“Too many guns in his house to go frontal.”
“And it’s a tough layout, only one way to his door, way too much time for him to prepare.”
He sat down, tucked a napkin under his collar, chomped, wiped his chin, took another bite. “Delicious. Especially the turkey.”
Two bites later:
“He registered his pistols but not the rifle, so yeah, who knows what kind of arsenal he has in there. Also, your comment about the Unabomber got me thinking. What if he’s also stockpiled lunatic stuff? Grenades, explosives, has the place booby-trapped. So the plan is to box him in the moment we see him. I’ll be there with all the kids.”
I said, “No SWAT guys. Too conspicuous and likely to set off a war.”
“That was my thought. You agree?”
“I do.”
“Any other suggestions?”
“If he’s carrying his rifle or any other weapon, wait until he’s inside the car and you can see that his hands are clear. Then move in as quickly as possible. He’s a planner so maybe not great with surprises.”
He thought about that. “Okay, then, it’s set. I’ll finish this repast and notify the troops about tomorrow.”
He was enjoying a final bite of sandwich when his phone rang.
He listened for a while, gulped with effort, as if the food had dehydrated. Frowned and said, “Okay, time for Tac Four, keep me posted.”
Standing, he pocketed his phone, drew out his police radio, and set it on a tactical band. “That was Petra. Flick just left his house, got in his car, and is driving west on Venice.”
I said, “Did he take the rifle with him?”
“She doesn’t know, too dark. But even if he wasn’t carrying, he could be keeping weapons in the trunk. I’m going to notify the troops then meet up with Petra and Raul.”
“I’ll tell Robin then we’ll go.”
“Forget the plural. You’re staying put.”
I was somewhat prepared for that.
A couple of cases ago I’d gone along on a surveillance and been attacked by a psychotic killer. My body had healed quicker than Milo’s guilt but I thought he’d settled down. Then again, self-blame can be a chronic disease, going into remission then popping up without warning.
I said, “Don’t worry, not a comparable situation.”
“Feels comparable to me. I thought I was being careful by having you stay behind. Who knew the asshole would be coming from the opposite direction.”
“I was outside the car. This time I’ll remain inside. With the doors locked.”
“Forget it, Alex. What’s the point?”
“I’ve been on this from the beginning. Kind of helped develop the suspect, wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh, please.”
“Also,” I said, “you’ll likely want me in on the interview so the more I can observe him, the better equipped I’ll be.”
Flimsy even to my ear, and a total lie. The real reason: I like the excitement.
Milo said, “What if he does have the rifle within arm’s reach and it does turn into a war?”
“I’ll duck.”
“Not funny.”
“Six cops on one suspect who has no idea he’s under investigation? It’ll go smoothly.”
“You and your optimism.”
“Let’s go out to the studio. If Robin objects, I stay here.”
“You’re willing to take that bet?”
“Yup.”
He said, “What if the pooch objects?”
“I’ll risk that, too.”
Fourteen minutes later I was in the passenger seat of the Impala as Milo idled the engine and radioed Petra for the third time.
She said, “This guy drives weirdly. He started off pretty briskly on Venice, then turned north onto Sepulveda and gradually slowed down. I thought he might be looking for something or preparing to stop but he just kept going and slowing, all the way to the Sepulveda Pass, which he just got onto... uh-oh, he has pulled over... just past that two-lane 405 on-ramp... nothing here, why would he — nope, wrong about that, just a momentary stop. He is different.”
Milo said, “Maybe he prepped a weapon.”
“God, I hope not... but you’re right, that makes sense. Okay, I’m appropriately nervous and hanging back — you get that, Raul?”
Biro said, “Totally. I’m half a block behind you.”
“Stay that way unless something changes,” she said. “All right, he’s back in motion. Crawling. The Pass is totally open but he’s doing twenty. Wonder if that’s good or bad.”
Milo looked at me.
I said, “He could be in planning mode and getting closer to his goal.”
He passed that along.
She said, “Okay, we’ll be super-careful. Can you call everyone else and catch them up? I want to concentrate on every move Flick makes.”
Milo said, “Will do, then we’ll set out ourselves.”
“You and Alex? Good. Flick’s for sure not normal. He goes total-freakin’-psycho after we nab him, we could use the help.”
I kept my smile to myself but Milo felt it.
Grinding his teeth, he said, “Don’t gloat,” then he texted Alicia, Sean, and Moe to go on Tac Four and radioed them to keep their phones active in order to stay aware of Petra’s location.
They all lived in the Valley, which could turn out to be a bit of luck, cutting the drive-time if Flick’s northward drive ended up in one of the bedroom communities on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Moe: “Copy, L.T.”
Alicia: “Ditto, L.T.”
Sean: “Ready, Loot.”
Chapter 44
It was nearly eleven when we left.
The best way to access the Sepulveda Pass from my house is to climb up the Glen and hook westward on Mulholland. The trip winds through miles of S-curves and past high-priced housing developments unseen from the road. Beyond that, two churches and a synagogue and a couple of expensive prep schools.
Seeing the schools tensed Milo up even further. “Hope the bastard’s not planning some ugly headline thing,” but when he radioed Petra, she said, “Nope, he’s beyond any access to Mulholland, still on Sepulveda and we just crossed Ventura. There’s that stretch a few miles up where the hookers hang out so maybe this’ll turn out to just be his night for dirty fun... oops, wrong again, he swung right onto a side street called... Green Briar Lane, is hurtling east at... fourteen miles per. Now eleven.”
Milo said, “Sounds like he’s looking for something. Maybe a place he hasn’t been before.”
“Makes sense,” said Petra. “Street’s hilly and curvy and not well lit, I turned off my headlights, am going by the moon and his brake lights.”
Milo said, “All residential?”
“Nothing but. Decent houses, quiet even though Ventura’s not far. One of those places you’d have to know about — okay, he’s down to five miles per... has stopped and pulled over to the south and parked. Turned off his engine, no more brake lights, he’s basically invisible. I’m too far to see the address but it’s the eleven five hundred block of Green Briar Lane. Can someone map it and tell me if it can be approached from the opposite side?”
Alicia said, “On it, Sarge... yes it can but you’d need to exit Ventura on Haig Terrace then take two little short streets that discontinue... Escondido Drive, Ramsey Drive, Ramsey becomes Green Briar maybe a... third of a mile from where you are. You want me to take that position? I can be there in about ten.”
Moe said, “Same here.”
Sean said, “I’m closer... yeah, I see it. I can be there probably in five.”
Petra said, “All three of you do it, Raul and Milo will back me up at this end.”