Or perhaps it wasn’t about burglary or rape. Maybe it was always about murder. He came to kill Tanya and then it all went to hell when the kids came back. Or maybe he’d always intended to kill them all, one by one, when they came home.

Or did Jared hire Coyle to get rid of the family that wouldn’t leave his house?

There were too many possible scenarios, too many maybes.

What they were missing was a key piece of the puzzle, something that would make the picture start to emerge. If they already had that key piece, Eve was too tired to see it or reason it out now.

At the same moment Eve came to that conclusion, Lionel Coyle emerged from the building and got into his Corolla. She got on the radio and alerted Biddle that Coyle was on the move.

Coyle pulled out, turned right leaving the parking lot, and headed south on Deering. Eve pulled out behind him. There was no other traffic on the street, so she stayed two car lengths behind him.

As Coyle turned right onto Saticoy, Biddle pulled in behind him and the two cars moved into the left turn lane at the intersection with Canoga.

Coyle headed south on Canoga for four blocks and then turned right on Sherman Way. At that point, Eve got behind him and Biddle lagged a few cars behind her. Coyle turned left into a parking lot beside a Kentucky Fried Chicken on the southeastern corner of Sherman Way and Topanga.

Eve continued on, turned left at Topanga, and pulled over into a Bank of America parking lot half a block down. Biddle parked on Sherman Way across the street from KFC.

She assumed Coyle was getting dinner and that he’d be heading south on Topanga afterward to go home. If she was wrong, Biddle would pick up the tail again and she’d catch up with them.

Coyle went into the KFC, came out a few minutes later carrying a takeout bag, and got back into his car. He drove out of the parking lot, turned left going westbound on Sherman Way, and then, on the yellow light, turned left onto southbound Topanga. Eve exited the Bank of America parking lot and slipped into traffic two cars behind him.

She alerted Garvey that they were on their way. Coyle headed down Topanga into the hills. Eve turned off at Mulholland Drive and Biddle followed Coyle until he went into the mobile home park. Biddle kept on going, pulling into the overlook farther up Topanga.

Garvey called in moments later to report that Coyle was in his house. Eve passed an unmarked LASD Crown Vic at the corner of Mulholland and Mulholland, manned by Deputy Ross in plain clothes.