Victor felt Frames lean close. “But now, bright boy, it’s time to be serious for a minute. Your friend Russell and I were just discussing whether it’s better to be shot trying to avoid arrest or take your chances jumping off this balcony. I told him any dope can be shot, but how many times in your life do you get to jump off the thirty-seventh floor? I mean, how do you really know you can’t fly?”

“You won’t shoot us,” Victor said, trying to sound firm. “We’re unarmed.”

“Seriously? Man, you were armed until ten seconds ago. So was your little buddy. That means I have guns with your prints. Besides, Russell showed me how to disconnect the security camera out here. So who’s to know? It’s you, me, and the fucking seagulls.”

Frames’s voice in Victor’s ear was dead calm. “But before we watch Russell over there test the laws of gravity, I’ve got another question for you, bright boy. Since you’re carrying a gun belonging to Sergeant Daniel Rivas, I have to ask, how is he?

“Reason I’m asking, sport,” Frames said, “I’m trying to decide where to put this gun when I pull the trigger. See, if Rivas is just unconscious, like, say, Kenny Holland back inside there, I’m going to put the end of this gun between your legs and shoot your balls off. Trust me, you’re not going to need them in prison. But now, if Rivas is dead, I’m going to leave the gun where it is and pull the trigger. I’ll be honest with you. You take the Glock’s caliber and being this close up, the round’s going to set your hair on fire going in and make a hole the size of a baseball on its way out.”

The gun barrel pressed harder against Victor’s head. “So let me ask you again, bright boy. How’s Daniel Rivas?”

(ii)

(FRIDAY, 11:28 A.M.)

Mahler drove into the parking lot of Creekside Apartments. A police unit was parked at the base of the stairs. A tall female officer stood next to a young woman and two other uniformed officers. At the far end of the lot, Eden sat in her car.

Mahler parked beside Eden and climbed in next to her. “That Lorin Albright?”

“Yeah.” Eden stared ahead. “The female officer is Gina Cipriani, the one I was telling you about. Albright gave up Partridge. Told us about Sandra Avelos, the girl in Fresno.”

“She knew Partridge killed her?”

“Partridge told her. Said it was a mistake…an accident. Told Albright he followed Avelos in the park. Got angry she wasn’t cautious. Wanted to show Avelos how vulnerable she was, but when he put the cord around her neck, she fought back. According to Partridge, the whole thing was Avelos’s fault.”

“What’d Albright say about Partridge cutting her own back?”