Sam descended the freeway off ramp. The eastbound side of the access road was devoid of traffic; vehicles were still heading west towards the freeway. Ignoring the traffic signal at the end of the ramp Sam turned onto the road to Rancho Secreto and pressed the accelerator almost to the floor. At first she could see clearly enough to keep up the speed, but less than a mile east the visibility dropped so sharply that she was forced to slow down. When she reached the expanse of chaparral that bordered the Ranch she saw a tower of smoke billowing up from the blackness of the eucalyptus forest beyond. Gripping the wheel tightly, she drove across the chaparral and plunged into the darkness.
In spite of her familiarity with the Ranch roads Sam had trouble navigating, because of the dense smoke. She looked anxiously for signs of fire but saw only wildly gyrating trees. Beyond a few feet on either side of the road, she saw nothing. Within minutes a roadblock stopped her progress. She waved her detective badge at the nearest uniformed officer; the man, a California Highway Patrol officer assigned to the Ranch, recognized her.
“Hold up, Detective Mori,” he said. “It’s not safe past this point. Wait here a minute while I get you an escort over to the Rios property. Forensics is already there, but no one from the Medical Examiner’s office yet.”
Sam stifled a gasp. An ominous premonition gripped her like a vise. She hesitated, unsure of what to do next. Continue on to the teahouse, to save her hidden Geisha treasures? Or go to the Rios estate, to find out who was dead? When the Highway Patrolman returned with the news that he could personally escort her, Sam made the decision to follow him. They reached the open iron gates to Casa Feliz several minutes later.
Although she had a long history with Rios, Sam had never before set foot on his property. Fallen tree branches rendered the driveway barely passable. She followed the Patrolman on a circuitous route among the sycamores to reach the house. The courtyard was crowded with emergency vehicles; their lights flashed dimly in the gloom. The house appeared intact. Further away, and almost obscured by the smoke, Sam could make out a large barn that had sustained a partial roof collapse. The Crime Scene Investigation vehicles parked outside the barn indicated to her that the body was to be found there.
She parked beside two burned out cars in the courtyard. She thanked the Patrolman for the escort. Smoke began to burn her eyes, and her throat and lungs began to feel tight. She picked her way through the charred debris that littered the walkway. As she neared the barn a familiar voice called out to her. It was Ray Agostino, an older detective in the Division. She regarded Agostino as competent and methodical, but not insightful.
“What brings you here, Sam?” Agostino asked.
“I was in the area and heard about the body,” Sam replied. “I know the man who lives here.”
“The firefighters found it in the barn,” Agostino said. “There’s a wound on the back of the head.”
“Hmm. So someone took advantage of the fire,” Sam said, “hoping the body would burn and it would look like an accident.”
“Looks that way,” Agostino replied. “But the barn has a sprinkler system. The water bought enough time for the firefighters to get here and put out the fire.”
“Do you know who the victim is?” Sam asked hesitantly.
“It’s an older man,” Agostino replied. “No ID on him yet. Since you know the homeowner, why don’t you go in and have a look?”
Gordon announced that he was hungry. Georgina realized that she, too, was famished; she had last eaten hours earlier at breakfast. Nate suggested that they go to the area where the Red Cross was serving food to the evacuees. While they waited in line Georgina listened to the easy banter between father and son. Excited by seeing so many uniformed officers, Gordon announced that he wanted a gun. Georgina was curious to see how Nate would handle his son’s fascination with firearms. Nate tried to distract Gordon, but the boy was not to be deterred; he used his forefinger and thumb to imitate firing a gun, aiming at people in line and making noises to simulate gunfire. Gordon’s gestures attracted the attention of another small boy who used his finger to fire back several rounds of his own. Nate bent down and said something to Gordon that Georgina could not hear. Then Gordon waved at the other boy.
“I see you’ve disarmed your son,” Georgina said. “I was about to run for cover.”
“You’re safe with us,” Nate replied, rubbing Gordon’s back to show his approval. “But what’s taking Wahl so long to call back? There must be some other place for us to meet.”
“Perhaps getting the horses unloaded is more of a priority for Rios and Wahl right now,” Georgina said.
“At this rate I won’t be going in to work today,” Nate complained. He had been on his cell phone talking to people at the hospital and at ZIFIX, neither of which had been evacuated.
“Sorry this hasn’t gone as planned,” Georgina said.
“Plans are subject to change,” Nate said with a shrug.
They reached the food serving area. Unsure of what was going to transpire as the day progressed, Georgina filled up her plate. She joined Nate and Gordon at a table shared other evacuees. Georgina was unexcited about the food, a hot dog on a white bun and some soggy potato salad, but it felt good to get something into her stomach. As they ate, she and Nate talked about nothing in particular. They included Gordon in their conversation to his chatty delight.
Georgina began to feel somewhat restored physically. But Wahl’s lengthy delay in calling her back made her increasingly uneasy. In spite of what she had said to Nate, she knew that Rios would not have prioritized unloading horses over finalizing a lucrative business deal; the horse chores would be left to the barn staff. And she knew that Wahl would have contacted Rios as soon as he learned that the meeting location needed to be changed. He would not have risked Rios’ anger if he went to the Horseman’s Club, only to find it closed. So what was the reason that Wahl had not yet called her back? She concluded that Rios and Wahl had become aware of the death at Casa Feliz.
After she finished eating Georgina scanned several local media websites from her cell phone. No deaths related to the fire had been reported so far. She excused herself from the table and called Nick, to get the latest. Nick told her that the TV affiliate was not yet reporting on the body at the Rios estate because there had not yet been any official confirmation. “What does Mark have to say about all of this?” Nick asked her. Georgina was startled when Nick spoke Mark’s name. In all the upheaval, she had forgotten to call him.