Jim backed out of the driveway and hurried down the hill. He hit forty as he sped away and by the time he saw the Jag, he'd almost passed the girls who pointed frantically at a lane that appeared out of nowhere. He slammed on the brakes, throwing the SUV into a light skid; the tires took hold and he drove down the fire road until the trees shielded both cars from view.

"What do we do now?" Ella closed the car door and ran toward Jim and Lenny as they climbed out of the SUV.

"Lenny and I are going to check the driveway, see if we can figure out what's going on. You and Terry go back down the hill to that first turnoff road. Park there and keep an eye on the cars that come back down. The GPS shows this road is a dead end, so eventually they'll have to return the way they came in. Keep the phone on and let me know what's happening. Be careful."

Ella hopped into the car and they backed down the lane to the street and vanished around the turn.

Jim pulled his gun out of its holster, checked it once and put it in his pocket. "Ready?"

He nodded at Lenny, then snapped his fingers at Tony and slapped his thigh twice.

Tony moved in close. The signal indicated that what started out to be a potential run in the woods had turned into work. A light ridge of fur rose along the length of his spine as he strode at Jim's side, eyes watchful, ears up.

Cricket walked with Lenny, glancing at Tony from time to time.

They crossed the road and began the quick walk up the driveway. Ahead, they heard voices followed by the slamming of car doors. An engine turned over.

Jim and Lenny darted into the woods, hitting the ground just moments before the gray Mercedes passed them as it headed for the road.

"Son of a bitch," Lenny said. "What'll we do?"

"We don't know whether Andy, or Candace for that matter, was in that car. They could still be up there." He nodded up the hill and pulled his cell from his pocket. "Damn, no signal. They'll pick him up when he passes. Let's run up and check out the house or cabin or whatever's up there. Might get some idea what's going on."

They rose and hurried up the driveway, not sure what they'd find. The chalet looked like something out of a Joyce Kilmer poem. Birds chirped like mad, woodland critters played in the leaves and a light wind sang through the trees.

Lenny scanned the woods for any signs of movement. The tranquility of a late summer afternoon reigned. "Makes ya want to hum ... I think we're alone now...." He glanced at Jim, gave a light chuckle and pulled rubber gloves from his pocket.

Jim snapped his fingers at Tony, pounded his fist into his palm and made a circle. The dog disappeared around the side of the house.

Cricket remained attached to Lenny's thigh.

They advanced on the cabin, took the two short steps up to the porch and peered in the lace-draped windows, unable to get a clear picture of the room.
Tony bounded up the steps and sat at Jim's feet, indicating that nothing going on in back required attention. One thing they knew, they were alone. No ambush would catch them unawares.

Jim took a hankie from his pocket, draped it over the knob to doubly protect any latent prints and tried the door; it opened with an obliging swish.

The cabin consisted of one enormous main area, partitioned by furniture to separate the dining room and kitchen from the living room. The huge fireplace, cold and empty now, dominated one wall. To the left, a hallway led to the bedrooms.

"This is so strange. They really cleaned up, didn't they?" Jim bent over, picked up a corner of a burger wrapper and shrugged. "No garbage, no dirty dishes." He glanced around the kitchen, noticing more evidence of recent occupation. "They did some cooking here." He ran his hankie along the edge of the burner.

Lenny nodded, heading down the hall. Both bedrooms contained two queen beds, matching nightstands and lamps and plasma TV's on the wall; closed doors revealed large private bathrooms.

The coverlet on one bed, smudged with dirt and slightly rumpled, drew his attention. "Hey, Jim, I think this is where they kept Candace."

He drew back the covers, exposing sheets that were wrinkled and soiled as well. "I guess they didn't take the time to send out the laundry." Lenny beckoned to Jim as he came in the room. "Looks like dirt off a shoe, maybe?"
He pointed at the smudges and shrugged.

"I checked all the drawers in the kitchen. No personal papers, no old mail, no phone. No way to know if this is a rental or who owns it. Either way, we need to get back to...."

Just then his cell rang. "Hey, Ella."

"The Mercedes came back down the hill a little bit ago. We're tailing them. The windows are blacked out so we don't know who's in the car, but I assume it's Andy and Candace. We're at the light, about to get on the PCH, heading back toward town."

