Detective Jack: S2-02: Concentric Circles

My investigation was punctured by a flurry of radio activity.

“All units. All units. Suspected homicide at Donny’s Donuts Culver City.”

I briefly tuned out, thinking it was a repeat of my present location. But then “Culver City.”

Shit. A second murder scene.

I rushed to my car. I may be tired and jaded, but there’s something about a potential serial killer that wakes you right up.

The Culver City location was a particular feat of human ingenuity. It was a donut shop in the middle of a traffic circle (“the donut in a donut,” it was called). How you safely walked there was a bit of a mystery (it involved a tiny crosswalk in the back).

As I slammed my Chevy into park and jumped out of the car, I instantly knew something was amiss. Inside the glass windows was a scene from an obsessive hungry person’s dreams. Neatly assembled on the counter were uneaten donuts of many flavors and varieties.

But interrupting this organized obsession, a body.

Not a robbery. Her purse was untampered with.

Cecilia Redder.

The grand dame of Los Angeles society. The ex-wife to Donald Redder (but continued business partner).

I started rummaging through her Chanel bag.

A small vial tumbled out.

I knew from my 20s precisely what that was (maybe my 30s too…).

Cecilia Redder seemed to be a cocaine user.

Or, someone wanted us to believe that.