She closed her eyes, felt her heart beat slow heavy beats. “I miss you too.”

He wanted to keep talking to her, but his office phone buzzed. “I’ve got to go. Please, sweetheart, you take care of yourself. We’ll get through this, I promise.”

“Okay.”

As soon as he’d punched off, he barked into the phone, “Yeah?”

His secretary, Mulhouse, just Mulhouse, thank you, said in her scratchy smoker’s voice, “The D.A.’s on the line, Chief. He wants to meet you at Marci Maynard’s house.”

“Got it.”

When Jack pulled into the Maynard driveway ten minutes later, John Goddard waved him over to the living room window.

FORTY-SIX

Malibu

At Monte’s, just off PCH, Elizabeth and Lou Lou waved Mary Lisa to their favorite back booth. They were talking to a couple of people, who greeted Mary Lisa when she came in. It was ten minutes before they were finally alone with three Diet Dr Peppers on their table.

Elizabeth said, “Okay, Mary Lisa, what is this about?”

Mary Lisa raised her soda and clicked it to Elizabeth’s glass, then to Lou Lou’s. “It’s something I mentioned before, but I didn’t act on it because everything happened all at once.” She sucked in a deep breath. “But I’d like to now, and I need your help.”

Elizabeth gave her a reporter’s stare. “Help with what, exactly?”

Mary Lisa sat forward, lowered her voice. “You were an investigative reporter, Elizabeth. You know all about how to run an investigation, how to dissect evidence, how to break a story. You’re really smart. Lou Lou and I are smart too, but we don’t have your experience, your way of looking at things. I hate to admit this, but Detective Vasquez isn’t getting anywhere. He can’t find Jamie Ramos and there isn’t anything more for him to do unless this crazy tries to kill me again. I’m going to get an ulcer if I just wait around for him to try again because next time he could succeed. I’m tired of being paralyzed with fear, Elizabeth. I want you to help me find him, not wait around like a helpless wuss and hope I survive next time.”

Both Lou Lou and Mary Lisa looked at Elizabeth while she tapped her fingernails on the tabletop. She said slowly, “You’ve held up remarkably well so far, but I can see you’re near the edge, and you have a right to be. We could hire a private investigator, Mary Lisa. I’ll bet the studio would instantly provide you with private security guards. All you’d have to do is ask. Or you could take a leave of absence. Understand, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just that directly involving ourselves could be dangerous, more dangerous than it is now.”

“I can’t think of a single way it could be any more dangerous. Look, I’m already doing something to protect myself-I’m taking karate lessons. Elizabeth, you went on TV about the van and Jamie Ramos. But it’s not enough. Would you at least help me do something else to protect myself?” Mary Lisa cut her eyes to Lou Lou. “Are you in this with me, Lou Lou?”

Lou Lou never hesitated. She covered Mary Lisa’s hand with hers. “All the way.”

“Okay, would you teach us how to shoot, how to use a handgun?”

Elizabeth looked closely again at the women she’d considered her best friends for some time now. Every day that passed without someone on the radar was a danger for Mary Lisa. Lou Lou knew that too and it was driving her nuts. “Okay, you guys, I’m in. We’re all in this together?” At their nods, she raised her glass, clicked it to Mary Lisa’s and then to Lou Lou’s. The three of them drank silently.

Elizabeth continued. “Teaching you to shoot is no problem. We can get you started right away. Do either of you know anything about guns?”

“Nope, not a blessed thing,” Lou Lou said and Mary Lisa nodded.

“Okay, you know I have a permit to carry a handgun, but I’m not about to pull it out of my purse and freak everyone out. It’s not easy to get a permit in L.A., but you’re a celebrity, Mary Lisa, and there have been attempts on your life. I’m sure you could get one, and with Daniel’s help, maybe quickly. The first thing we need to do is get you to a gun shop.”

Mary Lisa asked, “Can Lou Lou and I buy a gun right away?”

“By law you’ll need to take a handgun safety course first. Takes about an hour, and I can ask Frank Reynolds, an old friend who owns the gun shop I use in Calabasas, to make time to give you guys one. We might be able to head over there now and get you some practice on the firing range.”

Mary Lisa said, “Perfect. What kind of gun should we get?”

“I carry a nine-millimeter SIG Sauer P239 semiautomatic. The P stands for personal, which means it’s small and light, and there’s not much recoil. The clip or magazine holds seven bullets.”

“What does nine-millimeter mean?” Lou Lou asked.

“Nine millimeters refers to the caliber-the size of the bullet. About a third of an inch. There are more powerful rounds, but if you aim it right, it’s enough to stop anyone.

“We’ll get you started at the firing range with the basics, like aiming at the largest part of an assailant who’s coming at you. Almost all shooting with a handgun is very close up. Of course a live person is more difficult than a target because live targets move around and they can shoot back.”

Mary Lisa said, “Yes, I understand that.”

“And respect, guys. You’ve got to respect your gun and you’ve got to respect what it can do.” Elizabeth searched both their faces, then nodded. She made a call on her cell, closed it, and tossed a ten on the table. “Okay, Frank says we’re on. Let’s head over to the range in Calabasas. You’re going to feel like Bruce Willis by tonight.”

FORTY-SEVEN

At midnight, after she’d gone over her lines for the next day so many times Mary Lisa figured she’d recite them in her dreams, she snuggled down, exhausted and mellow after an hour in the immense hot tub at Carlo’s house six doors down the street. Elizabeh had called her a natural at the firing range and surely that had to count for something. Though she felt tired, she found she couldn’t sleep-her mind kept churning, wouldn’t quiet down. And Jack was there, always there, and she marveled that he’d come into her life at such a time. Well, if she couldn’t sleep, it only seemed right the sexy bozo in Goddard Bay shouldn’t either. She dialed Jack’s cell number.

He answered on the fourth ring, his voice low and irritated. “If this isn’t an emergency, I’m going to bust your ass.”

“What if this were your mother?”

Silence, then, “You’re right. Not cool. What’s up, kiddo?”

“Has Detective Vasquez called you?”

“No. What happened?” His voice was alert now. She suddenly saw him sitting up in bed, chest bare, a sheet pulled up to his waist, or maybe it was real warm tonight in Goddard Bay, and he didn’t need a sheet. Maybe he was lying there, all sprawled out, every lovely inch of him nice and bare.

“Mary Lisa, you there?”

The picture tube in her brain went blank. “No, nothing’s happened. I thought Detective Vasquez might have told you something. You know, cop to cop. I know it’s late, but I couldn’t sleep. Another thing, I called you earlier this evening only you didn’t answer. What’s up? Where were you?”

His voice changed subtly. It was lighter, with a hint of amusement she immediately distrusted. “I was busy tonight and turned my phone off.” She could see that sexy grin of his, see it clear as day. “Now don’t think I didn’t check my messages, I did. I mean if someone had capped you, Daniel would have called a dozen times and I’d have called him back. Is that okay with you, Mom?”

“No, not okay, you jerk. Where were you?”

“Speaking of moms, did you know I ran into your mom this afternoon near the station? She actually stopped me in my car to tell me to keep away from Kelly, that her little darling was fragile and didn’t need me messing with her. Isn’t that a corker?”