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.When the future first black governor of Virginia tried to move into an exclusive neighborhood, he was turned down.When a statue of Arthur Ashe was erected on Monument Avenue, it almost caused another war.Chief Hammer was worried as she and administrative assistant Fling drove through Hollywood Cemetery to inspect the damage and find out if the descriptions of it were exaggerated.They weren't.Hammer parked on Davis Circle, where the painted bronze statue was clearly visible in the distance, rising amid a background of magnolias and evergreens, small Confederate flags fluttering at the marble base, the perimeter secured with yellow crime-scene tape.'Looks like he's hogging the basketball and won't pass it to anyone,' Fling observed.'He looks kind of stuck-up, too.''He was,' Hammer commented.She stifled laughter, her blood fluttering with peals of it that were almost impossible to suppress.The statue of Davis had always been described as having a proud and haughty air.He had worn the southern gentleman's dress typical of his day, before the graffiti artist, remarkably, had transformed the long coat into a baggy jersey and voluminous shorts to the knees.Trousers had become muscular legs and athletic socks.Boots had been turned into hightop Nikes.Hammer and Fling got out of the Crown Victoria as the throaty roar of a black Mercedes 420E came up from behind.The sedan, with its sunroof and saddle interior, swerved around Hammer's car and parked in front of it.'Shit,' Hammer said as Lelia Ehrhart gathered something off the Mercedes's front seat and opened her door.'Where's the interpreter?'Although Ehrhart had been born in Richmond, she had spent most of her growing-up years in Vienna, Austria, where her father, Dr.Howell, a wealthy, prominent music historian, had labored for years on an unauthorized psychological biography of the very gentle, sensitive Mozart and his fear of the trumpet.Later the family had moved to Yugoslavia where Dr.Howell explored the subliminal influence of music on the Nemanjic dynasty.German wasLelia Ehrhart's first language, Serbo-Croatian followed, then English.She spoke nothing well and had combined the three, stirring and folding, as if making a cake.For a moment, Ehrhart stood, transfixed by the statue, her lips slightly parted in shock.She wore yellow Escada jeans, a full yellow-striped blouse with an E on the breast pocket, a black belt studded with brass butterflies and shoes to match.Although Hammer mostly wore Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan, she knew other designers and recognized that the butterflies were several seasons old.This gave Hammer a little satisfaction, but not enough.'This will excite a riot,' Ehrhart exclaimed, moving in closer to the crime scene, a Canon Sure Shot in hand.'Nothing like this has even happened before this.''I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that,' Hammer replied.'Not so long ago someone painted graffiti on the statue of Robert E.Lee.''That was different.''He wasn't changed into a black basketball player,' Fling agreed.'Not saying he wouldn't have been, but he's on a horse with a sword, and right there on Monument Avenue where if you spent a lot of time, someone's bound to notice.So I really don't see how you could easily do him.Or doing anybody on Monument Avenue.Arthur Ashe's holding a tennis racket and the other guys are on horses.Unless you did polo, I guess.''I want to know how you're doing about this?' Ehrhart said to Hammer as a sudden gust of wind stirred trees and whipped the Southern Cross at Davis's feet.'And where were your officers when some vandal came in here likeMichelangelo in the Sistine Chapel?''The cemetery is private property,' Fling reminded her.'If a serial killing shows up on my private property, is that a so-what also?' Ehrhart replied indignantly.'Not if we know he's a serial killer,' Fling retorted.'The truth is,' said Hammer, 'we do patrol the cemetery.''That's even worst,' Ehrhart said.'You certainly must have somewhere been elsewhere last night.''The beat car is very busy in that area, Lelia.We've got VCU, Oregon Hills.We get many, many calls," Hammer said.'When calls involve living people, they take priority.''As if I would know this!' Ehrhart indignantly answered.'It's confusing what's city and what isn't.' Fling tried to gloss over his misinformation.'And Mrs
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