The storage locker belonged to her first husband, a cop named Mickey Magruder. She'd left him fourteen years earlier, when he asked her to lie and alibi him. She did, even though it was a murder case and Mickey looked good for the crime. She always believed him guilty, but a letter she finds in the stuff she got from Rich proves he was with another woman at the time of the victim's death.
Now she wonders if she'd been a little more supportive, believed in Mickey, maybe things might have worked out differently. She also wonders why he couldn't pay for his storage locker and she sets out to find out.
By the time she finds him, he's been shot, is unconscious and under police protection in a Los Angeles hospital. She is initially eager to cooperate with the LAPD, but changes her mind when she finds out they're acting like she is the prime suspect.
So while Mickey remains unconscious, she eludes the LAPD and investigates her ex's life, uncovering evidence of multiple false identities and a strange alliance with the son of an old police buddy in Santa Teresa. She also makes some disturbing discoveries about her ex-husband's women, current and long past and she even learns a little something about herself.
As usual when Kinsey gets her teeth into a problem, she refuses to let go. Her bulldog-like pursuit takes her into ever increasing danger. The pacing increases exponentially, like a runaway train, and you find yourself reading well into the night. It's hard to believe how Sue Grafton can keep up the suspense after so many books, but somehow she does, somehow the stories just keep getting better.
One criticism I have is that many of the characters are so similar, plus we have a lot of fathers and sons with the same last name, so it can be confusing to keep it all straight.Bravo! Grafton is now back in form after being in the dumps with "'M' is for Malice" and "'N' is for Noose". This one will endure as one of her better novels. It is also nice to finally find out about her first husband. Read it and enjoy.