“Of course,” Nick said, sounding sympathetic, as if they were discussing bird watching.
“And I’ve observed a couple of bodies which were left just this same way. The head was left twisted up and away because the killer snuck up on the victim and twisted his head almost off his body. It was exactly the same angle. The killer was left-handed and tall, you can tell by the way his chin is pulled up away from his torso.”
Nick studied the photo once again and saw what Joe was talking about. “I see what you mean. Where did you see these photos?”
Joe hesitated.
Nick held up his hand. “Total immunity. I promise.”
“Bolivia,” Joe said. “There was a professional called in to assassinate the President. I heard rumors about this guy from Russia. Ex-KGB. He preferred to use his hands. Less noise I guess, I don’t know. They never found him.”
“Anything else you remember about him?” Matt asked.
“Yeah, a couple of years later I heard about a murder in Indonesia. Same thing. In my circle I began to hear stories about the guy. He was considered the most dangerous man on the planet. No one even knows his name. They just call him The Russian. The thing is though …” Joe looked down at the photo. “Where did this happen?”
“Washington D.C.,” Walt said.
Joe’s face seemed to twitch. “Well, supposedly he’s never been to the States before.” Joe looked around the room. “Until now.”
Nick’s stomach clenched as he considered the news. He shook Joe’s hand and thanked him once again for all of his help. He immediately thought of Julie, though. She couldn’t possibly go through another ordeal like this. His poor wife deserved to be protected from the types of maniacs who drew targets on Nick’s photo. He pushed a button on the phone on his desk.
“Hey, Jule,” he said into the speakerphone. “Can you come here please?”
A moment later Julie stepped into the room with an even expression.
“Tommy’s going to take you home so you can grab some clothes,” Nick said.
Julie’s face soured, but she said nothing.
“I’m being over-protective sweetie, that’s all. We’re going to have you stay in a safe house for a couple of days.”
Julie nodded, but it was clear she wasn’t happy. Nick quickly got to his feet and followed Julie into the outer room. The only person there was Semir sitting cross-legged on his cot.
“Listen,” Nick said, touching Julie’s shoulder as she turned away from him. “Look at me.”
Julie spun around with slightly puffy eyes. “Yes?”
“This will be over quicker than you know,” Nick said, trying to look brave with his arm sling a constant reminder to his wife exactly how dangerous his job was. “This isn’t like the last time. There’s less than a dozen of them. I have Matt and Tommy with me.”
He was trying to push her comfort buttons. She’d always considered Matt his guardian angel and Tommy’s presence gave her immense reassurance.
Then she did something which made his heart melt. Julie tucked her head into the side of Nick’s face and gingerly placed her arm around his waist. He could feel her soft skin against his unshaven cheek.
“I love you,” she whispered into his ear. “We’ll always love you.”
The baby, Nick thought. She was already making them a family, letting him know what was at stake.
Nick clutched her with his one good arm and whispered. “I’m so very blessed to have you.”
Julie pecked him on the side of his face, then went for her purse on a nearby chair.
Nick turned to return to his office and noticed Semir staring at them without expression.
“What are you looking at?” Nick said.
Chapter 10
Tommy drove his rental car down the tree-lined street like he was going to a county fair. He had a pleasant smile as he observed the falling leaves through his open window. Julie knew it was Tommy’s way of calming her down and it was almost working.
“I tell you, Jule,” Tommy said, “I could get used to this up here.”
It was a good show, but Tommy kept eyeing the rear view mirror just a little more than necessary. It was a narrow two lane road with very little room before the trees came into play, which made Julie feel closed in even at sixty miles-per-hour.
Tommy’s cell phone chirped. He glanced down at the display and put the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Hector, how’s it going?”
He listened for a moment, then said, “Good. Hey, I have a question about that tunnel the Feds just discovered on the California border.”
Tommy’s face tensed up. “No, I’m not wired, Hector, jeesh. I’m just calling to ask-” Tommy pursed his lips. “Relax will you.” He pulled the phone down to his lap and said to Julie, “The guy really needs an intervention, but everyone’s too afraid of him.”
Tommy replaced the phone to his ear. “Easy Hector, you’re not listening to me. You’re acting all paranoid for no reason. I just want to know if you knew of any Kurdish involvement with this tunnel?”
He waited.
“It’s a type of people. They live in Turkey.”
Tommy glanced in the rear view mirror while listening. Their car cruised along without much traffic.
“They’re some kind of ethnic group,” he said, gesturing with his fingers while the palm of his hand steered. “Yes, sort of like Jews, but not like … hey, Hector, if you don’t even know who they are, don’t you think that answers my question?”
Tommy shook his head while listening. “Hector, that’s all I needed to know. Really. You’ve been a terrific help. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.” Tommy rolled his eyes, seemingly attempting to get off the phone as quickly as possible.
“Yeah, yeah, next time I’m down there we’ll get some cervezas together, you bet.”
Another few seconds, then Tommy said, “Thanks, Hector, adios.”
Tommy pushed a button, then put the phone on the console next to him. “Last time I had cerveza with Hector a jackrabbit knocked over his glass and got ten bullets for being an animal in the desert.”
Julie picked up Tommy’s phone. It was a glossy and black and sleeker than she’d ever seen before.
“Is this new?” she asked, looking it over.
Tommy beamed. “You like it?”
“I do,” she said.
“It’s the newest technology. The things I can do with that are unreal. It has a radar loaded on it. I can point it at a car and see how fast it’s going.”
Julie pressed the screen and scanned the icons. “That’s impressive. I’m sure that comes in handy all the time.” A little sarcasm leaking out.
“Yeah, well, it does a ton of other stuff too.”
Julie tapped into his music player. “Let’s see what we’ve been listening to,” Julie said, scrolling down the list of artists. “Oh, my. Coldplay? Tommy, you like Coldplay?”
Tommy glanced at her sideways. “I don’t necessarily like Coldplay, I just like their music.”
“Of course,” Julie said, scrolling further. “Kaiser Chiefs, Nada Surf, Razorlight? I’ve never heard of half of these bands.”
“That’s because most of them are from the U.K. That’s where all the new alternative stuff comes from, then we copy the original over here and muddle it up. Me, I like the original. By the time some copycat artist picks it up, I’m on to the next thing.”
Julie looked up at Tommy and it seemed he felt her stare.
“What?” he said.
Julie smiled. “I never knew this side of you.”
“What side?”
“I don’t know, I guess I pegged you for the Frank Sinatra type of guy.”
“Oh really?” Tommy said, mocking disappointment. “I think that’s some sort of stereotype, Mrs. Bracco.”
Tommy kept his eyes on the rear view mirror for too long and Julie turned to see a black pickup truck rushing up behind them. Tommy grabbed his phone and tapped the screen. The truck was speeding so fast the front end was bobbing up and down with the contours of the asphalt. Julie’s heart sped up as well.
As the vehicle closed in she could see three teenage boys with exhilarated expressions sharing the front seat. The driver ran up to within a few feet of their bumper, then swerved fiercely around them while Tommy eased over toward the shoulder to allow them to pass. As the truck flew by, the kid by the passenger window held out an open beer can as if toasting Tommy.