive is apparently robbery. Lieutenant Frank Hastings has investigated a hundred cases like this. When an affluent John goes looking for a girl, Hastings knows, the John's taking his chances. The victim's identification comes easily: Thomas King, forty-three, the philandering owner of King Productions, a film-making company specializing in advertising commercials. The first break in the case comes easily, too. The switchblade belongs to Arnold Clark, a black militant with an arrest record going back to childhood. When Hastings discovers that Marjorie King, the swinging widow, is sleeping with Clark, the police seem to have it all: suspect, motive, opportunity. Charles Mallory, the kinky manager of King Productions, corroborates Mrs. King's extramarital adventures. Emile Zeda, the far-out leader of a nationally known Satanic cult, admits that he "solemnized" Marjorie's affair with Arnold Clark, helping her to "find a suitable release for her primitive emotions." Bruce King, the murdered man's neurotic son, is obsessed by his mother's relationship with Clark. It all seems to fit. But a second murder rewrites the script: the virtuous and the villainous change places. Doggedly, Hastings keeps at it, matching the random bits and pieces, following his detective's instinct. Then, just as he's resigned to frustration, the break comes-suddenly, unexpectedly, dangerously. In a few deadly moments it's all decided. The losers die, the winners walk away.