“This isn’t a request, it’s an order.”

“He told me—and I quote—‘I fucking hate my parents. Don’t call them.’ ”

“He was delirious. They have to be notified, Decker.”

“He’s a grown man.”

“I’m not going to argue about this. I said it’s an order.”

“Fine. I’ll call them.”

“Good.” He exhaled forcefully. “I’m going back to the station house. I’m going to bring everyone up to speed with what I know—and they’re going to bring me up to speed with what I don’t know. We’ll get a murder board going because it’s clear this isn’t going to be a simple solve. Then, after that, I’m going to work out a watch rotation for your house. I don’t want your lovely wife to feel endangered.”

“I appreciate that, Captain,” Rina said.

“And I’ll be damned before I’ll be the first captain in this quaint city to lose a man in the line of duty. I have my pride. And I do care about all of you.”

“I feel the love, Mike.”

“Don’t get mouthy on me, Decker.”

“Just trying to add a little levity.”

“I suppose I should find out about this codebook. I’ll call Summer Village.”

“If I’m still on the case, let me do that.”

“Fine, make the call while you’re waiting for Tyler’s parents to arrive. You’re not going anywhere until you talk to them, understood?”

“Done.”

“And while you’re on the phone, I suppose you can call your buddy when it’s a decent hour in L.A. Let me know what he says. If he wants to come out, I’ll talk to him but no promises. I not only have to approve him, I’m going to have to figure out how to pull money out of my butt to get him hired on as a consultant.”

“I understand.”

“Let me know when Tyler wakes up. I want to be there when he tells his story.” Radar licked his lips. “He didn’t tell you anything about what went down?”

“He heard someone. He locked himself in the closet. That’s all I know.”

“I want the full story from him. You call me right away. And also call me when the parents arrive. I don’t care what time it is. I want to talk to them personally.”

“That’s good because I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you,” Decker said. “Judging from the way Tyler talks about them, I don’t think they usually deal with underlings.”

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

AFTER DECKER SPENT a half hour, meticulously explaining everything, the kid’s sole comment was, “So I’m being replaced.”