by Bill Sage
“What?” Al whispered, barely awake. It was 1:33 in the morning and he was in bed.
“They’re moving it.”
Still not up to speed, Al asked, “What…? The Toyota?”
“I can see it on the tracking device. Looks like they’re heading toward LA.”
“This is the break we’ve been waiting for.”
“It’s gonna lead us right to those assholes.”
“I’ll get dressed. Come over here.” Ordinarily, Al didn’t want Lopez involved in actions that could turn violent, but this was an emergency.
Al put on a shirt and Levi’s, then his old army Corcoran jump boots. After dressing, he called Ben, told him what was happening.
“Be on standby,” Al said. “We’ll call you once we pinpoint the location.”
Ben said, “Why does this shit always happen when Jake’s not around?”
Al laughed, then they hung up.
By this time, Linda was waking up. “What’s happening? Are you leaving?”
“Lopez has been tracking down some leads. One of them needs immediate attention. Ben and Hack are too far away, so I gotta go with him.”
“No, you don’t.”
“It’s an emergency. Believe me, I’d rather stay here with you.”
“Honey, I don’t think you should go.”
“I gotta. That’s it.”
He put on a lightweight jacket and waited outside for Lopez.
A few minutes later, Lopez pulled up in his Ford Ranger.
“Where are they now?” Al asked, getting in.
“Looks like they’re close to West Hollywood.”
Al saw Lopez’s 9mm Beretta automatic lying on the seat. Al had his Walther PPK/S tucked in the small of his back.
An hour later, they were in West Hollywood creeping down Verdugo Street looking for the Toyota. The block was full of apartment houses, not many streetlights.
“There it is,” Lopez said, pointing.
It was parked in the middle of the block under a tree. Lopez parked in a space across the street. Al got out and walked over to the Toyota. After touching the hood with his fingers, he looked through the driver’s window, then circled around and looked in from the other side.
“It’s warm,” Al said, getting back in the pickup.
Lopez nodded.
“Nothing inside,” Al added.
“There’s a million apartments around here. They could be in any one of them.”
“We’ll just have to wait it out.”
They settled back in their seats, keeping their eyes open.
Al was glad Lopez was with him, an experienced hand. Most of the time, they just sat there without talking. Al was doing his best to keep from dozing off.
A half hour later, Lopez said, “I could use some coffee, something to eat.”
“Okay, I’ll wait here,” Al said, stepping out of the Ranger.
“You packin’?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I don’t think anything is gonna happen at this time in the morning.”
Nodding, Lopez said, “I’ll hurry anyway.”
As Lopez was getting ready to drive off, Al said, “Hey, while you’re out, call Ben. Tell him to get over here.”
Waiting for Lopez to return, Al stood across the street from the Toyota, one apartment house down. It was 4:03 AM, no one around.
A short while later, Lopez returned. Al got back into the pickup.
“This coffee is boiling,” Al said, taking a sip. “It’ll burn your mouth.”
“Wait a few minutes.” Then Lopez handed him two Snickers. “That’s all they had.”
“Better than nothing.”
“I called Ben,” Lopez said. “He and Phil will be here in about an hour.”
“Now we sit and wait.”
When Ben and Phil showed up, they parked across from Lopez and came over to Ranger. After touching base with Al, they returned to Ben’s Suburban. After that, all four of them waited in their vehicles, taking turns getting some shut-eye.
The minutes ticked by, but they didn’t see anyone come out of any of the apartment houses, let alone, head over to the Toyota.
Lopez said, “It’s still too early for people to be leaving for work.”
Al didn’t respond. He already knew that.
“I can’t wait to see those guys come out with Ash,” Lopez said. “They’ll never leave here alive.”
But Al thought that unless the kidnappers were changing locations, they wouldn’t be bringing Asher outside. He put his hopes on grabbing one of the kidnappers when he was getting into the Toyota. Then they’d force him to take them to where they had Asher.
