The sentry

36

She had not used her phone in three days, but there was her name, DRU, in the phone's tiny window. That was how he had stored her number in the memory.

Pike opened the phone with delicate care, and answered the same way, thinking it might be Smith or Azzara or one of Azzara's thugs playing around. He stared at Cole as he answered.

"Yes?"

"Willieyouhavetogivehimthemoneypleasegiveittohimhehasmeandhe's-"

The words exploded out of her, but then she was gone, as if her call had been chopped by a headsman's ax.

Cole moved closer.

"Was it her?"

Pike wondered if this was real or another incomprehensible lie.

"Talk to me, Joseph. What did she say?"

"I don't know."

Pike held up a finger, saying wait as he dialed her back, but his call went straight to her voice mail.

"What did she say?"

"She called me Willie. Like she was talking to Rainey. She begged Rainey to give him the money. She said he has her. That's it."

"Who has her, the executioner?"

"That's how it sounded."

Pike replayed her call in his head, her voice as tight as breaking wire. She sounded authentic, but she could have made the call from Azzara's pool, surrounded by cowboy spectators who cheered her acting ability.

Cole said, "Let's call Button. We have to call him anyway."

Pike was already on his way out.

"Dru doesn't know we found them. Let's see if she's still at Azzara's."

"Rose."

Pike stopped at the door, not understanding.

Cole said, "It's Rose. Not Dru."

"If her call was real, then he has her-let's check Azzara's. We can call Button when we know."

Cole didn't look confident, but they went in Pike's Jeep, pushing hard down Laurel Canyon to Sunset, then west to Azzara's. Pike described the layout of the house and the position of the guards as they drove. He nailed a parking spot a block from the Regency billboard, then led Cole to the corner to scan Azzara's street.

"There was a guard in the alley. Another guard was in the Monte Carlo. You see it?"

"The car, yeah. I don't see any guards."

"They're gone."

The Monte Carlo and the Tercel were still in front of Azzara's, but the alley and the car appeared empty.

Cole said, "These guys don't know me. Wait here, and I'll take a closer look."

Cole strolled down the sidewalk as if he were just another pedestrian.

Pike watched the surrounding cars and the alley for movement, but no one appeared as Cole reached the house. He stopped on the sidewalk beside the Monte Carlo, stared at the car for a moment, then motioned Pike closer.

Pike trotted down, knowing something was wrong by Cole's flat expression.

"Look."

Pike saw the body, then moved to the car for a closer look. A man was curled on his side across the front seat as if he were sleeping on a red satin pillow. Hector.

Pike immediately turned for the house.

"Side gates. You right, me left. The back of the house is glass."

They moved without another word, Cole racing across the tiny front yard as Pike headed up the drive. Pike let himself through the side gate and ran to the rear, pulling his.357 from under his sweatshirt. Cole emerged at the far side of the patio as Pike stepped from the side of the house.

The pool was empty. Dru's beer bottle, still almost full, stood on the concrete deck by the chaise. The cowboy who had been seated by himself was sprawled on the patio, his immaculate cream-colored hat upside down three feet away. The big glass sliders were as they had been-pushed open wide so Pike and Cole had an unobstructed view of the carnage inside the house.

Cole made a soft whisper.

"This is bad."

The cowboy from the body shop was seated on a couch, still wearing his hat, but his head was all the way back as if he were staring at the ceiling. A younger man with banger tats was piled up on the floor beside a large square coffee table, eyes open but sightless.

Cole entered the house through the left side of the opening, and Pike went in through the right. A second banger was dead beside the kitchen island and another cowboy lay crumpled outside the powder room door. The cowboy's pants were unbuckled and a black Heckler amp; Koch pistol was on the floor near his body. His bowels had let go, leaving a smell that burned Pike's eyes.

Cole whispered again.

"None of these people got off a shot. No wonder they call him the executioner."

Pike moved past Cole into a hall.

"I'll get the bedrooms, you check the garage. Azzara drives a black Prius."

Pike pushed along a short hall to a bedroom where he found clothes for Rainey and Dru. The next bedroom was set up for the guards, with futons and duffels filling the floor. The last bedroom was Azzara's. Pike swept through the rooms fast, then pounded back to the great room. Cole looked up from the cowboy sprawled on the couch.

"Anyone else?"

"No. The garage?"

"Empty. If Azzara was here, he's gone, but look at this-"

Cole held up the cowboy's wallet, showing a blue-and-gold star and picture ID. The ID card read POLICIA FEDERAL MEXICO.

"Mexican Federal Police. The Federales. What do you think these guys are doing here?"

Pike studied the card.

"You think they're fakes?"

"I don't know. The guy outside and the man by the toilet have badges, too, and they're all packing HKs. Federales carry Hecklers."

Pike shook his head, thinking it didn't matter to him who they were or why they were here or how many of them were dead. The only person who mattered was Dru.

"The limo probably dropped off Azzara and Rainey and the veterano. They found this mess and split. The Tercel's still here, so Rainey went with Azzara."

Cole didn't seem convinced.

"We don't know anything, Joe. Maybe they never came back. Maybe they're having lunch at the beach. Maybe Rainey went with the veterano."

Pike knew Cole was right, but his last best chance was Azzara. Azzara knew what happened here, and Azzara might know how to find Dru.

Cole turned away from the body.

"What do you want to do?"

"Call the police. We'll find Azzara faster with the police."

They called Button from the house. Cole sketched out the bare bones about William Allan Rainey and Rose Marie Platt, and told Button they would give him the rest when he arrived. Button took it pretty well except for one brief exchange.

Cole said, "Because we only found this out an hour ago, Button. Stop wasting time, and come see for yourself."

Pike said, "Hang up."

They waited at Pike's Jeep for the police to arrive. They did not want to be in the house when the first uniforms got bug-eyed by the blood and the bodies.

The passing time felt like ants marching through Pike's veins. Cole spoke once or twice during the time they were waiting, but Pike did not answer. He was thinking about Dru, and why she had called him for help.