"Any trouble?" I asked.
"None," Natalie said. "If he's in New York, he didn't know you were at the Grand."
"You checked us out?"
"All taken care of."
"New car."
"You like it?"
"What happened to the old one?"
"Sold it."
"Nat, you go through cars the way most people go through socks."
"I like that new-car smell," she said. "We'll follow you."
I climbed back into the rental and got back on the road, and they followed me the ten minutes it took to reach the house. The Kompressor was still where Dan had parked it, and the lights inside the house were still blazing bright. I stopped my car and let Miata out, told Natalie and Alena to wait. Dan was still in the kitchen, where he'd killed another two longnecks, talking on his cell phone in Russian. When he saw me he changed his tone, making a quick end to the conversation, then stowed the phone back in his pocket.
"She's here?"
I gestured for him to follow me.
They were still in the Audi, the engine idling, and when Natalie saw us coming, she shut off the car and opened her door. Dan started around for Alena's side, and I looked past him to her, trying to read what she wanted. She didn't seem to have any objection to Dan's approach, and so I let him help her out of the vehicle while I started unloading the rental. Between Natalie and myself we had my shopping unloaded and the bags from the Audi inside in three trips, just as Alena had reached the top of the porch. Dan was walking behind her, and his manner reminded me of nothing as much as an overprotective sibling watching out for his little sister. But when he offered to give her his elbow for support, she snapped something in Russian at him, and again it was clear that, whatever else he felt for her, she scared him.
Natalie set about a quick walk-through of the house while I unloaded the groceries, and Alena settled into one of the chairs in the kitchen, Dan again back at the table. I didn't say anything while I restocked the cabinets and fridge. The two of them spoke in Russian to one another, voices soft, though twice Alena's tone sharpened, and Dan said something conciliatory. I was folding the shopping bags and putting them away when I realized the conversation, whatever it had been about before, had now turned and made me the subject.
Natalie came back and rolled her eyes at me, and I moved to join her in the hall, saying, "I know, it's not good. It's not god-awful, but it's not good."
"The hot tub helps," she said.
"Sure, if you want to be picked off from outside."
"She taught you how to snipe, did she?"
"No," I said. "Sniping's woman's work."
"Well, let's talk about man's work, then. What do you want to do about the alarms?"
"I picked up some stuff at Radio Shack. Tomorrow we can wire a panic button to whatever room we're putting her in. Other than that, I'm not sure what else we can do."
"Be nice if we had Corry for this," she mused.
"And Dale for the vehicles, but we don't. Which room do you like for her?"
"The second bedroom upstairs, the one between the master bedroom and the smaller bathroom. You and I can take the beds on either side, she'll be covered."
I moved my head to indicate the flight of stairs. "Be trouble if we have to get her out in a hurry."
"Atticus," Natalie said. "If we have to get her out in a hurry, odds are none of us will be leaving alive anyway."
"We'll ask her what she wants."
Natalie looked past me, back into the kitchen. "You have any idea what they're talking about?"
"Probably me," I said.
"Oh, that's egocentric."
"Maybe. But I heard Dan use my name, and I don't think it was in passing. Not sure what the relationship is there."
"Not sure what the relationship is, here," Natalie pointed out.
I started to respond when, from the kitchen, Alena called, "Dan's going to go back into the city, get things ready for tomorrow."
Natalie and I stepped back into the kitchen, saw that Dan was already on his feet. He looked at me and asked, "If that's all right with you?"
There was no condescension in his tone at all.
"That's fine," I answered. "Thanks."
" 'Tasha says you'll pay me tomorrow."
"I'll have the money by the afternoon."
"That's good, then."
He adjusted his coat, glanced at Alena, then made his way out of the house. Natalie turned and followed him to the door, locking it after he left, staying at the window until his car was out of sight. I pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat down with Alena.
"How do you feel about being upstairs?"
"The stairs will be difficult, but I'll manage. It will be fine." She set her crutches aside, propping them against the table. "Dan says you were unhappy with him."
"Not with him. There are problems with the house, it's not ideal. But it'll serve."
"He says I changed you."
"You did."
"He says I made you like me."
"That I'm not so sure about. But at least I'm no longer addicted to caffeine."
She smiled, but didn't laugh. "When is Fowler coming to speak with me?"
I was only a little surprised. "He's waiting for my call."
"Tonight would be best."
That was more surprising. "I thought you'd take some convincing."
"No, it was to be expected, and if you had not already contacted him, I would have asked you to. I will give him information."
"Like?"
"Oxford has certainly been hired by the same people who told you I had killed in Dallas. They lied to you, hoping you would make their jobs easier. They hoped I would contact you, and that you in turn would contact them. They most certainly planned to then forward that information to Oxford, helping him to narrow his search. Since they are Oxford's employers, only they can end the contract. But if I give information to Fowler, information embarrassing to those people, Fowler will share it with his superiors, and that will force them back into hiding."
"Nice plan if it'll work. Do you think it'll work?"
She shook her head. "But it will complicate things for Oxford at the least, perhaps buy us more time. Understand, I will speak to Fowler only because we can use him."
"He doesn't want to arrest you."
"I'm glad to hear that, because I won't allow it to happen."
"I'll make sure he understands," I said. "You don't have to worry about Scott, he's a good guy."
"Another of your friends."
"He's a good friend."
"I noticed that only Natalie agreed to help you."
"Dale and Corry are still my friends."
"And yet they are not here."
She shut her eyes, tired. It occurred to me that her leg was giving her a lot of pain. She opened her eyes again, then leaned over to where I was sitting and put her lips lightly against my cheek.
"Call your friend," she said.
Chapter 3
She talked to Scott for almost three and a half hours, from shortly after midnight until almost four in the morning. They stayed at the kitchen table, Alena drinking juice and Scott mainlining coffee, and he filled page after page of his notebook with what she said. Mostly she gave him histories, incidences where she knew an assassin had been hired for a job, and she gave him enough facts, enough names and dates, explained enough about how such a contract would be carried out, that Scott could take the information and fill in the rest. She never implicated herself, though at least one of the assassinations she told him of was the execution of General Augustus Albertus Usuf Kiwane Ndanga. She told him about tradecraft, things she hadn't even shared with me, explaining to Scott the sorts of things he should look for if we wanted to tie Oxford to the people who had hired him. She explained contact protocols, cutouts, dead drops, authorizations.
Half of Scott's questions were about money, and he asked Alena to explain how payments were made, how an organization would arrange the funding for such jobs, how the transfers would be handled, in general, how she – and presumably others of her profession – handled their finances. In this she was more forthcoming, all things considered, and when she told Scott that, in fact, she didn't actually handle her money herself, he was incredulous.