It was still dead quiet out there. Half dozing off, Al was thinking that staking out the Toyota was a lousy way of spending the morning. Not like sitting at the kitchen table with Linda in her white terrycloth robe, drinking freshly brewed coffee.
He loved that robe. Wouldn’t let her throw it out. And he thought she looked great without makeup. Those were the two things he looked forward to every morning.
Finally, some people started coming out of the apartment buildings. One by one, they got into their cars and drove off. Al assumed they were going to work.
But no one came close to the Toyota, except a young guy wearing a security guard uniform. At first, it looked like he was heading directly for it. But as he came closer, he walked right past it and got into a white pickup across the street.
The adrenalin rush they felt watching the security guard was their only excitement until Al noticed a young couple making their way over to the Toyota. He’d seen them come out of one of the apartment buildings’ front gate and was keeping his eye on them.
Nudging Lopez, Al said, “Look at these two.”
The guy was a hippie-looking dude with a ponytail and tattoos. The girl’s blond hair was parted in the middle and she was wearing tan work boots.
Al said, “Those boots… That’s what they’re wearing.”
Lopez nodded. Then as they came closer, he said, “Nice ass.”
Hearing Lopez’s ill-timed comment, Al had to laugh to himself. It seemed out of place. Yet at the same time, Lopez was pointing out something that deserved attention. And who said there were ironclad rules for what you could say on a stakeout?
More importantly, Al could see he was right.
Ben and Lopez exited their vehicles and got into position close to the Toyota. Al and Phil got out too, but they stood by the passenger door of the Ranger. They were backup.
When it looked like the hippie couple was going to get into the Toyota, Ben and Lopez walked rapidly over to them. Al and Phil headed for the car parked behind the Toyota and waited there in case someone else came out.
24
AS THE HIPPIE was opening the driver’s door, Lopez took hold of his shirt and slammed him against the window. Then he spun him around, got in his face.
“Where you keeping him?” he demanded.
The girl gasped. Ben took hold of her arm and moved her back a few feet. “Keep quiet and you won’t get hurt,” he said, closing his grip on her arm.
She looked at him with frightened eyes. Nodded.
The hippie froze, fear in his eyes. “I think you have the wrong guy, dude. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t,” Lopez said, digging his fingers into the hippie’s cheeks, forcing his mouth to gape open.
The hippie tried to wiggle out of Lopez’s grasp, but that wasn’t a smart thing to do. Lopez gripped his ponytail and rammed his head down on the roof. “Take us to the apartment or I’ll bash your head in,” he hissed in his ear.
Then Lopez spun the hippie around, so he faced away from him. Twisting his knuckles around the hippie’s ponytail, Lopez pushed him in the direction of the apartment building.
“Move,” he said, marching him to the front gate.
Al and Phil fell in behind them, followed by Ben and the girl.
Inside the courtyard, they walked past the swimming pool and headed for the stairway. “How many are up there?” Lopez snarled.
“There’s nobody. It’s empty.”
“We’ll see.”
They walked up the stairs to the second-floor and then over to the rear of the building. Coming to the hippie’s apartment, Lopez ordered him to open it.
The hippie clumsily slipped his key into the lock and opened the door. Lopez pushed him through the doorway and followed him inside.
Holding his 9mm in one hand and the hippie’s hair in the other, Lopez stiff-armed him into the bedroom. Ben stayed with the girl; Phil and Al immediately spread out into the kitchen and bathroom.
After a few seconds, Lopez came back into the living room and sat the hippie down on the couch next to the girl. “Watch him,” he said to Ben as he went into the kitchen where Al and Phil were.
“Shit,” Lopez said. “There’s no one here.”
Phil said, “Yeah, but he could know where they are.”
Looking at Al, Lopez asked, “The usual?”
Nodding, Al said, “I’ll start with questions about the car. That could be dispositive.”
