“I don’t know. How could I know?”

“What did Darko tell you?”

“He said nothing about this Frank Meyer. He told me he knew where the old man had his son. That’s all he said.”

Pike pressed the muzzle into Grebner’s head. It would leave a perfect, circular mark.

“Did he tell you why the child was with the Meyers?”

“No, just he was going to get the old man’s boy. That is what he say.”

“Darko went with the crew to the Westwood house?”

“That’s what he say. To make sure they not fuck it up. Please-” Pike looked out over the white terrazzo floor and the fine white furniture and beyond the two trussed men with their frightened, watching eyes, to the infinite, hazy sky. Knowing was good.

“Deliver a message.”

Grebner opened his eyes. He had expected Pike to kill him.

“Tell Michael nothing he does or can do will stop me.”

Grebner slowly nodded, staring into Pike’s invisible eyes.

“I think maybe you are a terrible enemy, too.”

Pike holstered his gun and left.

31

PIKE FLAGGED JON TO pick them up, Cole tugging his arm as soon as they were out of the house.

“Refresh my memory. Whose kid is this we’ve been trying to find?”

“Your memory’s fine. She said Darko is the father.”

“Only Darko tells this guy that Jakovich is the father.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t get it. Everything she told us checked out when I spoke with Ana’s friend.”

In the car, Pike explained about Grebner as they drove down the hill, and asked Jon to stay at the scene to follow Grebner in case he left for a face-to-face with Darko. Stone told him it would be no problem, then had a few questions.

Stone said, “This guy Grebner, was he in on killing Frank?”

“No. Says he knew about it, but it was Darko’s play.”

“So he didn’t know if Frank was involved?”

Pike realized Stone was staring at him, and realized why.

“He doesn’t know if Frank had anything to do with the guns or not. He doesn’t think so, but he doesn’t know.”

Cole said, “The guns are in Los Angeles, and Jakovich has them. Way these people keep secrets, Darko may not even know how he got them. He just wants them.”

Stone didn’t say any more. They drove the rest of the way down in silence, but Stone was likely thinking much the same things as Pike. The field of fire was growing confused. Rina hid her baby with her sister to keep him from Michael, or Jakovich hid his child with Ana or Frank for the same reason, which meant Jakovich had a relationship with Rina’s sister or with Frank. Frank and his family were either innocent collateral damage, or Frank was somehow involved with Jakovich in the acquisition of three thousand automatic weapons. Pike thought about these things, but didn’t try to get his head around everything at once. Pike knew how to remain calm during the chaos of combat. He had been trained for it, and had survived withering fire in overwhelming combat situations dozens of times. He had learned to keep his head by thinking about one thing at a time. Access the situation, plan a single action, then commit yourself to that action. A war is won one maneuver at a time.

Pike said, “Let’s talk to Rina again.”

They took their own vehicles to the guesthouse while Jon Stone returned to Grebner’s. The drive to the guesthouse at the far end of the Sunset Strip took only minutes, and then they cruised along the narrow, sun-dappled street to the rental property. Yanni’s truck was gone, and Pike immediately sensed they would find the house empty.

Pike waited for Cole at the gate, then eased along the stubby drive past the front home into the tiny courtyard. All of it vibed deserted and creepy, and when Pike glanced at Cole again, saw that Cole had his gun out, dangling along his leg.

Pike tried the knob, found it unlocked, and went in with Cole behind him. The little guesthouse was cool and pleasant, and smelled of the vining roses.

The single studio was empty. The bathroom door was open, but the light within it out. Pike called anyway.

“Rina?”

“They’re gone. Look. Their things are gone.”

Cole set the bag on the dinette table.

“I’ll see if this stuff gives us anything.”

Cole dumped the contents of the bag, then began organizing a jumble of phones, wallets, and papers.

Pike phoned Walsh as Cole worked, putting the phone on speaker so Cole could hear. When Walsh realized the call was from Pike, she seemed distant and wary.

“Where are you?”

“Doing what I told you I’d do.”

“You were supposed to keep me advised. I want to know what you’re doing.”

Pike knew she was trying to bait him into admitting he found the bug, so he ignored her.

“The guns are in Los Angeles.”

“Where?”

“Don’t know, but the deal is close. I have some information I need to confirm.”

“Don’t just leave me hanging. Where are those guns?”

“Jakovich has them. That’s all I know. You want me to leave it at that?”

“No.”

She sounded defeated, as if needing Pike’s help left her depressed.

“Does Jakovich have any children?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Michael Darko caused a one-year-old male child to be kidnapped, and I have conflicting information about the child’s identity.”

“Jakovich is an old man.”

“Doesn’t mean he can’t have a baby.”

“Jesus, Pike, I don’t know. So what if he does?”

“One of my sources tells me the child is Darko’s child. The other says Jakovich is the father. If Darko kidnapped this kid to force the old man’s hand, it’s blown up in his face. This source tells me the old man has ramped up the war, which means he could unload the guns faster just to get rid of them.”

“Okay, wait-how has he ramped up the war?”

“He’s vowed to kill the kid himself. This takes the child off the table as a bargaining chip, and sends a message to the other Serb sets. The source told me they’re big on messages.”

Pike heard Walsh take a deep breath.

“Is this source reliable?”

“I had a gun to his head, Walsh. How reliable could he be? That’s why I’m calling you-to see if any of this is possible.”

She breathed again, and then her voice was thoughtful.

“Vorovskoy Zakon. You know what that is?”

Pike glanced at Cole, but Cole shook his head.

“No.”

“Started with the Russian gangs back in the old Soviet Union, but it’s all through the East European gangs now.”

“What is it?”

“It translates as ‘thieves in law.’ Vory v Zakone. What they call the thieves code. These people live by eighteen rules, Pike-actual written rules, kind of like a guidebook for assholes. The first rule-rule number one-is that their families don’t matter. Mom, dad, the brother, sis-those people do not matter. They are not supposed to have wives or children. It’s actually written like that, Pike. I’ve read it with my own eyes.”

Pike thought about Rina.

“What about girlfriends?”

“Girlfriends are fine. Have all the girlfriends you want, but marriage is out. These guys swear a blood oath on this crap, and I have interrogated enough of them to tell you they mean it. So if you’re asking me whether Jakovich would sacrifice his own child, I have to say yes. They have these rules, and the rules are enforced. If the rules are broken, the punishment is death. I’m not shitting you. The old pakhans take this stuff seriously.”

Pike nodded, thinking about a man who could do such a thing, and then he continued.

“I need to know about Darko, too. If the child is Darko’s, then my other source is solid. If not, then not, and that business I told you about Darko leaving the country is probably wrong.”

“I’ll check with Interpol. They might have something on Jakovich, but I can already tell you we don’t have the information on Darko. You’re on your own with Darko.”