attacking the house. The men I sent are—”
The old man talked over him.
“What you’re saying is, at some point in the future, not now, but later, when it’s more convenient, you’ll maybe give me a call?”
“It came out wrong. What I—”
The old man’s voice rose. Riley raised a finger, telling Hicks to let him finish.
“I want to know what’s going on. You’ve had her damned kid all last night and all day today! This thing oughta be over, and you’re gonna get back to me?”
Hicks simply told him.
“She doesn’t know.”
Hicks heard the old man breathing, and the breathing scared him. He pushed ahead.
“The marshal told us she didn’t know. Correct? Well, he told the truth. She doesn’t.”
“You think not?”
“I know not. She’s done. She has nothing to offer.”
“Riley, you listening to this?”
Riley said, “Every word.”
The old man snorted.
“Well, here’s what I think. She’s smarter than you. She is holding out, and you have been fooled. A little girl like this, maybe you haven’t been hard enough. Maybe you need to try harder.”
“She doesn’t know. We’re wasting time. Time is our enemy.”
“Riley?”
“Right here.”
The old man was silent for a moment.
“Never mind. You and I will talk later.”
“You bet.”
The old man resumed with Hicks, and now his voice seemed calmer.
“Forgetting the girl for a second, which we’ll return to, what does the highly recommended, professional badass I hired out there in California plan to do now?”
Hicks glanced at Riley, and felt himself flush. His temples throbbed, and his neck hardened to ropes. Riley shook his head, telling Hicks to stay calm, let it go.
Hicks worked up some spit, and took a breath.
“Attack the house. Her house is the only path forward.”
“That bitch had more than one, believe me.”
“The West Hollywood house, where she lived with her husband and daughter.”
“People know this girl is missing. They’ll come around.”
“Already have. And worse, maybe tomorrow, the police will roll in. Then it becomes a crime scene. Available hours remaining? Twelve to fifteen, max.”
“I’m listening.”
“My guys are inside now. First pass, they’ll pull paperwork—bills, files, correspondence, et cetera. Also, phones and computers, anything with a memory. Odds are, if the Ryans left physical evidence, it’s somewhere innocuous.”
“Agreed. But odds go both ways.”
“These people lived off the grid and undercover for twenty-five years. They knew how to hide. They were good at it. Once we secure the paper, we’ll pull the house apart. Garage, attic, air ducts, floors, fixtures, closets, everything.”
“Tonight.”
“Right away.”
“You’re talking more than twelve to fifteen hours.”
“One man has to stay with the girl. That gives me three men in her home, and a guy with a metal detector checking the yard. Maybe she hid a can under a rose bush.”
Hicks hoped the old man would chuckle again, but he didn’t, so Hicks pressed ahead with his case.
“Twelve hours is wishful thinking. One of her friends, she has a key. The friend comes back, we’re done. If the cops roll in sooner, kiss the house and everything in it good-bye.”
The old man grunted.
“All right, then. So do it.”
“Only way to find is to look, and looking takes people and time. We’re short on both. An extra guy could save us.”
The old man paused.
“What’re you getting at?”
“The girl’s gotta go. It frees a man to help clear the house. Simple as that.”
“Whatever she knows goes with her.”
“She doesn’t know anything.”
Now the old man stayed quiet forever. Hicks looked at Riley, and made a should-I-say-something? shrug. Riley shook his head. Wait.
Finally, felt like hours, the old man cleared his throat.
“You’re hot to kill this girl.”
“She’s gotta go sooner or later. Rule Number One. Leave no witnesses. If she goes now, we see a benefit. You see a benefit.”
The old man cleared his throat.
“I appreciate what you’re saying. I do. But you ain’t killing shit. We clear?”
“You hired me to do a job. This is me doing it.”
“She knows, boy. That girl knows everything. Don’t blow it.”
Hicks glanced at Riley, but the man’s eyes were blank.
The old man said, “Riley?”
“Sir?”
“Get Mr. Hicks on his way.”
“Will do.”
Riley lowered the phone, and considered Hicks for a moment.
Hicks said, “What?”
“You should’ve just killed her.”
“You know what? Fuck this. I know what I’m doing. You know I know what I’m doing. That’s why you hired me.”
“He’s been after the girl’s mother for twenty-five years. He has been hating that lady for one-quarter of a century. Think.”
Hicks didn’t get it.
“What?”
“Won’t be as good as killing her mother, but he is a hateful, vengeful man. He’ll kill her himself.”
Riley considered him a little bit