Chapter 16 Summary

When Decker gets home, he cannot get Gault on the phone. Later, Decker gets a call from a police detective friend, who wants to know if he can come over for a talk. Decker suspects from his friend's demeanor that this is a professional visit and suspects that his muggers are pressing charges. Decker is also concerned it might have something to do with Skink and Dickie Lockhart's murder. When the detective, Al Garcia, arrives, he is in the company of several uniformed officers. Decker hesitates, but intends to give himself up assuming it is nothing more than an assault charge. However, before Decker can go outside, someone comes up behind him and knocks him out. When Decker comes to, he finds Skink is his attacker.

Skink will not allow Decker to talk to the police. Decker believes this is because the police...