“I keep cash . . . the safe.” He was breathing hard. “The notebook is there.” Tears were blurring his vision. “I think I’m gonna pass out.”

“You’ll be fine, Tyler, I promise.”

The paramedics came into the bedroom, followed by several uniformed officers. Decker stood up and pointed inside the closet. The EMTs carefully lifted Tyler onto the gurney and then went to work: an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, an IV in his veins . . . dressing the wounds, trying to stanch the bleeding.

Tyler’s eyes beseeched Decker’s. Although the kid couldn’t talk with the mask over his mouth, Decker knew what he was thinking.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight. I’m riding with you.” He turned to Rina. “Have one of the officers drive you to the hospital.”

“I have the car.”

“Rina, you can’t be alone!”

“Right. Of course. I’ll meet you there.”

Several minutes later, the kid was loaded in the ambulance. Decker sat on the bench as the paramedics continued to work on him. Decker took the kid’s clammy hand and when he did, Tyler closed his wet eyes.

Thoughts jumbled inside Decker’s brain.

Detectives are seldom whacked. But seldom isn’t never.

For the first time ever, Decker wondered if he was truly over his head.

He had told the kid that he could walk away from the case. Maybe he should take his own warning. Going out with a whimper and long life were much better than going out with a bang.

His head was throbbing, his heart was pounding, and he was sweating profusely even though it was cold and, in his rush, he hadn’t bothered with a jacket or coat. He continued holding Tyler’s clammy hand, hoping that his own body heat would warm the kid up. With his free hand, Decker wiped tears from his eyes.

Bumblefuck, USA.

He had been bored with the job, had longed for the excitement he had left behind.

Now his overzealous wishes were coming back to bite him in the ass.

CHAPTER 24

THE STORY BECAME rote after repeated recitations. Decker was trashed in body and in mind. He sat on a hard plastic chair in the hospital, waiting to hear any news from the surgeon. Rina was next to him, curled up in a ball, dozing on and off. A half-dozen officers had been at the hospital when the ambulance had arrived. Mike had reassigned them to hunt down the Hyundai silver van after a reported sighting about four miles from Decker’s house. The quiet streets of Greenbury now crawled with black-and-whites. Unfortunately the silver van remained illusive.

Mike Radar had stayed on at the hospital. “So you have the codebook on you?”

“It’s in the kid’s safe. The code is his father’s birthday, which I don’t know.” Decker had already explained this all to the captain but Radar was talking from nerves. Every time there was a protracted silence, the captain asked another question. Decker checked his watch against the wall clock. Both timepieces said 4:45. It was Tuesday morning. “Even if it had been stolen from his safe, it wouldn’t have mattered. Summer Village has the original.”

“Maybe the thief wanted to see what was inside?”

“Yeah, of course. Did you get hold of Mulrooney?”

“About twenty minutes ago. I told him what happened and he thanked me. Don’t think he’ll be falling back asleep. He has the original codebook under lock and key.” Radar was still pacing, bleeding off adrenaline. “No news on the silver van, dammit. How could such a conspicuous car just vanish?”

“We’ll find it,” Decker said.

“That’s just wishful thinking.” When Decker didn’t answer, Mike said, “How did this happen? This is Greenbury, for God’s sake.”

“Bumblefuck, USA,” Decker said.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s what kids say when they’re talking about a place that no one has ever heard of. They call it Bumblefuck. McAdams asked the same question: How was this happening? I told him he should walk away from the case.” A sigh. “Actually told him he could walk away if he wanted to. And he didn’t want to. But it doesn’t matter now. We’re both in too deep.”

Rina inhaled and woke up with a start. She stretched. “Anything?”

“He’s still in surgery.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost five.”

“So he’s been in for two hours.”

“Yes.”

“That’s not so long when you consider he was hit twice. Actually three times including the graze wound on his temple.”

“I still think you should call his parents,” Radar said.

“He specifically told me not to call them as they were wheeling him in,” Decker said.

“What if something happens?”

“Mike, he’s twenty-six, he’s an adult, and he’s not going to die.”

“You never know.”

Decker gave him an angry glance. “He’s not going to die. He ordered me not to call his parents. The least I could do is honor his wishes.”

“The mayor won’t like it when he finds out.”

“So let the mayor call them.”

Rina patted his knee in an effort to calm him down. It didn’t work. Decker got up, paced a few steps, and then he gently hit the wall several times. “If I’m going to get whacked in the line of duty, I’d at least like to know why!”

Rina said, “I’m sure you’ll know a lot more once the codebook is squared away.”

“Who’s this guy that McAdams called?” Radar asked.

“Mordechai Gold. He’s a professor in the math department at Harvard.”

“How do we know he’s trustworthy?”

“If you or Mulrooney have a better person, make the call.”

“I still think you should call his parents.”

“Mike, we’re going around in circles.”

The captain scratched his head. Then he sat down. “The silver van, Decker. You first noticed it when you left Summer Village PD?”

The same questions over and over and over. Decker said, “I noticed it tailing me after I left Summer Village PD. After I got on the highway, it pulled back then I lost sight of it. Second time I noticed it was when Tyler and I grabbed a cup of coffee while we poked around the galleries on Newbury. When I heard a motor being gunned, I figured that maybe it’s the van. But I don’t know. I’m probably full of shit.”

“I doubt that.” Radar was still pacing. “If you first noticed the van in Summer Village, the main focus has to be Latham’s murder, not Angeline Moreau’s death.”

“I agree.”

“So . . .” Radar smacked his lips. “I think the time has come to let the pros handle it.”

“Excuse me?” Decker said.

“Not that you’re not a pro, Peter. But I think it’s in all our best interests to let Summer Village and Boston handle the investigation. They’re bigger, they’re more equipped, and they have more manpower.”

“Mike, some son of a bitch broke into my house and would have shot me dead if I hadn’t gotten to him first. Someone thinks that I know way more than I do. They’re not going to stop until either they’re stopped or I’m dead.”

Radar made a face. “Then maybe you and your wife should take a vacation.”

“Mike, I’m a cop, for God’s sake. I’m not going to run away. They’d just track me down.” He turned to Rina. “You, on the other hand—”

“Oh, no you don’t!”

“I can’t babysit the kid, babysit you, and do my job.”

“Peter, since we’ve moved here, I’ve gone to the shooting range every time you’ve gone. I’m an excellent shot. And, FYI, I don’t need your babysitting.”

“Darlin’, maybe you should visit your parents. Your father is ninety-five.”

“Don’t you play the parent card on me.”

“Do you know the temperature in L.A. yesterday? A sunny, seventy-two degrees.”

“Well, bully for L.A. And someone has to keep an eye out for Tyler, because—like you said—if you’re watching him, you can’t do your job.”

“There’s no job for him to do,” Radar said. “I’m giving the case to Boston. Let them coordinate with Summer Village—”

“No, no, no,” Decker said. “That’s not going to happen—”

“You said you’d tell me if it was too much for you to handle.”