Pendaran spun around. His sweaty black hair hung low on his forehead, his eyebrows thick and lowered in disdain. He was powerfully built, his stance now angry. “Who are you?”

Vail pulled out his credential case with the gold badge on the outside. He didn’t bother opening it.

“You OPR?” Pendaran asked. “I was just seeing a source.”

Vail laughed. “That’s it? You’ve been hit for this once before and that’s as creative as you can get? Let me give you a tip: get a better story because the next time OPR comes for you, they’re bringing machetes.”

Pendaran’s eyes darted around the lot before he said, “Why don’t we talk in the car.”

Vail went around to the passenger’s side and got in. “I’m Steve Vail.”

“The guy from headquarters that Stan is supposed to have tried to shoot?”

“Supposed to have?”

“Stan was a friend of mine, and I know he did some out-of-bounds stuff, but shooting at people, that wasn’t him.”

“Money can change people in a hurry.”

“You’d have to prove it to me.”

“Was he a good enough friend that you might want to get something going on the side?”

Pendaran’s head snapped toward Vail. “I hope you’re not saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Actually, I am.”

“Oh no, not me. I don’t know anything about any murders.”

“Weren’t you two partners?”

“On the job, sometimes. And that was all.”

“If you didn’t help him, who else could have?”

“Why don’t you get out of my car.”

“And if I don’t?”

Pendaran smiled viciously. “That would turn a very mediocre afternoon into a very pleasant one.”

“Then, between you and Bertok, that would make you the violent one.”

“Do yourself a favor and leave before you find out.”

“Not the way I would have played it, Vince, but then I never murdered anyone.” Pendaran glared at him, and Vail stared back with an amused calm. “At least not in cold blood.”

Vail got out and watched as the Bureau car sped out of the lot.

SIXTEEN

WHEN VAIL CAME THROUGH THE DOOR OF KATE’S OFFICE, SHE SAID, “Where have you been?”

“Out looking for the guy on the grassy knoll.”

“You think someone else is involved?”

He told her about his time analysis at the tunnel.

She took a moment to consider what he had found. “What about—no, that wouldn’t work.” She took a few more seconds to consider other possibilities. “It sounds like he couldn’t have done it without help.”

“Bertok worked with a guy named Vince Pendaran. He’s got some speed bumps in his personnel file. One of them was Connie Lysander. I just caught him coming out of a full-service massage parlor. I put some angst on him but not enough to get a good read.”

“And?”

“He’s not the right size for the guy that we saw going in the house yesterday, and his walk was different. Just the same, keep his name in the back of your Rolodex.”

“What do you mean, ‘not the right size’? I thought Stan Bertok was the perfect size to play the role of Stan Bertok.”

“Really, I thought he was a little too tall.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Patience, Bannon, all questions will be answered during this afternoon’s field trip. Hopefully.”

“Oh, yeah, this has promotion written all over it,” she said. “This Pendaran, where did you come up with him?”

“Tye Delson.”

“That’s getting to be a regular stop on your little errands list.”

“I’m becoming addicted to secondhand smoke.”

“So, this ride we’re taking, I assume it has something to do with your undetected co-conspirator?”

“Are you ready?”

She pulled on her jacket and tapped her hip, verifying she was armed. “Gun, check.” Tapped the breast pocket of her blazer. “Credentials, check.” She opened her mouth and ran a finger behind her back molar. “Cyanide capsule, check.” She picked up her briefcase. “To the Batcave.”

As they got in the elevator, Vail asked, “What’s going on with Money Search L.A.?”

“For a reality show, it’s pretty surreal. It’s an all-hands production. Kaulcrick and Hildebrand are running it from the major-case room. If they’ve got anything going, I haven’t heard about it.” When he didn’t say anything she glanced over at him. His eyes had become unfocused, and she knew that he hadn’t heard her. She leaned back against the wall and waited. When the doors opened in the basement, he finally looked at her. “Why did the killer pick up his casings after the first three murders but not after the fourth?”

“Oh, I know this one,” she said facetiously. “Because it doesn’t matter. Everything has been matched to Bertok’s gun.”

“I know you can’t answer every little question about a crime, but this one doesn’t seem to be that small to me.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “The more crimes a person commits, the more mistakes he makes. Maybe he got scared off the fourth time. Maybe he couldn’t find it. Maybe he had a plane to catch. Is it really that big a deal?”

“By itself, it’s not. But why pick them up at all? He was leaving the slugs behind, which are much more incriminating and easier to identify.”

“After the first two, we announced that the slugs matched, so the killer knew we could identify the gun. He probably figured if we matched the slugs, why bother picking up the brass?”

“If they didn’t want them matched, then why use the same gun?” Vail said.

“I suppose they wanted everyone to know that they were responsible for all of the killings.”

“Exactly. If they wanted the world to know, why pick up the casings in the first place?”

Kate finally took a moment to consider the inconsistency. “That’s a good question.”

They got to the car, and Vail put his briefcase in the trunk. Kate could see a shotgun case and a long silver-colored pry bar in the trunk. “What’s that?”

“A Halligan. It’s a fire department tool. I like to think of it as an all-purpose key.”

“Just so I’m clear, you intend to use it on a door, not on a person.”

“Where’s your spirit of adventure?”

“And where did the shotgun come from? And more important, why do you think we’ll need it?”

“It’s a new option from the car rental company. They call it their hunter-gatherer option.”

Then she noticed a large square black case that she hadn’t seen since the advent of the Bureau’s Evidence Response Teams. “And an evidence kit?”

“Chance favors the prepared mind.”

“In other words, if you find evidence, you can keep all your hole cards hidden.”

“And to think I was reluctant to bring you along,” Vail said. “Keep it up and I’m not going to let you be my girlfriend anymore.”

“When we get on the freeway, let me know when you get up to eighty so I can dive into oncoming traffic.”

Once they cleared the garage, Vail drove for a while without speaking. Then he said, “Okay, let’s look at this. Why did Bertok go to that house on Spring Street? The money wasn’t there. Nothing was there. It seems like a major mistake, since he used that address to rent a car. Especially after such an extraordinarily well-planned series of crimes.”

“Also a good question.”

“That’s two good questions too many.”

“Can I assume we’re going back to Spring Street?”

“Yes, you may,” he said. “I’m curious about one other thing. How come you’re not helping Kaulcrick find the money.”

“Have you noticed any changes in the assistant director in the last twenty-four hours?”

“I haven’t noticed any changes other than he’s let it become a little more obvious that he has an ego.”

“Well, you’re right, he does have an ego, and usually he’s pretty good at keeping it in check until after he delivers the coup de grâce. But I think he’s getting tired of trying to navigate through your vapor trail. He knows that you and I are working together, so I’m sure I’ll be the last to know anything that might give you an advantage.”