Lopez shot Al a pained expression. “You gotta use that lawyer talk? Even here?” Then he laughed.
Smiling, Al said, “Follow my lead.”
Lopez nodded.
They all went to the living room and stepped over to the couch.
Standing a foot in front of the hippie, Al asked, “Where’d you get that Toyota?”
“It’s not mine. If…if you want it, it’s yours. You can have it.”
Al glanced at Lopez and nodded.
Lopez grabbed the hippie’s throat. “Where’d you get it?” he growled.
“I stole it.”
“From where?”
“Off a street in Newport Beach.”
Everything went dead. Al and the others glanced at each other; disappointment written all over their faces.
They don’t know anything about the kidnapping.
Before Al could say anything, Lopez bent down and yelled, “Whaddaya mean, ‘a street in Newport Beach’?”
“Liddy and I drove around there after midnight, looking for cars. We saw the Toyota was damaged and just sitting out there. I thought it’d be easy pickings. Wasn’t even locked.”
“Is this your place?” Al asked.
“Yeah, Liddy’s and mine.”
“Liddy, what kind of car do you have?” Al asked.
“I have a VW van. It’s parked outside. I’ll show you.”
“That light-blue one across the street?” Ben asked.
“Uh-huh.”
Pointing at the couple, Al said, “Both of you stay put.”
Then he motioned for Ben and the others to go into the into the kitchen. Phil stayed with the couple, keeping an eye on them.
Ben said, “They’re not connected. It’s separate shit.”
Al nodded his agreement.
Lopez whispered, “What do you wanna do? With them…?”
“I think if we left them alone, they’d be grateful,” Al answered. “And, what can they do, anyway?”
Ben and Lopez nodded.
“Ben, stay with them. Keep them up here for a few minutes.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Ben said. He picked up a kitchen chair and brought it into the living room. Turning it around so the back was toward the couch, he straddled it, facing the hippie couple.
“Just stay put,” he told them.
A second later, Al and the others came into the living room.
Al said, “That’s my Toyota. You can have it. It’s my gift to the both of you. Sell it, get some money for dope or more tattoos.”
The hippie said, “Right on, right on, dude.”
Then all but Ben left.
As the others were leaving, Ben told the couple, “We’re staying up here for a few minutes. He’s gonna get some personal items out of the car. Just relax, then I’ll go.”
They didn’t say anything, just stared.
“When we leave, you can go to the beach or look for other cars to steal,” Ben added. “Understand?”
They both nodded.
Downstairs, Phil removed the tracking device. Then, after Ben came down, they all piled into their cars and got out of there.
Driving away, Lopez said, “Lucky no one got hurt.”
“Yeah, good they didn’t panic or get out of control.”
“A real piece of shit,” Lopez groaned, frustration in his voice. “I had high hopes.”
Al didn’t respond. But he was thinking, Everything is turning to shit.
“It was a wild goose chase…,” Lopez muttered.
Al sighed, then leaned his head back against the headrest. “Something will turn up. It always does.”
“Yeah, we’ll just have to wait.”
Roth wondered how much Lopez really believed that. I’m starting to have my own doubts.
25
AFTER GOING HOME and getting some rest, Lopez spent the rest of the day sitting around the house, watching TV or reading.
“You need to stop running around with Al at night,” Alondra said. “It’s killing you.”
Nodding, Lopez said, “I know. You’re right. But keep in mind what happened when your brother was arrested for getting drunk and slugging that guy. Al came through for us.”
Alondra didn’t have anything to say.
“It works both ways,” Lopez added. “And Al is my best friend. He’d do anything for me, and I’d do the same for him.”
Sighing, she walked away.
In the late afternoon, Lopez kissed a sullen Alondra goodbye and drove to Sam Miller’s house in Dana Point.
He arrived at around 4:30 PM and parked across the street. His plan was to wait for Miller to come home and then tail him if he went somewhere. If Miller was involved in the kidnapping, it could lead them to Asher.
