“Lorna’s waiting to hear,” he said.

I looked up at him in the mirror.

“What?”

“Lorna called me while you were inside. She really wants to know what happened with Elliot.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll call her. First let me figure out where we’re going.”

The address of each client — at least the address given upon signing for Vincent’s services — was printed neatly on the outside of each file. I quickly checked through the files, looking for addresses in Hollywood. I finally came across the file belonging to the woman charged with indecent exposure. The client who had come to Vincent’s office earlier to ask for the return of her file.

“Here we go,” I said. “When you get out of here, head down Melrose to La Brea. We’ve got a client right there. One of the ones who came in today for her file.”

“Got it.”

“After that stop, I’ll ride in the front seat. Don’t want you to feel too much like a chauffeur.”

“It ain’t a bad gig. I think I could get used to it.”

I got out my phone.

“Hey, Mick, I gotta tell you something,” Cisco said.

I took my thumb off the speed-dial button for Lorna.

“Yeah, what?”

“I just wanted to tell you myself before you heard it somewhere else. Me and Lorna … we’re gonna get married.”

I had figured that they were headed in that direction. Lorna and I had been friends for fifteen years before we were married for one. It had been a rebound marriage for me and as ill-advised as anything I had ever done. We ended it when we realized the mistake and somehow managed to remain close. There was no one I trusted more in the world. We were no longer in love but I still loved her and would always protect her.

“That okay with you, Mick?”

I looked at Cisco in the rearview.

“I’m not part of the equation, Cisco.”

“I know but I want to know if it’s okay with you. Know what I mean?”

I looked out the window and thought a moment before answering. Then I looked back at him in the mirror.

“Yes, it’s all right with me. But I’ll tell you something, Cisco. She’s one of the four most important people in my life. You have maybe seventy-five pounds on me — and granted, all of them in muscle. But if you hurt her, I’m going to find a way to hurt you back. That okay with you?”

He looked away from the mirror to the road ahead. We were in the exit line, moving slowly. The striking writers were massing out on the sidewalk and delaying the people trying to leave the studio.

“Yeah, Mick, I’m okay with that.”

We were silent for a while after that as we inched along. Cisco kept glancing at me in the mirror.

“What?” I finally asked.

“Well, I got your daughter. That makes one. And then Lorna. I was wondering who the other two were.”