door flew inward. No alarm sounded.
'Police!' I yelled out. Then we moved into the house.
Nothing. The downstairs looked like it had been done by a decorator with nothing out of place, like an expensive condo model.
'Let's clear this place,' I instructed.
We let Alexa and the second deputy in through the back door, and began going room to room, covering each other, stepping inside and calling 'clear,' until we had checked the entire first level.
Then we went up the stairs. The second floor was completely empty of furniture. There was no sign of Rick O'Shea.
The master bedroom contained only a queen-sized bed, a dresser, and nothing else. I opened the walk-in closet, and it was obvious that O'Shea had left in a hurry. Hangers were strewn on the floor. He had also cleaned out his medicine cabinet and most of the dresser drawers.
'Shit,' I said softly. 'Bet he took off right after he saw my badge.'
We finished searching the house and went downstairs to the front porch, where we all stood looking out at the half-acre front lawn.
'You need us for anything else, Lieutenant?' Deputy Davila asked Alexa.
'Nope. Thanks for the assist,' she replied.
They walked back to their squad car and drove off.
'Want to hear plan B?' Alexa asked.
'We don't have a plan B.'
'I do,' she said. 'I think I should go to Eugene Mesa's party on Sunday. I've been invited. There's a chance O'Shea will show up.'
It was a good thought, but I couldn't protect her there because they all knew me and there was no way in hell I was going to let her go alone.
But as she'd already told me, she was my boss. That meant if I was going to prevent her from going to that party, I was going to have to come up with a much better idea.
Chapter 46
We all met again in Sabas's conference room, with its depressing view of the weed-choked backyard and empty pool. Five pallbearers plus Alexa were gathered around his folding table, sitting on uncomfortable metal chairs.
'I don't think it's safe for you to go to F. C. Mesas party alone,' Sabas said after Alexa told him her idea. 'Besides, my guess is O'Shea's probably on the run, heading to Mexico.'
I didn't think he was in Mexico, and I'd spent the last hour working on a better plan.
'Alexa told us that Team Ultima has a challenge fight coming up and that it's out of town somewhere,' I said. 'When is that?'
'Don't know. Soon,' she said.
'Suppose we could get in touch with that other bunch-team-whatever.'
'Spartacus,' Alexa said.
'Right. Team Spartacus. We check them out, see if they'll let us ride under their wing to that challenge match, wherever it is. Since it s out of town and because there's a big purse, mv guess is O'Shea won't miss that fight. We'll have a SWAT team in reserve, and once they're all there, we make our move.'
Diamond said, 'You really think Rick O'Shea is gonna show up at that fight?'
'Yeah,' I replied.
'Is he stupid?' Vicki asked.
'Very,' Alexa said.
Everyone turned and looked at me, waiting for me to fill in the blanks, so I ran it down. 'We got a warrant on Rick O'Shea, but as far as I'm concerned he's just one of many. I think all the guys who train at the NHB Gym are dirtv. Chris Calabro and all the others who are running nonprofits are probably also embezzling from their group homes. That's how they're paying their bills. I don't know how much E. C. Mesa has to do with this, but if you ask me, he's involved.'
'But what ties Mesa in, besides the fact the man owns that gym and manages its fighters?' Diamond asked. 'That's hardly against the law.'
'In police work you learn to trust your hunches, and my hunch says he's in this. I just don't have the connection yet.'
As I looked around the table, I could sense that I was losing them. I was sitting here, wrapped in tape and fiberglass, looking like an extra in a war movie, trying to get them to follow me. I could subtly feel Vicki, Seriana, and Diamond turning from me toward Vargas. 'Let's take it a step at a time,' I said. 'We start with Team Spartacus. We find out where they train, go talk to them.'
Vicki and Seriana, who had become our unofficial phone committee, started making calls. It didn't take long to find the gym.
Team Spartacus had an address on Atlanta Avenue in Huntington Beach. They worked out of a private gym named, appropriately enough, Gladiator School. After a short argument with Sabas, I agreed to let everyone come as long as either Alexa or I did all the talking. He nodded, but didn't comment.
We headed out of the conference room and stood quietly as Vargas gathered his things.
'I gotta pee,' Vicki announced.
While his three chica office warriors glared at me, all of the women, including Alexa, trooped to the bathroom in girl formation, leaving me and Sabas facing each other.
'I couldn't be doing any worse than you,' he reminded me.
'Good point,' I admitted. 'But I feel myself on an upward trajectory.'
After the women rejoined us, we started through the front door. As we walked down the path outside, Alexa put something into my left hand. It was a. 38 bullet. Somebody had filed a deep X on the nose.
'Where did you get this?' I whispered.
She pointed at Vicki, who was heading down the path a few yards ahead, clutching her purse. 'After she came out of the bathroom, I found it on the floor under the toilet,' Alexa said softly. 'I think she was in there reloading her Bulldog with homemade dumdums.'
Chapter 47
Wc all rode to Huntington Beach together in Seriana s eight-passenger Dodge van.
Gladiator School was located about a mile from the ocean, just off Beach Boulevard 011 Atlanta Avenue. The building was a windowless, graffiti-tagged brick box with a scarred wooden door. It was between two abandoned storefronts and looked foreboding as hell.
I didn't want to roll into this place en masse. That wouldn't produce anything but blowback. In the spirit of cooperation, and in a renewed effort to keep them on my side, I needed to take at least take one person in with me. But which one?
Sabas was a good puncher. He'd already proved that. But I was through fighting with these animals. This needed to be a finesse operation. Besides that, he was becoming difficult. Diamond was too passive and guileless. Vicki was packing that Charter Arms Bulldog, now fully loaded with dumdums. I couldn't trust her to stav cool. I needed Alexa to stay out here and police them, so that left Seriana.
'I'm thinking one person should go in with me as a group representative.' I couldn't believe I was saying this, but they'd pushed me to the point where I was making bad decisions. 'You up for it, Corporal Cotton?'
'Yes sir. By the way, in Ranger school we were taught three forms of martial arts. I'm not too bad, if that's helpful.'
