“That’s the one. I want to talk to them about events occurring on or about that time.”

Sanchez said, “You mind if I ask what this is about?”

“A gang pakhan named Michael Darko. Darko heads up the set that owned these particular girls.”

Sanchez said, “Darko.”

“Yeah. One of his lieutenants probably ran the operation, but Darko was the man. The pakhan. I have some questions about Darko these girls might be able to answer.”

The silence from Sanchez was thoughtful.

“I don’t think that was it. I don’t think that was the name.”

Now it was Cole’s turn to hesitate.

“Darko?”

“Well, I’m thinking.”

“Was it Grebner? Might have been Grebner.”

“Hold on. The OC guys weren’t happy with the way it turned out. The Vice coppers were fine—they took down thirteen hookers—but the OC dicks were pissed. They wanted to move up the food chain, but none of the girls would roll. I remember because the OC dicks were totally pissed off. They couldn’t get the girls to roll.”

“Yeah, that would be Darko, or maybe a guy named Grebner.”

“No, I remember it now—his name was Jakovich. That’s who they wanted. His set ran the girls.”

“Jakovich.”

“That’s him. The OC dicks just murdered his name. Everything was Jakoffovich, Jerkoffovich, Jakobitch, like that.”

“You’re telling me these prostitutes worked for Milos Jakovich.”

“Absolutely. That’s why OC planned the sting. They wanted Jakovich. We had thirteen prostitutes coming out of a prelim, and none of them—not one—would roll.”

“Thanks, Liz. You’ve been a big help.”

Cole put down the phone. He stared at the empty sky, and knew, once more, how well some people could lie.

His phone rang, and he answered, feeling dull and slow.

A young woman’s voice came from far away.

“Mr. Cole? This is Lisa Topping. Sarah Manning called. She said you want to speak with me?”

Lisa Topping was Ana’s very best friend, and knew things no one else knew.

Chapter 35

35

PIKE FOUND THE ADDRESS for Diamond Reclamations on his Thomas Guide map, then wedged the picture of the red-haired baby on his dash. He drove north on the Hollywood Freeway in silence. The creaks and whistles made by the speeding vehicle were faraway reminders of his progress. He studied the baby in brief glimpses. The kid looked nothing like Rina or Darko, but Pike had never been good at that kind of thing. Pike saw a baby, he thought the baby was either cute or not, and this kid was not a cute baby. Looking at the picture, he couldn’t even tell if the child was male or female. He wondered if it would turn out to look like Jakovich.