‘What is it?’
Covarra held his finger up to silence Salazar as he took in Esteban’s excited chatter.
‘That’s all on that card? No name, no number?’
‘No, boss. I called SoCalGas and they confirmed a technician’s visit had been scheduled.’
‘You’re sure it’s a bomb?’
‘No, but I won’t know until I remove the tape—’
‘Don’t touch it!’
‘I won’t, boss,’ Esteban said with feeling. ‘What do we do?’
‘Stay there. Don’t allow anyone to come to the house. No technicians, no building inspectors, no one. Am I clear?’
‘Si, but what about the bomb?’
‘DON’T YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE GONE OFF BY NOW, IF IT WAS MEANT TO?’ Covarra exploded and hung up angrily.
‘I have to do all the thinking here,’ he complained, glaring at the only other person in the room, Salazar. ‘I am surrounded by fools.’
‘What happened, Snake? There’s a bomb?’
‘DIDN’T YOU HEAR?’ Covarra shouted at him, forgetting that only he could hear Esteban’s call. ‘SOME ONE CAME TO OUR APPLE STREET HIDEOUT AND PLANTED TWO BOMBS THERE.’
Salazar stared at him in disbelief. ‘Bombs? Two of them?’
‘SI. AND THAT MAN LEFT A NOTE THAT I SHOULD CALL HIM.’
‘The bomber? He left a number? How do you know—’
‘DON’T YOU GET IT?’ Covarra grabbed his friend’s shirt and shook him physically. ‘ONLY ONE MAN COULD HAVE DONE THIS.’ He grunted with effort. ‘ONE MAN WHO HAS BEEN AFTER ME. IT’S GROGAN.’
Evening.
Cutter was in the van, his seat reclined as far back as it would go, sipping coffee from a takeout joint.
He had paid Limon off after their return from Apple Street. The driver had waggled his finger at him and warned him never to call or approach him again.
He moved his gear to the SoCalGas vehicle after his accomplice’s departure, figuring the ride was safe enough to use for a while.
Beth and Meg would have ensured its plates will be legit. The company’s logo will arouse no suspicion.
He broke a cookie and stuffed half of it in his mouth. Stopped chewing when it brought back a memory.
Arnedra loved Lin Shun’s desserts. The Chinese American owned a bodega in New York, along with her husband and another business partner. It was her baking that attracted customers from all over the city, however. Those cookies that Beth and Meg gave us … she was into them, too.
Her loss was like a hole in his heart, a vast emptiness that he knew from experience wouldn’t ever be filled. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them, his detached self was back.
He was wiping his fingers on his jeans when his phone buzzed.
‘Yeah?’ he answered, without checking the screen. He knew who was calling.
‘I’LL KILL YOU—’
‘Don’t you think that’s repetitive?’ He cut off Covarra’s low hiss. ‘You live in LA, the center of the entertainment world. Movies are made here. You can’t come up with some better lines?’
He grinned when he heard the gangster grinding his teeth. ‘You won’t kill me,’ he told the Street Front leader coldly. ‘You don’t know where I am … heck, for all you know I might be looking down at you through a scope.’
He chuckled when he heard the gangster draw a sharp breath.
‘Relax. I don’t want to kill you. Not yet. I want something from you.’
‘What?’
‘First, those bombs. If you or your men touch them, or bring someone, they’ll go off. I can see and hear everything through that camera. I’ll know if you try to tamper with them. You know what will happen if they go boom. You’ve got product there, don’t you? Imagine those baggies burning. Say, how’re you getting on with the Juarez Cartel? Have you managed to pay them—’
‘WHAT DO YOU WANT?’
Cutter winced at Covarra’s scream and held the phone away from his ear.
‘Where do the Armenian Bros keep their product?’