It was Roth’s last hope.
After coming up dry running the Toyota’s plate and the VIN, he wasn’t enthusiastic about doing another stakeout. And the fiasco with the two hippies was demoralizing. Rubbing salt in the wound, sitting in a car by himself had never been his idea of fun.
Two things kept him going, though. One was Al was depending on him. He couldn’t let him down. The other was he’d be the first to know what Miller did. Would he leave his house? If he did, where would he go? And the big question—would it lead to Asher?
After about an hour, people were starting to come home. Two guys pulled into garages across the street and a woman parked in her driveway.
Ten minutes later, a newer burgundy Volvo crept down the street and turned into Miller’s driveway and parked in the garage. Lopez got a slight glimpse of the driver. A burly blond guy, wearing a gray sweatshirt.
Now the long wait began.
Lopez brought a flashlight and a paperback. My Life with the Purples, by Bill Wise. It was the book he’d found in the Toyota. He’d read a few chapters and liked the author’s writing style. It reminded him of the way Al wrote.
Before Lopez left his home, he’d sliced two bagels and smeared them with cream cheese. Those and a thermos of coffee and he was all set for the evening.
An hour into the stakeout, just after taking out a bagel, Lopez saw Miller’s garage door swing open. He put the bagel on the seat and readied himself, but Miller wasn’t getting into his car. He was walking across the lawn to his next-door neighbor’s. A short while later, he walked back, carrying a hedge trimmer.
Is he borrowing it or getting it back?
When he caught himself thinking about that, Lopez knew he was getting too old for this stakeout gig. That kind of thinking wouldn’t have crossed his mind when he was with the LAPD.
But Lopez was still on his game. He noticed something Miller didn’t do. After putting away the trimmer and going inside, he didn’t close the garage door. So, although Lopez was hungry, he put the bagel back into the bag. Waited.
His hunch
was right.
A few minutes later, Miller came into the garage again. But this time, he opened the Volvo’s door and got in. Backing out, he drove toward Pacific Coast Highway. Luckily, Lopez had parked in the right direction, so he pulled in behind Miller without having to make a U-turn.
Miller headed for the freeway entrance near Dana Point Harbor. Lopez tailed him, one car length behind and in a different lane.
He’d done this hundreds of times.
When Miller got to the freeway, he went north toward Santa Ana. Twenty minutes later, he merged onto the 55 Freeway, going toward the beach cities. A short while later, Miller took an offramp in Santa Ana. He turned onto Grand, then made a right on Boyd, ending up at All States Paving Company.
Miller parked in front and went inside.
Lopez camped out in a parking space across the street. It was behind a trash bin, but he could still see the front door. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was 7:06 PM.
Alondra’s probably watching TV now.
Smiling, he opened the paper bag and unwrapped one of the bagels. Took a few bites then drank some coffee. He was enjoying the bagel, except he wished he’d put more cream cheese on it.
Before he met Al, he’d usually brought tortas. Now it was bagels with cream cheese. It all started when Al was a DA and went on a stakeout with him. Al brought a bagel; Lopez a torta. They switched.
Al was happy to try something different. He told Lopez he loved the torta and never went back to bagels.
Boyd Street was dead. Other than an occasional dog barking, the only sounds came from a dive bar on the end of the street. The cop in Lopez wanted to look inside. See if he could spot any drug use or sales. Or maybe hookers were working the place.
But the retired, married man in him wanted to stay put and not take any unnecessary risks.
It didn’t take long for him to wolf down both bagels and drain the thermos. He wished he could have a cigarette but knew that was out of the question. The red glow could alert someone looking out of the window.
Bored out of his mind, he looked forward to going home and crawling in bed with Alondra. Then she wouldn’t worry. He knew she thought he and Al took too many chances when they did things together. So, she usually read or stayed awake until he came home.
