Racing the Light (Elvis Cole #19; Joe Pike #8)(25)

I jumped onto a Chevy’s hood and shouted.

The SUV flashed past.

The driver tried to mask his face with a hand, but the wraparound sunglasses gave him away. The ponytailed man in the passenger seat didn’t bother. He grinned as they passed, as if he was sorry they missed me.

I tried to get their license number, but dried mud caked the plate.

I watched the SUV disappear.

I sat on the Chevy in the very hot sun for a long time. Then I returned to my car, put on my gun and my jacket, and went to check Josh’s bungalow.





15





Leon Karsey stepped outside as I climbed the steps. He wore the same shorts and T-shirt as yesterday.

“You gonna see what they did?”

“I am.”

“Can I come?”

I changed the subject.

“Two men were down below in a white SUV. They were in a red pickup yesterday, pretending to be gardeners. Today they were in the SUV. They’re watching for Josh.”

Karsey stood on his tiptoes and craned to see the street.

“You’re shittin’ me. Where?”

“They’re gone. Males around forty. The driver had a round face and wraparound sunglasses.”

“The meatball?”

“Didn’t look burly, but his head was roundish. The other man has a thin face and a long black ponytail.”

“You sure he’s a man? The scarecrow’s a woman.”

“He’s a male.”

Karsey craned for the street.

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

“Don’t get involved. Please. These people are dangerous.”

Karsey stopped craning and leered.

“I got a little something something inside for dangerous people. Wanna see?”

“Not today. Thanks.”

I left Karsey at his door, crossed to Josh’s bungalow, and examined the locks. Both the knob and dead bolt keyholes showed the bright golden scrapes of a pick gun. I let myself in with the key.

I had expected Josh’s bungalow to look like Skylar’s apartment, but it didn’t. The living room looked the same, only neater. The soda cans, takeout cups, and fast-food debris were gone. The kitchen counter had been cleared. It was possible the meatball and the scarecrow worked as midnight janitors, but the odds were against it.

I circled through the kitchen and down the hall to the studio. Yesterday’s clutter of printouts and folders stood in a single neat stack. The Post-it Notes sprouting from the monitors and lamps like pink and blue fins had been removed and clipped together. The floor was free of clutter and the table had been straightened. Skylar Lawless still smiled from the poster, licking her gleaming teeth, but something felt off. I studied the studio from the door, trying to figure out what, and finally saw it. The big monitors and audio equipment remained, but the desktop computer and keyboard were missing.

I dug out my phone and called Ryan.

Ryan said, “Yeah, I know. I took it. Easier to go through it here.”

“Did you take anything else?”

“A hard drive. Why, what else is missing?”

I told him about the meatball and the scarecrow.

He said, “No shit? Why didn’t he call the police?”

“Let’s do a video call. I want you to see.”

We hung up and I video-called him back. Ryan held his phone low when he answered, so I saw him from below. He was shirtless and appeared to be in his childhood bedroom. The image instantly jerked sideways to show the computer tower and keyboard connected to a monitor on a small desk.

“See? I brought it home.”

The image jerked back to Ryan.

I said, “I believed you. I’ll pan around the room. Tell me if anything looks different.”

I flip-flopped the camera and gave him a slow tour. I walked him around the table and walls and neatly stacked articles and notes.

He said, “Looks the way I left it.”

I walked him down the hall and slowly around the living room. I lingered over the boxes and furniture and walls and the big flat-screen, and then around the kitchen.

Ryan said, “Dude. Nothing’s missing that I can see. Nothing’s even disturbed. That guy Karsey’s a jerk. He made it up.”

I considered the room and wondered why nothing had been disturbed. The meatball and the scarecrow hadn’t broken in at three in the morning to use the bathroom. I flip-flopped the image so Ryan and I could see each other.

I said, “They were here. Them and at least two others. They’re watching the bungalow, Ryan. Don’t come back, okay? It isn’t safe.”

Ryan squinted.

“What others?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve seen them twice.”

“Why would they watch Josh’s place?”

“Maybe they’re looking for Josh. Maybe for Skylar. I don’t know.”

“This is bullshit.”

Ryan seemed irritated.

I glanced around the room again, seeing the meatball and his friend slipping through the darkness with night vision goggles. It seemed absurd, but two guys in an SUV had tried to kill me. Or scare me.

“How well do you know Josh’s dad?”

“Corbin?”

“Does he have more than one?”