He was shaking his head before I finished.
“No way. I’m not ready.”
“They’re investigating her murder.”
“I know who murdered her. When I finish my show the whole world will know.”
My head was starting to ache.
“How long will this take?”
“Not long. I need to get with Ryan, cut it together, balance the levels, mix it, make it sound pretty—”
I stopped him.
“You can’t go to your bungalow.”
“Why?”
“They’re watching it.”
“So have your cop friend arrest them. I need my equipment.”
The ache was spreading to my eyes.
I took out my phone and showed him pictures of Donghai An Bo and the scarecrow.
“They work for Chow Wan Li, the president of Crystal Future Hospitality Group.”
“Tarly’s partner.”
“The male is wanted for two homicides in Shanghai by the People’s Police. I don’t have a name for the woman. They planted surveillance devices in your bungalow. They’ll know if you go.”
Josh seemed puzzled.
“What kind of surveillance devices?”
My head was pounding.
“Chinese surveillance devices. I don’t know. They’re bugs. They bugged your house.”
Josh said, “Interesting to know.”
Interesting.
“Here’s the deal. They don’t know where you are or what you’re doing. They want to know where you are. They want to stop you from doing whatever you’re doing. So you can’t go back to your bungalow.”
Josh frowned. He squinted at me, worked his lips, and looked away. He finally looked back and nodded.
“You might as well take me to my mom’s. I’ll have Ryan bring over his stuff. We’ll cut it in my old bedroom like we used to.”
“And you’ll share it with the police when it’s finished?”
“We’ll see. I need to get my car.”
“Wendy can get it.”
He dug out his phone to call Ryan and I called Wendy.
“Guess who.”
“You jackass. What did you do with him?”
“I’m bringing him home.”
She was saying something when I hung up.
It took forty-two minutes to reach Toluca Lake. Ryan was sitting on the lawn with a backpack. Josh perked up when he saw him.
“Ryan’s here with his stuff.”
Adele and Wendy came out of the house as we parked. Kurt appeared in the drive, as immaculate as ever. Adele put her fists on her hips and shouted so loud the neighbors could hear.
“Damnit, boy, this will not do!”
Josh muttered as we got out of the car.
“You see what she’s like?”
“I’ll touch base soon. The police are looking for Chow and his thugs. You won’t have to sweat it much longer.”
“I’m not sweating it.”
Josh gestured at Wendy and Kurt and the people with earbuds.
“Look at this crew. We have more security than ten presidents.”
Maybe they did.
Adele continued watching us with her fists on her hips and seemed to be getting impatient.
“What did your parents do, exactly?”
Josh seemed surprised by the question. He glanced at his mother before he answered.
“They reverse-engineered alien technology. Gravity amplifiers and phase generators, mostly. From crashed UFOs.”
I stared. Josh stared back. Then he grinned.
“Dude, really? I gotta finish my show.”
He and Ryan walked up the drive as I climbed into my car. I had been hired to find Joshua Schumacher. I had. My work was done. The job was finished. Mission accomplished. I should have felt a sense of closure but I felt apprehensive and tired. I looked at my phone, but the looking was wishful thinking. Lucy hadn’t called. I wondered what I’d find at my home. Maybe I wouldn’t go home. Starting the car was beyond me, so maybe I’d just sit outside Adele Schumacher’s house for the next few years. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with what I’d find at my house.
I remembered Kimmie Laird. In the time it took to bring Josh home I had totally forgotten. Maybe my brain was fried. I called Lou Poitras.
“Your boy Philburn came through. Dana hit him with a vehicle six-pack and he fingered the sedan. Good work.”
“What about the people shots?”
“Meant nothing, but the vehicle hit helped. Turns out LWL filed a stolen vehicle report two days ago.”
“Only two? How coincidental.”
“They’ve begun covering their tracks, which is bad. If we could find the vehicle, we can check it for the girl’s DNA.”