"Any ideas on that?"

"Nope."

"Well, for now, you should worry about yourself. You don't seem to understand the gravity of this situation. With the search warrant, I mean. You think that just because they won't find anything that you're free and clear."

"Look, Janis, I'm a chemist, not a lawyer. And all I know is that I'm in the middle of this thing but I didn't do it. If I don't understand the gravity of the situation, then tell me exactly what it is you want me to understand."

It was the first time he had vented his frustration in her direction and he immediately regretted it.

"The reality is that a cop is on your tail and it is unlikely that he is going to be put off by this setback. To Renner, this is only temporary. He is a patient man and he will continue to work this thing until he finds or gets what he needs to get a search warrant signed. You understand?"

"Yes."

"And then that's only the beginning. Renner is good at what he does. Most of the cops I know that are good are good because they are relentless."

Pierce felt his body heat rising again. He didn't know what else to say, so he didn't say anything. A long moment of silence went by before Langwiser broke it.

"There's something else. On Saturday night you told them about Lilly Quinlan's home and gave them the address. Well, they went over there and checked it out but they did not formally search the place until Sunday afternoon after Renner got a search warrant. It wasn't clear whether she was dead or alive and it was obvious she was or had been engaged in a profession that likely involved prostitution and other illegalities."

Pierce nodded. He was beginning to understand how Renner thought.

"So to protect himself, he went and got a warrant," he said. "In case they came across something in regard to these other illegal activities. Or if she turned up alive and said, What the hell are you doing in my place?"

"Exactly. But there was another reason as well."

"To gather evidence against me."

"Right again."

"But how can it be evidence against me? I told him I went in there. My fingerprints are all over the place because I was looking for her and for what might have happened."

"That's your story and I believe you. He doesn't. He believes it is a story you made up to cover the fact that you had been in her home."

"I can't believe this."

"You'd better. And under the law he had to file what is called a search warrant return within forty-eight hours. It basically is a receipt for anything that was taken by police in the search."

"Did he?"

"Yes, he filed it and I got a copy. It wasn't sealed -he made a mistake on that. Anyway, it lists personal property that was taken, things like a hairbrush for DNA sampling, on and on. Many items were taken for fingerprint analysis. Pieces of mail, desk drawers, jewelry, perfume bottles, even sexual devices found in drawers."

Pierce was silent. He remembered the perfume bottle he had picked up while in the house. Could such a simple thing now be used to help convict him? He felt his insides churning, his face felt flush.

"You're not saying anything, Henry."

"I know. I'm just thinking."

"Don't tell me you touched these sexual devices."

Pierce shook his head.

"No, I didn't even see them. I did pick up a perfume bottle, though."

He heard her exhale.

"What?"

"Why did you pick up a perfume bottle?"

"I don't know. I just did. It reminded me of something, I guess. Of someone. What is the big deal? How does picking up a bottle of perfume equate with murder?"

"It's part of a circumstantial net. You told the police you went into the house to check on her, to see if she was all right."

"I told them that because that's what I did."

"Well, did you tell them that you also were picking up her perfume bottles and sniffing them? Were you looking through her underwear drawer, too?"

Pierce didn't respond. He felt like he might throw up. He leaned down and pulled the trash can from under the desk and put it on the floor next to his chair.

"Henry, I'm acting like a prosecutor with you because I need you to see the perilous path you are on. Anything you say or do can be twisted. It can look one way to you and completely different to someone else."

"Okay, okay. How long before they do the fingerprint stuff?"

"Probably a few days. Without a body, this case is probably not a priority to anyone other than Renner. I heard his own partner is working on other things, that they aren't seeing eye to eye on this and Renner's going it alone."

"Is the partner your source?"

"I'm not talking to you about my source."

They were both silent for a while. Pierce had nothing more to say but felt a sense of hope as long as he was connected to Langwiser.

"I'm putting together a list of people we can talk to," she finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"A list of people associated in some way with the case and questions to ask them. You know, if we need to."

"I get it."

He knew she meant if he was arrested and charged. If he was brought to trial.

"So let me work on things for a little while," Langwiser said. "I'll call you back if anything else comes up."

Pierce finally said good-bye and hung up. He then sat without moving in his chair as he thought about the information he had just been given. Renner was making his move.

Even without a body. Pierce knew he had to call Nicole and somehow explain that the police believed he was a murderer and the likelihood was that they would be coming to search the home they had shared.

The thought of it sent another wave of sickness through him. He looked down at the trash can. He was about to get up to go get some water or a can of Coke when there was a knock on his door.

Charlie Condon poked his head into the office. He was beaming. His smile was as wide and hard as the concrete bed of the L.A. River.

"You did it, man. You fucking did it!"

Pierce swallowed and tried to separate himself from the feelings the phone call had left.

"We all did it," he said. "Where is Goddard?"

Condon stepped all the way in and closed the door. Pierce noticed he had loosened his tie after all the champagne.

"He's in my office, talking to his lawyer on the phone."

"I thought Just Bitchy was his lawyer."

"She's a lawyer but not a lawyer lawyer, if you know what I mean."

Pierce was finding it difficult to listen to Condon because thoughts about the call from Langwiser kept intruding.

"You want to hear his opening offer?"

Pierce looked up at Condon and nodded.

"He wants to buy in for twenty over four years. He wants twelve points and he wants to be chairman of the board."

Pierce forced the image of Renner out of his mind and concentrated on Condon's smiling face. The offer from Goddard was good. Not quite there, but good.

"That's not bad, Charlie."

"Not bad? It's great!"

Condon sounded like Tony the Tiger, accenting the last word too loudly. He'd drunk too much champagne.

"Well, it's only an opener. It's got to get better."

"I know. It will. I wanted to check with you on a couple things. First, the chair. Do you care about that?"

"Not if you don't."

Condon was currently the chairman of the company's board of directors. But it wasn't a board with any real power, because Pierce still controlled the company. Condon held 10 percent, they had chipped out another 8 percent to prior investors -no one in the Maurice Goddard class -and employee compensation accounted for another 10. The rest -72 percent of the company -still belonged to Pierce. So giving Goddard the chair of a largely ceremonial advisory board didn't seem to be giving away much of anything.