The Prostitutes Ball

Chapter 50.

After the chopper left, we didn't stick around for the L. A. Sheriff's Department to arrive. I called in a Code Four as Hitch sped along Trancas Canyon toward the ocean.

We'd decided against going back up to find the shooter's nest and look for brass in favor of making a move on Diego's ranch.

"I hate what they did to this car. Can't see shit through this busted windshield," Hitch groused, squinting through shattered glass.

"Forget the car. I can't believe all this materialistic bullshit."

"It's not just the car that's got me so bummed. It's also the fact they got to Jamie," he said. "How could he have given me up? The guy was my tight."

"They didn't get to Jamie. Jamie doesn't even know about this unless you blabbed it to him, too."

Hitch looked over at me as he snap-shifted into third and simultaneously took a hairpin turn too fast. His eyes were off the road.

"Watch where you're fucking going!" I yelled.

He looked back, swerved, stayed on the road. "You're right. Of course Jamie's not involved. He couldn't be. Guy loves me. But then how did they know to call us and lure us up there?"

"I don't know. How much did you really tell your dumb-ass agents?"

"Nothing! Do I have to take a damn polygraph?"

I didn't answer, but when he looked over I was probably scowling.

"If we're gonna be partners, you've gotta develop a little trust," he said, sounding pissed.

I snapped my fingers. "Your plates. That security guard at Rancho San Diego. I bet he got your license plate when he followed you down the hill."

"That's gotta be it. Powerful guy like San Diego must have some police connections. He could have run it. My association with Jamie is all over the Internet. Once they knew who I was, one of San Diego's guys could have called me, pretending to be Jamie's assistant."

"Listen, Hitch. We're way behind here. We're chasing this. We need to get out in front."

"Gee, whatever gave you that idea? The five fucking bullets in my car?"

My mind was racing. "We've gotta get back to the PAB fast. We got no time, but we've gotta set up a takedown."

"I'm going as fast as I can," he said, roaring around some slow-moving traffic.

"We've got to hit that horse farm and bust San Diego this morning. That means judges, warrants, even SWAT."

"Exactly!"

We were now on the Coast Highway roaring past Moonshadows. Hitch started to downshift. "Forget my car. Leave it," I said, shouting over the slipstreaming wind.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the office. "This is Scully. Gimme Jeb," I told the probationer on our call desk.

A minute later I had the captain on the line. "Jeb, the Vulcuna case went hot. Hitch and I were just fired on, ambushed up in Trancas Canyon." Then I told him about Diego San Diego and explained what I needed.

"I think this guy is some kind of retired Colombian scumbag," I said. "You need to get Dahlia to start writing warrants."

"What kind of warrants?"

"Anything she can get a judge to sign. Search, arrest, evidence gathering. We need to lock that ranch of his down before he splits."

"Thats kinda vague for a warrant," Jeb said. "You need to give me some probable cause."

I looked at Hitch. "He says we need PC."

"Tell him what those assholes did to my car."

"They dumped six or eight rounds down on us from a hillside with a scoped rifle," I told Jeb. "That's attempted murder of two police officers. We've got some of the slugs with us in Hitch's car. That's gotta be good enough to get us paper. This has to happen now. These guys are shooters so you better notify SWAT. We'll need to use their warrant delivery team."

"I'm on it. Get in here," Jeb instructed. He'd been my boss for several years and I knew he trusted my instincts. I could hear nervous energy in his voice as I hung up.

We raced onto the freeway, made it to the interchange in a miraculous ten minutes.

Then I called Barrv Matthews in Financial Crimes. "We're out of time," I told him. "I'm about twenty blocks away. What have you got for me?"

"I'll meet you in your office in ten," he said. "You got something?"

"Yeah," he said. "Get ready to be very happy."