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CHAPTER 081

Bob,” Alex said, holding her phone to her ear.

She heard a groan at the other end. “What time is it?”

“It’s seven in the morning, Bob.”

“Aw Christ.” A thump as his head hit the pillow. “This better be important, Alex.”

“Were you out on a wine-tasting?” Robert A. Koch, distinguished head of the law firm, devoted a great deal of attention to wine. Kept his collection in lockers all over town. Bought at auction from Christie’s; made trips to Napa, Australia, France. But as far as Alex was concerned, the whole thing was just an excuse to get drunk on a regular basis.

“I’m waiting, Alex,” he said. “It better be good.”

“Okay, last twenty-four hours, I got a bounty hunter, huge guy looks like a walking brick, he’s after me and my kid, trying to stick biopsy needles in us and take our cells.”

“Very funny. I’m waiting.”

“I’m serious, Bob. There’s a bounty hunter chasing me and my kid.”

“This is out of nowhere?”

“No. I think it’s related to BioGen.”

“I hear BioGen is having troubles,” Bob said. “And they’re trying to take your cells? They probably can’t do that.”

“Probably is not what I want to hear.”

“You know the law is unclear.”

“Look,” she said, “I have my eight-year-old son here; they’re trying to grab him in the back of an ambulance and stick needles into his liver, I don’t want to hearunclear. I want to hearWe’ll stop it. ”

“We’ll certainly try,” he said. “This is your father’s case?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you call him?”

“He’s not answering.”

“You call the police?”

“There’s a warrant out for my arrest. In Oxnard. There’s a hearing in Oxnard today. I need somebody good to go up and appear for me.”

“I’ll send Dennis.”

“I said, somebody good. ”

“Dennis is good.”

“Dennis is good if he has a month. This is today, Bob.”

“Well, who do you want?”

“I want you,” she said.

“Aw Christ. Oxnard? It’s so fucking far…I haven’t had my shots…”

“I have a sawed-off shotgun in the backseat, Bob. I don’t really care if you think the drive is too long.”

“Okay, okay, take it easy,” he said. “I have to arrange some things.”

“Will you go?”

“Yes, I’ll go. You want to give me a hint what this is about?”

“You’ll find it in the Burnet file. I assume it has to do with takings, by eminent domain or simple conversion.”

“Taking your cells?”

“They claim they own them.”

“How can they own your cells? They own your father’s cells. Oh, I get it. Same cells. But that’s bullshit, Alex.”

“Tell the judge.”

“They can’t violate the integrity of your body, or the body of your kid, just-”

“Save it for the judge,” she said. “I’ll call you later, find out how it went.”

She flipped the phone shut.

She looked down at Jamie. He was still sleeping, peaceful as an angel.

If Koch got to Oxnard by late morning, he might get an emergency hearing set for the afternoon. She should probably call him around four p.m. That seemed a very long time away.

She drove toward La Jolla.