The Burning by Jonathan Kellerman & Jesse Kellerman

Author:Jonathan Kellerman & Jesse Kellerman [Kellerman, Jonathan & Kellerman, Jesse]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2021-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Amy and Charlotte had gone with Sarah and the baby to Huntington Gardens in Pasadena. I thumbed through photos of Charlotte in a bamboo grove, looking contemplative beyond her years.

I had another missed call from Billy Watts, the Berkeley detective, one from Andrea, and one from a number I didn’t recognize. I listened to the attached voicemail.

Mr. Edison, my name is James Okafor. I work with your brother. I understand you were here asking about him. Feel free to give me a ring …

I went out to the employee lot and called him from my car.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Mr. Okafor. It’s Clay Edison, Luke’s brother.”

“Oh, hey.” His soft, gravelly baritone faded into the bustle of the office floor. “Hang on a sec, let me find a room.” A brushy sound as he walked. The noise dampened. “Okay.”

“Thanks for calling.”

“No problem. Sorry I missed you yesterday, I had to leave to pick up my kids. Annie Lin told me you were by. She said you can’t reach Luke.”

“He’s been AWOL since Sunday. Have you spoken to him?”

“Not recently. You mind if I ask what’s going on?”

“I don’t really know. His wife hasn’t heard from him, either.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I don’t want to alarm you, because I don’t know if this means anything.”

I’m alarmed. “Go ahead.”

“Your brother thought he was being followed.”

IT WAS A weekday. Four, five months back. Okafor arrived at the office early. He and Luke were among the few who did. They were the Old Guys. His was the workstation to the left of Luke’s. They joked about it, like there was a designated zone for anyone over thirty.

He stopped to get coffee and ran into Luke, standing at the kitchen counter, unmoving.

“I’m like, ‘What’s up, king.’ He told me he was driving in and almost got into an accident. One block from the building, he stops at a hard yellow and the guy behind him almost rear-ends him. I could see he was shaken up. I thought because, you know, he loves that car. I’m like, ‘At least nothing happened, right?’ Then he tells me he went out to get his lunch. He was distracted on account of the near miss and forgot to bring it in with him. He steps outside and there’s the same truck that almost hit him, parked across the street.”

My scalp prickled. “A truck.”

“That’s what he said. He said it was like it was waiting for him. The driver has the window down, and Luke expects the guy to start cussing him out. But he doesn’t say anything. He just points his phone at Luke, like he’s taking a picture of him, or filming him. Luke goes and gets his lunch from the car. The whole time the guy’s following him with the camera.”

“Was he able to describe the driver?”

“Not that he said. I told him, ‘It’s probably an insurance scam, the guy’s gonna say you hit him so he can make a claim.’ Luke’s like, “Maybe, I don’t know.’ But he looked nervous.”

“What about the truck? Make and model, a plate number?”

“All he said was white.

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