"The PCH! Why didn't you call sooner?"

"I tried to but couldn't get any signal. This is the first time the call would go through."

"Okay, we're on the way," Jim said, making a twirling motion with his hands. He followed Lenny out the door at a trot, both dogs right behind them.

"What?" Lenny said, picking up a strong pace as they headed for the Suburban.

"They're tailing them. They're just getting on the PCH."

"Shit. They see Andy ... anyone?"

"Nah. Windows are dark."

They increased their speed and by the time they reached the van, sweat poured down their faces.

Jim and Lenny scooted down the fire lane and onto the road. "This doesn't look good for the home team."

"I know. Why did they move her, ya figure?" Lenny glanced at the traffic on the PCH and shook his head. "Where the hell are they going now? Every time they drive anywhere they have to know the chances of being spotted increases. Where could they be taking her ... them?"

Jim's phone rang again. "Ella, where are you now."

"We're heading up the freeway toward town, and, whoa! We just turned onto the 405! What the heck, where can they be going?"

The traffic changed considerably, both in volume and speed. Modest cars with lots of miles replaced the pricey cars of the PCH. A little scratch here or dent there wouldn't be noticed.

Terry had the steering wheel in a death grip as she stared from side to side. "Oh, God, tell Lenny to hurry up."

Taggers defaced overpasses, walls, signs, anything they could reach with their vile messages of hate.

"Man, you won't frickin' believe it. It looks like we're heading for Compton, if you can imagine that."

"Compton? Ya gotta be kidding me. Hold on a minute."

Lenny tapped Jim's arm and held up a finger. "You tell them they are not, absolutely not to get out of that car. Tell them ... shit, tell them to be careful."

Eyes wide, Jim stared at the former LAPD detective. "Bad area, huh?"

"The worst."

"Shit." He cleared his throat and drew a deep breath. "Okay, Ella, talk to me."

"Yeah, I was right. We just got off the 405 onto Rosecrans. Man, talk about the hood. The walls, the sidewalks, everything ... the whole place is covered with graffiti. Okay, we're stopped at the light over Inglewood."

"Ella, I want you to follow them until they reach their destination, but then just circle around the block, continue to drive ... damn that car, you'll have everybody and their brother watching you. I don't care what happens, do not stop the car and for God's sake, don't even think about getting out. Lenny says you're in a bad area."

"No shit. I kinda caught onto that when I saw all the graffiti. What should we do, just circle the block? Where are you?"

"We just got on the 405. I figure we're ten minutes behind you."

"God, what a neighborhood. Please hurry up."

"What's Amy doing? Is she on alert?"

The laugh, high and harsh, sounded more like an eerie shriek. "She's sitting up tall in the back seat and snarling at everyone. Man, I don't know what we'd do without her."

"Both of you need to have your guns ready. Any chance they made you?"

"We already did that and nah, I don't think so; we've kept three or four cars between us at all times. The traffic is fairly heavy and besides, two gals driving around, what's to make of that?"

"Oh, right, two white gals driving around in a red Jag in Compton. Nope, you're right. Who'd notice that?"

Her voice rose. "Well, shit, I can hardly help where they drove to! Oh, boy, they just turned onto Condon. It's a one-way street, all warehouses around here. Okay, they just drove down an alley and drove into a warehouse; now the door is closing behind them. I got the address as 756 Condon. We'll keep circling the block until you get here."

"We're only about ten minutes out. The freeway's a breeze today. Okay, here comes the Rosecrans turnoff. What road are you on now?"

"W. 145th. Pretty quiet, not much foot traffic. We're going to wait here. If anyone approaches, we'll leave, but this is the best place to wait."

"It won't be long now, I see Inglewood crossing right up ahead. Great, we made the light."

Jim continued down the street, conscious of the pedestrians and what they might be doing.

"Okay, Ella, it's coming up, we just turned on Condon. I see 756. The door is still closed, no other entrance visible from here, but you know there is one."

They stopped at the bottom of the street, saw the girls and pulled into the empty slot three cars behind them.

Night settled in.