There was no malice in his voice. He was too good a person for that. If I was a pretty good father, Damon was a great son.

“No,” I told him. “Not tomorrow. We’re on vacation, remember?”

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

FOR THE SECOND DAY in a row, I got a disturbing wake-up call.

This one was from Fred Van Allsburg, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office. I had seen the name on organizational charts, but we’d never actually met or even spoken. Still, he treated me with a kind of instant familiarity over the phone.

“Alex! How are you enjoying the vacation?” he asked within seconds of saying hello.

Did everyone know my business? “Fine, thanks,” I answered. “What can I do for you?”

“Listen, thanks very much for making yourself available on Mary Smith yesterday. We’ve got a good jump on this case, and what feels like a relatively functional relationship with LAPD.

“Listen, I’ll cut right to the chase. We’d like you to represent us for the rest of the investigation out here. It’s big, and it’s important to us. And, obviously, to the director. This case is going to be huge, unfortunately.”

I thought of a line from The Godfather: Part III—“just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

Not this time, though. I hadn’t slept much, but I did wake with a clear sense of what this day was going to be about—and it had absolutely nothing to do with Mary Smith, or any other heinous murder investigation.

“I’m going to have to give my regrets on this one. I’ve got family commitments that I cannot turn my back on.”

“Yes, I understand,” he said, too quickly to have meant it. “But maybe we could pry you away for just a while. A few hours in the day.”

“I’m sorry, you can’t. Not right now.”

Van Allsburg sighed heavily on the other end of the line. When he spoke again, his tone was more measured. I don’t know if I was reading him right, but I got a hint of condescension, too. “Do you know what we’re dealing with here? Alex, have you seen the news this morning?”

“I’m trying to stay away from the news for a few days. Remember, I’m on vacation. I need a vacation. I just came off the Wolf.”

“Alex, listen, we both know this isn’t over. People are dying here. Important people.”

Important people? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Also, I’m not sure if he was conscious of it, but he seemed to start every other sentence with my name. I sort of understood the position he was in, the pressure, but I was going to hold firm this time.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “The answer is no.”