"What's in the bag?"

She smiled at me from the corner of her eye. "Something you'll like. A surprise."

Maybe having a love nest wasn't so bad.

It felt good to be with her, and good to be with her alone. We had been together a lot since Lucy moved to L.A., but always with Ben or other people, and usually with the major part of our time spent in the necessary tasks of moving them into their new apartment. Tonight was just for us. I wanted that, and knowing that she wanted it, too, made it all the more special. We drove in silence, rarely speaking, though smiling at each other in that way lovers do. She held the roses in her lap, occasionally lifting one to touch her nose.

When we got to the love nest, Joe's Jeep was parked in front.

Lucy smiled at me. Prettily. "Is Joe staying over, too?"

Ha-ha. That Lucy. What a kidder, huh?

We brought the groceries and the roses in through the kitchen. Pike was standing in my living room. Anyone else would've been sitting, but there he was, holding the cat. When the cat saw Lucy, it squirmed out of Joe's arms, ran to the stairs and growled.

Lucy said, "How nice. Always the warm welcome."

Joe looked at the roses, and the grocery bags. "Sorry. I should've called."

"It couldn't hurt."

Lucy went over and kissed his cheek. "Don't be silly. Just don't plan on staying too long."

The corner of Pike's mouth twitched.

Pike said, "Got a copy of the criminalist's report. I thought you'd want to see it."

I stopped with the bags.

"Krantz told me it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow."

Pike nodded toward the dining-room table.

I left the bags on the kitchen counter, then went to the table and found a copy of a Scientific Investigation Division criminalist's report signed by a guy named John Chen. I nipped through a couple of pages, and saw that the report detailed the evidence found at Karen Garcia's murder site. I looked at Joe, then back at the report. "Where'd you get this?"

"The man who wrote it. Got that copy this morning."

"Something odd is going on here, Joe."

Lucy said, "Something odd is always going on here. It's Los Angeles." She took a bottle of Dom Perignon from one of the bags. Eighty-nine ninety-five, on sale. "Very nice, Mr. Cole. I think I may purr."

I waved my hand like it was nothing. "Standard fare at the love nest."

Pike said, "Love nest?"

I frowned at him. "Try not to spoil the fantasy."

Pike went to the fridge, took out a bottle of Abita beer, and tipped it toward me.

"Sure."

He tipped the bottle at Lucy.

"No, sweetie, but thank you." Joe Pike being called sweetie. Amazing.

Joe took out a second bottle, and brought it to me. Abita beer is this terrific beer they make in south Louisiana. Lucy brought five cases when she moved.

I said, "Luce, you mind if I read this?"

"Not at all. I'll put away the food and pretend we're doing it together. I'll pretend some nice romantic music is on the stereo, and you're reading poetry to me. That way I can pretend I'm about to swoon."

I looked at Joe. He shrugged.

The report was direct and easy to read because of its clarity. Two detailed drawings noted body position, bloodstains, and the location of physical evidence. The first drawing was the lower site, where Garcia's body had been found, the second was of the trail area at the top of the bluff, where the shooting had occurred. Chen noted that he had discovered several Beeman's gum wrappers, an as yet unidentified triangular bit of white plastic, a Federal Arms.22 caliber Long Rifle shell casing, and several partial and complete shoe prints. Tests were being run on the wrappers, the plastic, and the shell casing, but from the size of the shoe print Chen had estimated the shooter's body weight. I read this part aloud. "Shooter wears a size eleven shoe with an estimated body weight of two hundred pounds. Photographs of the sole imprint have been forwarded to the FBI in Washington for identification of brand."

Lucy said, "My, that's romantic." She came out and sat next to me, her foot touching mine beneath the table.

Chen had followed the tracks to tread marks left by a parked vehicle on a fire road above the lake. He had made castings of the tread marks, and had taken soil samples containing what appeared to be oil drips. All of this he had also sent along to the FBI for brand identification. He determined the tire type as F205 radials, matching any number of American and foreign SUVs. These particular F205s showed uneven wear on the front tires, indicating that the front-end camber was out of alignment.

I put down the report and looked at Joe. "Tell you the truth, I thought Deege was making it up, him saying the car looked like yours and you were the driver."

Pike shrugged.

"So he saw something, then had fun with it." I glanced at the report again. "Wow. This guy Chen does good work."

Pike's mouth twitched.

"What?"

"Nothing."

I tapped the pages. "Krantz didn't lie to me only about this." I told them how Krantz had given me the runaround about the autopsy. "I'm sure Krantz knew when it was scheduled the whole time. Five people were at the table when we arrived, and Williams was grousing about how long the cut had taken."

Lucy said, "That isn't necessarily odd. You said he doesn't like you. Maybe he kept you out of the autopsy just to annoy you."

"After the autopsy I went to see Dersh. When I left Dersh, two guys in a blue sedan were on me. It was an LAPD license."

Pike thought about it. "You sure they didn't follow you from Parker-Center?"

"Nobody knew I was going to see Dersh, so that means they were already there. Only why would they be sitting on Dersh?"

Pike nodded. "Now we're talking odd."

"Yeah."

Lucy touched my arm and traced her fingers to my hand. She tangled her feet with mine and smiled.

Joe stood. "Guess I'll be going."

Lucy realized what had happened and took back her hand, blushing. "I was teasing before, Joe, really. You're welcome to stay for dinner."

Joe's mouth twitched again, then he left. Lucy groaned and covered her face. "God. He must think I'm a slut."

"He thinks you're in love."

"Oh, sure. I'm pawing at you like I'm in heat." I had never seen Lucy that red.

"He's happy for us."

"Mr. Stoneface? How can anyone tell what he's thinking? God, I'm so embarrassed."

We stared at each other then, not speaking. The depth and movement that glimmered in her eyes held me until I said, "Wait."

The Dom wasn't as cold as I wanted, but that was okay. I filled two flute glasses, and brought them out. I put Natalie Merchant on the CD player, singing "One Fine Day," and then I opened the big glass doors. The canyon was still. The early evening air was cooling, and the smell of summer honeysuckle was sweet. I offered Lucy my hand, and she stood. I offered a glass of the champagne. She took it.

Lucy glanced at her overnight bag, still on the floor in the kitchen, and her voice came out husky. "I want to change. I've got a surprise for you."

I touched her lips. "You're my surprise, Lucille."

Her eyes closed as she rested her head on my chest.

I thought for a moment of dead girls, heartbroken old men, and things that I did not understand, but then those thoughts were gone.

Natalie sang sweetly about a love that was meant to be. We danced, slowly, our bodies together, floating on an unseen tide that carried us out to the deck, and finally up to my bed.

Forged

The boy sat in a green world. The broad, furry elm leaves that sheltered him caught the afternoon light like floating prisms, coloring him with a warm emerald glow. Hidden there, staring between the mask of leaves at the small frame house that was his, the boy felt safe. Three black ants crawled on his bare feet, but he did not feel them.