Pike watched him head toward the house. Pike knew Terrio would glance back when he reached Frank’s door, so he got into his Jeep and pulled away. He drove far enough so he couldn’t be seen from Frank’s house, then jogged back through the neighbor’s yard to the calla lily bed, recovered his guns and the things he had taken, and walked away.

Chapter 14

14

PIKE DROVE TO THE far side of the park before he pulled over to check his phone. Cole had left a message, asking him to call.

When Cole answered, Pike said, “Me.”

“You wanted to know how a gangster could be connected to the nanny?”

Cole was being dramatic, and continued without waiting for an answer.

“Here’s a hint. Your girl Rina works for the Serbian mob.”

“Ana’s sister.”

“That’s right. Her sister is the connection.”

Pike watched the children in the park. He watched the toddlers run with short, awkward steps, and little ones try to stack blocks, and fail, because their tiny hands were too small to hold the blocks well.

“You’ve been on this less than two hours.”

“Am I not the World’s Greatest Detective?”

Pike glanced at his watch.

“Ninety-two minutes.”

“Karina Markovic, also known as Karen Mark, age twenty-six, arrested twice for prostitution, once for assault, and once for robbery—a john claimed she stole his wallet. Total jail time served is nine days. She was busted in a Serbian sex crib up in the Valley. She’s been in this country for at least eight years, and she’s probably here illegally.”

The San Fernando Valley was the porn capital of the world, and the Russian gangs discovered it as soon as they arrived. The sex trade was an easy moneymaker, but American women were difficult to control, so the Russians brought Russian girls over, and each new wave of East European gang sets followed the pattern—from the Ukrainians to the Armenians to the Serbs.

Pike said, “Does she have warrants?”

“None at this time, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be. Her license plate came back as inactive, which means the plate is not in active registration through the DMV.”

“Her car is stolen.”

“Stolen, or built from stripped parts. The Eastern Bloc gangs are into that—they build them from stolen parts, and ship them home. She might not know it was stolen. She might not even know the plate is no good. But the apartment address you gave me? Definitely not hers. The registered tenant is one Janic-with-a-J Pevich.”

Cole pronounced Janic with a y. Yanni.

“He have a record?”

“Nothing that I found, but the day is young.”