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I hummedas I headed down I5.

Andreas was squared away.

Shayna was less pissed than she’d been—more because of my skillful mediation technique than anything Andreas had actually offered up in the way of promises.Under our watch, he’d called Norah—with a hoarse voice—and said strep throat could totally wipe a person out, and he would feel incredibly guilty if he gave her the illness.

Lovely woman she was, her first instinct had been to offer to come by.

Andreas headed that off at the pass with a firm,my doctor said I’m highly contagious.

She’d said she’d send soup via delivery.

He’d tried to dissuade her, claiming he was still out after having seen the doctor.

She admonished him to go home immediately and said the soup would arrive in two hours.

He thanked her and, after the conversation ended, had to boot out of there.He had plenty of time to get home, but even the off chance of missing a delivery sent by Norah wasn’t worth the risk.

Shayna and I stayed in the bar—despite neither of us being particularly enamored with the place.We shared a plate of nachos—extra jalapenos—and planned the strategy on how to deal with things if Andreas’s involvement in the fight came to light.

Then we figured out how we might keep him out of trouble in Canada.

I was all for signing him up for online calculus classes.

My compatriot suggested a babysitter.

In the end, I emailed six potential programs of study to my client and Shayna popped a note off to the producer, Valentino, just suggesting Andreas might be lonely, and getting him into activities with other people might be a good idea.

She didn’t explicitly recommend staying away from booze, but the sentiment was in the subtext.

Val was a smart guy—he’d figure it out.

As I took my exit off the highway, I lowered my window.I loved catching a fresh breeze once I was away from all the exhaust fumes.California was getting more and more electric vehicles, but plenty of gas guzzlers were still on the road.

The acrid scent of burning wood caught my attention.

I raised the window and turned the recirc on.I was only about ten minutes away from home, and so I’d be fine.

Night had nearly fallen, with just a sliver of light on the western horizon.

Sunset had been stunning tonight.All glorious pink, purple, dark blue, and lavender.Red skies at night, sailor’s delight.Red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.Years in the navy ingrained that expression into my father’s admonitions.Although curious, I’d never actually checked the accuracy of the statement.I was often up super early to do my training for the day, so I’d spotted many stunning sunrises.And just as frequently, I’d run after work—so I’d experienced plenty of sunsets.I’d just never bothered to correlate future weather back to the observation.

I turned onto Fern Avenue and encountered a police roadblock.

What the actual hell?Irrational panic seized me.This was bad.Really bad.And I spotted flashing lights on Hummingbird Lane.Fire?Man, if this was the reason for the smell by the highway then things were bad.I pulled my SUV off to the side of the road and hopped out.

“Hey, Jeremy.”Kathleen, the sheriff’s deputy approached me.“Not your house, okay?As far as I can tell, no damage either, despite the proximity to the fire.If you left windows open, there’ll be smoke?—”

“What do you mean, proximity?”That panic ratcheted up to an eleven.“The Monroes’?”

She shook her head.“No, James’s house.Well, the house he rents out.I called him and he’s on his way over.He was up in Huntington Beach with his parents, and Colin was in LA.Danny’s here, though.”

My mind raced to catch up.Danny was James’s younger brother and new to town as well.Newer.“James’s house?”Her words sank in.“Oh, God.That’s where Phillip is staying.”

She frowned.“Who’s Phillip?”She scratched her cheek.“Oh, that’s the tenant James told me about.”

I tried to push past her.“I need to see.Is he okay?How about Wally?”

“Who’s Wally?”