“Has Sean ever talked about living in Los Angeles, what he did out there?” David chewed while he thought about it.
“Not really. He says he’s here on scholarship. He doesn’t have a job but he’s always got money.”
“Is he into drugs that you know of?” Tony thought David flinched at the question.
“He looks a little strung out sometimes. He keeps some pretty crazy hours.”
“Crazy how?”
“I don’t know.” Another shrug. “He comes in at like three or four, goes out that late too, sometimes.”
“He ever say where he’s going?”
“Nah. Like I said, he keeps to himself a lot.” Tony put his hand on the big Samoan kid’s shoulder.
“You’ve been a big help, David.”
“Is it important? I mean, that Karen was checking him out? Do they know each other?” Ray chuckled. “See, I told you all kinds of things would start banging around in your head. Seriously, son, that’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
“David, there’s one more thing we need from you.”
“Sure, whatever.”
“I’m going to give you my cell number.” Tony started writing while he talked. “I want you to call me if Sean starts moving his stuff out or if you see or hear anything…I don’t know…strange.”
David Hong flashed a broad toothy smile. “Davie Hong, agent XXL is on the case, dude.” He gave the detectives a sloppy Boy Scout salute. Ray winced at that. This was serious…serious as death.
“David.” Tony leaned over, scowling.
“This is cool. Like when you were undercover, right Tony? Seriously man, you can count on me. I can do this.”
Tony was behind the wheel. He and Ray were making their way back to headquarters and the squad room. Notes needed to be entered into the crime file, interviews needed to be logged, and they hadn’t checked in with Carol Offord all day.
“Do you think the kid’s solid?” Ray was studying his notebook, ignoring the mysterious mid-afternoon backup on the interstate. He was trying to make sense of Hong’s observations, asking himself question after question, trying to make a link. Had Stuckey simply been into the video game or was he pointedly ignoring Karen Hewes? If he recognized her and was snubbing her, what did that mean? And what was it the kid said, Karen was ‘scoping him out’? Did she just then recognize him? From LA? From whatever happened that night in the bar?
Tony snatched the mic off the dashboard and spoke into it. “Delta-14, repeat last.”
Ray was in the bad habit of tuning out the ongoing chatter on the radio. Tony, on the other hand, was not far removed from being on patrol and was able to keep an awareness of the various crimes and misdemeanors being reported and dispatched in a corner of his consciousness.
“10–30 at 1396 Milton.”
“That’s the Hewes’ address,” Tony said before keying the mic again. “Delta-14 en-route.”
“Copy Delta-14.” The dispatcher replied dryly. Tony toggled the grille lights and siren. Ray reached for the roof light on the seat between them.
“Silent alarm, right?” Ray wasn’t as up on all of the codes as Tony. The siren squawked. Cars and trucks jerked right and left, trying to clear a path for the police car on the packed highway. Tony set his sights on the nearest off ramp and threaded through the meager haphazard path he had to work with.
Once off the interstate Tony set a course for the Hewes’ house and backed off the siren. It wasn’t far. They pulled up behind a K-9 unit that had just arrived. Tony was out of the car first.
“De Luca, I thought you left all this behind.” Officer Carl Younger was an old acquaintance of Tony’s, not really a friend, but they had been at many crime scenes together over the years. Bankston joined them by the K-9 unit, eyeing the big shepherd in the back seat warily. The big black dog was alert and intense but not barking.
“This house-people we have something going with live here.”
“How do you want to do it?” Younger was deferring to the gold badge, letting the detectives decide how to proceed. That and he recognized Ray Bankston…Sergeant Ray Bankston.
“Get a unit in the alley and watch the front. Ray and I’ll see what’s up.”
Carl got the big shepherd out of the car while talking urgently into the mic clipped to his shoulder. He took up station at the front of the house. Ray and Tony headed around the side, through a low chain link gate to the side door to get a look in the back yard.
The house was quiet. There was no one in the yard. The side door was closed and the shade drawn. A patrol car skidded to a stop in the alley behind the fence, next to the Hewes’ garage. Tony trotted over to speak with the officer, to tell him to keep an eye out and both ears open and that he and Ray were going in.
When the shepherd barked Tony whipped his head toward the house. Ray was shaking his head, telling him silently that it wasn’t anything to worry about. Tony strode over to join Ray at the side of the back door. Ray looked calm but his pistol was out, held down by his thigh. Tony stepped to the right side of the door. Ray took position on the left. Tony nodded to him before he rapped on the door frame loudly.
“Mrs. Hewes? Karen? “ Tony shouted. There was no answer. He rapped again. “Mrs. Hewes? It’s Detective de Luca.”
There was a storm door with a lever latch. Tony signaled to Ray to grab it when he pulled it open. Just as Tony reached for the knob the door opened about six inches. Karen peered out, first seeing Ray holding the storm door open with one hand and a matte black pistol in his other, and Tony, his hand still reaching for the knob.
“Jesus!” Karen jerked the door wider and jumped back. Tony edged around, stuck his head in the doorway and scanned the room.
“Are you okay?” He took a cautious step inside, his hand resting on the butt of his pistol. “Are you alone?”
Karen didn’t know what to do with her hands. She brushed back her hair, wrung them in front of her, and finally wrapped her arms around her torso under her chest.
“Did you set off the alarm?”
She nodded her head forcefully. “And I called 9-1-1.” She was a little breathless. Tony looked around for her husband. “There was someone out there.” She pointed toward the back yard.
“In the yard?”
“Yes.” She was still pointing, jabbing her finger toward the window over the sink. “In the yard. A man.” Tony heard footsteps behind him, and a scraping sound. Gary Hewes was crouched in the archway to the dining room, swaying unsteadily. He had a rifle in his hands.
“Whoa! Shit!” Tony held his hands up shoulder high. His face was set, serious and frowning. “Gary, put that god-damned thing down. NOW!”
Gary Hewes looked worse than he had that morning. He was grayer and tired looking, even more wretched and wasted than before. He looked confused and uncertain. He held the rifle, a scoped Remington it looked like to Tony, at port arms. He didn’t look like he had the strength left to shoulder the weapon.
“What’s going on? Karen?” Tony walked over to him and gently took the gun from his hands. Gary relinquished it willingly, as if it had been a burden too heavy to carry in his weakened condition. “What the hell’s going on?” She went over to help him, propped him up, and guided him to a chair.
“There was someone in the back yard, sneaking around.”
“Did he try the door?” Ray moved closer. The pistol had disappeared, exchanged for his notepad.
“No. I don’t think so. I don’t know.”
“Did you recognize him?” Ray worked hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
“No.”
“Sometimes the neighbor kids will cut through the yard,” Gary offered blearily. “After school. Saves ’em a block or two.”
“It wasn’t a neighbor kid!” Karen barked.
“Did you get a good look at him? Can you describe him?” Ray had his pen poised, waiting while Karen wrung her hands some more and looked toward the window.
“He was maybe five ten or eleven. Jeans. Hooded sweatshirt. Gray or tannish colored. The hood was up.”