Racing the Light (Elvis Cole #19; Joe Pike #8)(49)

“Find him.”

Kurt closed the gate.





32





I walked down the drive to my car. Nobody tried to stop me. Black helicopters didn’t suddenly appear. The red-haired driver and the bald guy watched me, but didn’t seem interested. I didn’t know what to do and wasn’t sure I wanted to do anything. I sat in my car. I considered Adele’s house and decided I liked it. I saw myself walking back up the drive, ringing the bell, and telling Wendy I quit. I wanted to quit but I didn’t. Being unable to quit was probably a character flaw, but sometimes not quitting was all you had left.

I was wondering what to do when the front door opened. Wendy stared at me for a few seconds, then came across the lawn and the street to my car. She stopped four feet away.

“Josh’s phone can’t be located or tracked so he’s probably removed the SIM card. He hasn’t used it since he disappeared. The only calls made or received during the days prior were with his mother and Ryan Seborg.”

I said, “Okay.”

She didn’t move, so I said it again.

“Okay. Thanks.”

“He’s probably using a burner. It’s clear he didn’t want anyone to know who he was talking to.”

It was clear Josh understood people could access his phone and probably would. And probably had since his parents gave him the phone. I wondered if all the rest of it was clear to Josh and decided it was.

I nodded.

“Yep. Clear.”

Wendy glanced up the street, but still didn’t move.

“He didn’t turn off his phone and use burners because he was involved with a pornstar. He anticipated trouble and planned for it. He didn’t want anyone to interfere.”

I said, “Not anyone. His family. He didn’t want his family to interfere.”

Wendy glanced toward the house. She took a breath and the tension in her shoulders eased.

She said, “It hasn’t been easy.”

“For him or for you?”

Her eyes flashed with something hard.

“I feel for the kid, all right? Josh has never been allowed to be Josh.”

She meant it. I liked her for meaning it.

“How long have you been with them?”

“Long enough.”

She considered the house again.

“These people are genius smart, Cole. Truly genius. So is Josh, by the way.”

“But are they happy?”

The hardness flashed, but a little grin replaced it. The grin looked lonely.

“No comment.”

“I hear you.”

“Whatever they are, they don’t understand their son. She smothers him and Corbin does nothing but criticize and demean. Seems to me Josh wants to grow up, but he’s never been given the chance.”

“So this is him, making the chance?”

She thought for a moment.

“What do I know? I only work here. How about you? You still on the job?”

I nodded.

Wendy Vann said, “Good.”

She turned to go.

I said, “Wendy.”

She stopped.

“Chow Wan Li.”

The corner of her mouth curled with a tiny smile.

“I hear you.”

I watched her cross the lawn, then started my car and idled away. I meandered around Toluca Lake, thinking about Josh and his parents and the guards and a phrase Jon Stone used. These cats lived under so many layers of black they ceased to exist. Yet here they were in Toluca Lake. Maintaining an outwardly normal life must have been stressful when their true lives were hidden by lies. Spies and criminals thrived on lies, but Adele and Corbin had been college professors. Not to say professors couldn’t be liars, but once the Schumachers entered the black, they’d been forced to lie to their parents, their siblings, their oldest and dearest friends, and their child. I wondered if all the lying had driven them apart. I wondered if Adele’s paranoia was the result and the strain had caused Corbin to focus his frustration on Josh. I couldn’t know these things and never would. None of it mattered. Maybe I was just giving myself a reason to continue.

I was heading west on Ventura toward Laurel when Eddie Ditko called. I cringed when I saw his name on the caller ID. I didn’t want to answer. I was tired. I wanted to go home, wash off the day, and sleep. I pulled over and answered.

First thing he said was “Can you hear me? Hello? Goddamnit.”

“Eddie, I’m here.”

“They let you out already?”

“I’m out.”

“Sue’m. A cop farts sideways these days, whiny scumbags bank a fortune.”

“I’m good. What did you find out?”

“Okay, listen. The Sandman helped the Crystal Emperor get built. They had problems out the ass with the planning commission, but once the Sandman stepped in, the problems disappeared.”

“Business as usual. So what?”

“So LWL and Crystal Future have five more projects up for approval and all five are sailing through committee faster than a goose shits buttered bullets. Wanna guess who’s paving the way?”

“Richter.”

“I heard this from two different sources.”

“Meaning what, he’s on the take? They’re all on the take.”