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pick him up there and he disappears into Oakland.’
    Overby seemed to be considering this. ‘More chance to get lost in LA. But harder to get to, roadblocks and all. Think you’re right, Steve. I’ll tell Alameda and San Jose. Oh, Kathryn. Didn’t see you.’
    Even though he’d asked her – no,
told
her – to come to his office ten minutes ago.
    She nodded to them both but didn’t rise. A woman in law enforcement is constantly aware of the gossamer thread she negotiates in the job with her bosses and fellow officers. Excessive deference can derail respect, as can too little. ‘Charles, Steve.’
    Foster sat beside her and the chair groaned.
    ‘What’s the latest?’
    ‘Not good, looks like.’
    Overby said, ‘MSCO found the Altima in a residential part of Carmel, near the Barnyard.’
    An old outdoor shopping center, with a number of lots for parking cars.
    And for hijacking or stealing them too.
    Overby said, ‘But if he’s got new wheels, nobody’s reported anything missing.’
    ‘Which may mean the person who
could
do the reporting’s dead and in the trunk,’ Foster offered. Implicitly blaming Dance for a potential death-to-be.
    ‘We’re just debating, would he go north or south? What do you think, Kathryn?’
    ‘What we know now, he’s associated with the Jacinto crew. They’ve got stronger ties south.’
    ‘Like I was saying,’ Foster reminded, speaking exclusively to Overby, ‘south is three hundred miles of relatively few roads and highways, versus north, with a lot more feeders. We can’t watch ’em all. And he can be in Oakland in two hours.’
    Dance said, ‘Steve, airplanes. He flies to a private strip in LA, out in the county, and he’s in South Central in no time.’
    ‘Airplane? He’s not cartel level, Kathryn,’ Foster fired back. ‘He’s I’m-hiding-in-a-lettuce-truck level.’
    Overby put on his consideration face. Then: ‘We can’t look everywhere and I think Steve’s is the more, you know, logical assessment.’
    ‘All right. North, then. I’ll talk to Amy Grabe. She’ll get eyes going in Oakland, the docks, the East Bay. And—’
    ‘Whoa, whoa, Kathryn.’ Overby’s face registered surprise, as if she’d just said, ‘I think I’ll swim to Santa Cruz.’
    She looked at him with a critical furrow of brow. There had been a lacing of condescension in his tone.
    She glanced at Foster, who had lost interest in her and was studying a golden golf ball on Overby’s desk, some award. He didn’t want to be seen gloating when she heard what she knew was coming. Better to look at small-time awards made of plastic masquerading as precious metal.
    Overby said, ‘I’ve just been on the phone with Sacramento. With Peter.’
    The director of the CBI. The boss of bosses.
    ‘We talked, I explained …’
    ‘What’s the bottom line, Charles?’
    ‘I did everything I could, Kathryn. I went to bat for you.’
    ‘I’m suspended.’
    ‘Not suspended, no, no, not at all.’ He beamed, as if she’d won a Caribbean cruise in a state fair draw. ‘Not completely. You lost your weapon, Kathryn. He’s got it now. That’s … Well, you know. It
is
leave-of-absence-without-pay suspendable. They’re not going to go there. But they want you in Civil Division for the time being.’
    Civ Div would correspond to a traffic division in the city police department. No weapon and with all the power of anybody else to make a citizen’s arrest. It was the entry level into the Bureau of Investigation and involved such tasks as compiling information on non-criminal violations by citizens and corporations, like failure to follow building or revenue-collection regulations, improper signage in the workplace and even failure to remit soda-bottle deposits promptly. Agents tended to endure the overwhelming paperwork and crushing boredom for only so long. If they weren’t promoted out into Crim Div, they usually quit cold.
    ‘I’m sorry, Kathryn. I didn’t have a choice. I tried. I really