Tired of the conversation and wanting to move things along, Cyrus reared up and let loose with an unholy bark that literally shook the ground. He moved from Jack’s side and nosed Hershel’s leg. The old man leaned over and ruffled the dog’s ears. “Now this is one mighty fine handsome animal you have here. I’ve been thinking about getting a dog to keep me company on the porch. Sometimes it gets lonely out there. Is there anything else, young fella? I hate letting all that hot air in here.” Then he winked at Jack and screwed his face into a tight grimace. Cyrus threw back his head and howled as he pawed at Jack’s leg. To Jack, it was a clear sign Cyrus wasn’t buying the man’s story either.

Jack winked in return to show he got it. “Nope, it works for me, and you’re right, no sense letting all this hot air inside. Take it easy, Mr. Hershel. We’ll check on you when we do our second round for the wellness check.”

“Nice meeting you,” Hershel said before slamming the door shut with what Jack thought was a little too much force.

“Someone is in there,” Harry said.

Jack’s eyes narrowed. “What was your first clue?” he asked just as his cell phone rang. A moment later, Harry’s phone rang. Both men looked down at the numbers for the incoming calls.

“Little Jack. I’ll take it later. We need to move like now,” Jack said.

“It’s Ted,” Harry said, mouthing the reporter’s name. As they moved away, with Cyrus in the lead, they could all hear Harry’s end of the conversation, which was, “Stay the hell away from Lizzie’s house then. Nine or ten Harleys translates to nineteen or twenty gang members. Make your way back to the boulevard and park in the Chinese restaurant’s parking lot. We’ll meet you there. We’re wrapping it up here.”

“What?” Jack demanded as he tried to think about why Little Jack was calling him so early in the day.

“Ted did a Google Earth check and said he saw nine, possibly ten, Harley Davidson motorcycles hidden in some brush a mile or so from Lizzie’s house. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know what that means. To me, it means the Scorpions are holed up in Lizzie’s house. Either nineteen or twenty of them. Possibly more. What do you want to do, Jack?”