“His dick has never been in me.”

Cole turned red, but Rina looked back at Pike, and Pike thought her eyes were growing wet.

“This is what Michael is telling his men, that he is not the father?”

“Yes.”

“This makes no sense. Michael tells me he will take Petar back to Serbia, and will not take me. Michael is father, not this old man I have never seen. I am mother. Petar is mine.”

Cole frowned at Pike.

“This is making my head hurt.”

Rina ignored him.

“He say Michael say this terrible thing?”

“Yes.”

Her face folded as she thought about it, and she looked forlorn.

“I don’t know. Maybe he tell them this to hide his shame.”

Cole crossed his arms, and leaned back, his eyes growing distant and cool.

“That the boy’s mother is a whore?”

“Why else? All men are weak. You would do the same.”

“No. I wouldn’t.”

“Big talk. So maybe you make me pregnant, then we’ll see how big you talk, here is the mother, she is a whore.”

Cole simply stared at her, and Rina turned back to Pike.

“Does Grebner say where is my boy?”

“No.”

“Men are so weak. Take me to him. I make him say.”

“He doesn’t know, but we might have a lead on Darko. Have you heard of Diamond Reclamations?”

Her face scrunched as she thought, but then she shook her head.

“No. This is a jewelry store?”

Pike said, “We’re going to find out.”

Rina shoved her clothes aside, and started for the door.

“Good. Let’s find out.”

Pike stopped her.

“Not you. Me.”

Rina launched into a stream of Serbian, and kept it up as they left.

Outside, Cole said, “What do you think she’s saying?”

“No idea.”

“We probably wouldn’t like it.”

“No. Probably not.”

Pike left Cole at his car, and headed for the Valley.

Chapter 34

34

Elvis Cole

COLE THOUGHT ABOUT YANNI as he left the guesthouse.

Janic “Yanni” Pevich had come back clean. When Cole checked the plate Pike gave him from Yanni’s F-150 pickup truck, he had learned the vehicle was registered to a Janic Pevich. The leasing office at Yanni’s building confirmed the apartment was being leased to a Janic Pevich, and reported that Mr. Pevich had been an excellent tenant. Cole had then checked with a friend at LAPD’s Hollywood Station, who reported that Pevich had no criminal record. Cole had related all this to Joe Pike, and let it go, but after leaving Grebner, he had begun to have second thoughts.

They now had two divergent and different stories, which meant one of the principals was lying.