When some West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies knocked...

When some West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies knocked at the apartment door of a narcotics suspect and identified themselves the other night, they heard a voice say, “Come in.”

But the door was locked.

They knocked once more and the voice again said, “Come in.”

But the door remained locked.

Since they had a search warrant--and a pass key, courtesy of the building’s manager--they let themselves in, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The team of deputies found and arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of possession of marijuana and cocaine for sale. While they were inside, another deputy arrived and knocked at the door.

“Come in,” said a familiar voice from a small cage. It was the suspect’s parrot.

The latest intellectual slam at the City of Angels--”It’s redundant to die in L.A.”--is the posthumous whine of writer Truman Capote (portrayed by Robert Morse) in the current production of “Tru.” While the play is set in Manhattan, the irony is that Capote literally did die in L.A. (in Joanna Carson’s Bel-Air home) in 1984.

The question is: Did part of his last novel die here, too? While “Answered Prayers,” his roman a clef about decadent jet-setters, was published after he died, it’s missing some chapters that Capote was believed to have finished.

In an introduction to “Prayers,” editor Joseph M. Fox notes that one theory is that Capote had the chapters deposited “in a locker in the L.A. Greyhound bus depot.”

Attn. Schwarzkopf wanna-bes:

There’s no peace on the soft-drink battlefield, especially since the entrance of a new competitor, Combat Cooler (see photo), manufactured by an Encino company. The can has a trendy desert camouflage design. Just the thing to wash down those military MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat).

Without going into detail, there’s a Democrat and a Republican in the household of Laura and Hugh Stegman of Westchester. The Republican was mailed a potholder with the words “Law Enforcement Supports Councilwoman Ruth Galanter.” The Democrat was mailed a pro-Galanter potholder with the words “Democratic League of Conservation Voters.”

“Oddly enough,” said Laura Stegman, “the law enforcement potholder is green while the conservation potholder is blue.”

The gray-haired man was grimly hunched over the wheel as he puttered along at 35 m.p.h. in the 65 m.p.h. traffic on the Santa Monica Freeway. A woman sat next to him.

In the back window, a sign begged for understanding:

“Italy,” it said. “We are tourists. Sorry!!!”

The only slow Italian driver, and we get him.

miscelLAny:

It’s one of many cities along the San Bernardino Freeway now. But a plaque outside the Museum of History in El Monte notes that the town was the last stop on another thoroughfare--the Santa Fe Trail.