took a breath, loosened his hands, and called a freelance video stringer named Lex Ramos.
“Lex, Jack Tully, how’re you doing?”
Tully being one of his seven aliases.
Ramos spent most of his time glued to police and EMS scanners, listening for newsworthy accidents and mayhem he could sell to local news outlets.
“Jack T, mah man, what up?”
Ramos sounded like he’d had a few.
“Got a problem, brother. A personal thing.”
“I’ll do my best. How can I help?”
“My girlfriend is freaking out. The cops are all over her neighborhood. Choppers, dogs, the works. Streets are blocked, no one can get up there, and they won’t tell her what’s going on. She’s scared, man. Thought she heard gunshots. Can you find out what’s goin’ on?”
“This is happening now?”
“As we speak. I’m surprised it’s not all over your scanners. The police are everywhere.”
This was the bait. Being a freelance stringer, Ramos sold footage only if he beat local news teams to a scene.
Ramos said, “What’s her location?”
“Los Feliz. North of the boulevard, just west of Vermont. Up in the hills.”
“Yeah, okay. That’ll be Northeast Station. I’ll call you right back.”
LAPD split Los Feliz into east-west service areas. Hollywood Station handled the western end. Northeast Station handled the rest. Ramos would call a contact at the Northeast Station.
Hicks quickly called Stegner.
Stegner answered instantly, his voice low.
“What’s going on?”
Hicks spoke firmly, trying to hide his fear.
“The house is done. Cops are all over it. Air Support. We’re done up here.”
Hicks thought he sounded good. Level. Calm.
Stegner wasn’t.
“Are you kidding me? What the fuck? What—?”
Hicks shut him down.
“Listen. Are you listening?”
Stegner paused. His voice was so soft when he answered, Hicks barely heard him.
“I’m listening. Where are you?”
“I’m safe. We need to move fast now, so listen. You’re gonna have to call Blanch. Tell him everything I’m telling you. Tell him do not come back up here. Do not go back to the house. Okay?”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. Something. I can’t reach Ronson, Stanley, or Wallick. I don’t know if they’re dead, in the can, what. For all I know, the girl is dead. I don’t know.”
“Why dead? What are you talking about, dead?”
“Listen. Pay attention. Go sit on the girl’s house. Watch her house.”
“What?”
“Leave now. You gotta get there right away, but be careful. A shitload of cops might drop on her place.”
“Watch her house? Are you crazy?”
“Listen. We don’t know anything right now. We know nothing.”
“We’re done, man! This thing is over!”
Stegner was getting loud.
“Calm down.”
“Fuck calm.”
“Listen to me. Listen.”
Hicks waited, but all he heard was heavy breathing and silverware rattling in the background.
“I called a guy. He’s gonna find out what happened, and let me know. It shouldn’t take long. We just gotta wait.”
“Wait my ass. If we wait, all we’re waiting for is the cops.”
“We don’t know what happened.”
“The cops happened, man. We’re done. It’s over.”
“Maybe not. If it isn’t, we still have a shot.”
Stegner sounded whiny.
“How can it not be over?”
“What if she isn’t dead? What if, somehow, she escaped? She has nineteen million reasons not to go to the police.”
Stegner didn’t answer. He was thinking.
Hicks said, “A lot of money is riding on this. If we lost some guys, heaven forbid, I pray we didn’t, but if they’re gone, well, our shares are bigger. You want to walk away from money like this? For a couple of hours?”
“Why would she go home?”
“I don’t know, Jason. Maybe she won’t. Maybe she’ll stop by, grab a few things, I don’t know. Maybe she needs account numbers or safe-box keys. All I’m saying is, she might. Right now—now—we have to respond as if she’s alive. Are you with me?”
Stegner was slow with his answer.
“I guess.”
“You know someplace besides her home she’d go?”
“No.”
“Me, neither. So watch her house. Keep your eyes open.”
“What if the cops have her? Or she’s dead?”
“Then it’s over and out. We’re gone. As soon as I find out, I’ll let you know. Okay?”
“I’m not going to sit on her house forever.”
“I don’t expect you to. If the police show up, get your ass out of there and let me know. If the girl shows up, call. I’m counting on you.”
Stegner said, “Mm.”
“Call Blanch. Tell him I’ll be in touch. I got a job for him, too.”
Hicks hung up before Stegner could speak.
Hicks felt better. The first glimmers of a plan were coming together, and the tension faded from his body.
Hicks thought about the girl, and the police across the canyon, and the many different ways the police had come to be there. The