The Rescue(24)

“I think you said ‘balls’ instead of ‘motivation.’”

“Probably. It’s been a long night,” said Reeves, putting a hand on the agent’s shoulder. “But I dismissed that crazy thought, because that person is locked away in a federal penitentiary—five years from the earliest possible parole.”

“Decker?”

“Decker,” repeated Reeves. “I couldn’t shake the odd feeling that he did this, so I gave Victorville a call.” He paused, surveying the bloody mess before them. “Decker is free.”

“He escaped from prison?” said Kincaid. “Why the hell didn’t they tell us?”

“Oh no. He didn’t escape from prison. He was released from federal custody yesterday morning.”

“Stop. What?” said Kincaid, holding up a hand.

“You heard me. Decker was moved to the detention center downtown in the wee hours of the morning and set free around ten a.m. Just released. Like that.”

“How is that even possible?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” said Reeves. “MDC is forwarding the paperwork. Apparently, the Bureau of Prisons felt Mr. Decker deserved a reduction in sentence based on a compassionate release motion.”

“On what basis?”

“That’s the million-dollar question, to which there are no apparent answers right now.”

“So. Decker is somehow freed,” said Kincaid, “and the guy responsible for ruining his life and murdering his family is kidnapped less than twelve hours later.”

“Not exactly hard to connect those dots.”

“Hard to feel bad about what happened here.”

“Agreed. But his release is problematic. The warden at Victorville swears he never advocated for Decker’s compassionate release or signed any paperwork. The entire process would have originated from his office. He was under the impression that Decker’s transfer related to the trial.”

“The case was dismissed three days before Decker’s release,” said Kincaid.

“Decker’s release papers are obviously bogus, as well as his transfer order. But how? That would take some serious computer ninja action.”

“Not to mention this spot-on intelligence regarding Penkin’s whereabouts.”

“Exactly. I couldn’t have told you where to find Penkin last night, and I run the LA field office’s Russian organized-crime division,” said Reeves, shaking his head.

“The easy explanation is a leak inside the LAPD.”

“Possible,” said Reeves. “It’s not like this place was a secret within certain circles of the North Hollywood division. But that little arrangement has gone on for years, and nobody has been able to crack the code. Like you said, it would still require some targeted intelligence.”

“I don’t mean to be the master of the obvious right now,” said Kincaid, “but we need to find Penkin. Alive or dead, he’ll lead us to Decker.”

“We’re not technically looking for Decker. Not until the Bureau of Prisons posts an escape warrant or a mistaken release document. I wouldn’t expect one of those until tomorrow at the earliest. They have a lot of digging to do.”

“So if we somehow come across Decker, we let him walk?”

“I highly doubt we’ll find Decker, but if we do, we sit on him,” said Reeves. “It’s only a matter of time before his clock runs out, and I intend to be there when it does.”

They didn’t have much to go on. One of the Russians had told a paramedic that the building had been under police surveillance right before the attack. They had supposedly identified a woman in a gray sedan parked farther south on Sepulveda Boulevard. LAPD couldn’t confirm the report, but it was something to keep in mind. Possibly a part of whatever network had sprung Decker.

Besides that, crime scene investigators found a discarded whiskey bottle set against the alley retention wall. Tests were still pending, but the light-brown liquid inside the bottle smelled more like sweetened iced tea than hard liquor. He didn’t expect to find fingerprints. Decker had probably disguised himself as a drunk homeless person to get close enough to the club’s back door to neutralize the alleyway guards. There was certainly no shortage of homeless people stashed into the nooks and crannies of this neighborhood. LAPD and FBI investigators would comb through nearby homeless shelters and tent cities for possible leads.

“Matt,” said Reeves. “Get with LAPD and see if anything unusual took place yesterday from the time Decker walked out of the detention center until now. Focus on murders and missing-persons reports. I have a hard time believing Decker didn’t break a few eggs getting to Penkin.”

“Will do,” Kincaid said before looking around at the carnage. “I have to admit, Decker did a solid here.”

“Decker got lucky. Correction—ten kids got lucky,” said Reeves. “Decker had no idea what he was up against here, or how the Russians would react. They could have blown the kids up, like last time. Bury the evidence.”

“The violence looks pretty contained.”

“Tell that to the families of the kids Decker got killed a couple years ago,” said Reeves. “You better not be going soft on me, right?”

“I’m not. Just glad it worked out the way it did.”