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I wanted to call her back right there and then, but I knew I needed some privacy My little, and not-so-little, Bennett pitchers had big ears, and if it was soet everyone riled up Or more riled up than usual

When we irls, ere done with theto walk the mile and a half of country road back to our house

“Any particular reason for the sudden return to nature?” my sharp-as-a-tack nanny wanted to know

“Just need a little exercise,” I said

“Is that right?” Mary Catherine said, her blarney detector obviously going off like gangbusters “Whatever you say, Mike”

Gravel sprayed as she drove aith my brood I slipped my phone out of my pocket as the car crested the hill

“Mike,” E “I assume you’ve heard what happened”

“Assume I live with cows, Parker,” I said “I couldn’t be more out of the loop if I tried What’s up?”

She proceeded to tell eles A half-dozen men with automatic rifles had opened fire in a suburb east of the city Two LA County narcotics detectives, along with four , had been murdered in the middle of a busy street

I hadn’t even begun to digest that when she told er news, the ho Killa and singer Alexa Gia

“I’ht now, Mike It’s the same exact MO as with the mobster in Malibu The victih the ventilation system I’ve been to crime scenes, but never in an astronaut suit borrowed from the Centers for Disease Control”

“So it’s Perrine,” I said

“No question The Vietna trade Perrine has so LA County like it’s a war zone”

“It sure seems like it,” I said “So how do I fit in?”

“Don’t be obtuse, Mike My phone’s been ringing off the hook The director himself wants you put on this now, more than ever We need you to come back Perrine needs to be stopped He needs to be found—not tomorrow, but now”