“Not that sludge you make,” Hannibal said, following Sarge into the kitchen. “I got the real stuff brewing downstairs.”
Sarge pulled out two large mugs bearing a globe and anchor and, ignoring Hannibal, poured two cups of coffee. “You know, I been thinking about this plan of yours, Hannibal. I think it’s got one big hole in it.”
“Really?” Hannibal dropped the disc on the table to pick up his cup. “Well I’m always willing to listen, buddy. What did I miss?”
“Your exit strategy’s weak,” Sarge said, leaning back against the sink and taking a big swallow of coffee. “What if you get busted after you’ve scored the prize? You could find yourself cornered and outnumbered, know what I mean?”
“I think I do,” Hannibal said, suppressing a smile.
“Now what you need,” Sarge said, completely serious, “is some backup. I figure if I follow you down there and hang back, outside…”
Hannibal sipped, and fought screwing up his face at the bitter taste. “Damn, that coffee is awful…” When Sarge raised his eyebrows, Hannibal added, “Good. Awful good. But man, I have a sneaking suspicion that all you really want is to get close enough to get your hands on Rod Mantooth. I don’t know if I want to put you in that…”
“Mon Dieu!” Marquita, having just stepped into the kitchen, stood with one hand raised to her mouth. Hannibal and Sarge turned toward her, not sure what had caused her reaction until they followed her eyes down to the table.
“It is the disc,” she said. “That is the one Rod had on the boat.”
Hannibal smiled, scooping up the CD-Rom. “That’s what I needed to hear, Marquita. This is the duplicate I had Anita make and it sounds like she got it just about right.”
Hannibal’s smile faded in the face of Marquita’s reaction. The golden disc pulled her eyes like a magnet, and as she stared her lower lip began to quiver. Although it was just a copy, the object in his hand was, for her, a physical object with a direct connection to the depraved and demeaning treatment Rod gave his willing followers. He quickly pushed it behind his back.
“Well, listen, thanks for all your help,” he said on his way toward the door. “I’m going to go downstairs and get myself together for tomorrow. And get myself a decent cup of coffee. See you guys.”
Hannibal watched his car clock tick over to six pm before he turned the key from ACC to off to save the battery. Some merciful clouds had blown into place and his daylong headache had faded at last. Parked down the block from Cindy’s Alexandria townhouse he watched the river darken by slow degrees as the sun dropped behind the city in his rearview mirror. People were slowly filtering into Oronoco Park in anticipation of the cooler temperatures that come with sunset. He sipped hot, strong coffee from his travel cup. His friends at The Coffee Mill had convinced him to try a Costa Rican coffee they imported and it was a winner. These beans had been darker with a fierce aroma. The nutty flavor of the brew blunted his irritation at waiting. After all, a guy should not have to stake out his girlfriend’s house.
He had called Cindy a couple more times before deciding that the woman had to go home some time, and he would meet her there. He pulled out his cell phone, planning to try the three numbers one more time. As he did he remembered another call he should be making. Checking the slip of paper in his pocket, he punched in the numbers Mariah had given him. After just two rings, a low husky voice answered.
“This is her? Who’s this?’ “Smoke, baby,” Hannibal said. “What up with your beautiful self?”
Pause. “Oh, hey, I can probably get that for you. Let me call you back in a minute, okay?”
Hannibal muttered agreement into an already dead phone. He figured he must have called at a bad time. Shrugging, he tried Cindy’s cell phone again, and again found it turned off. As soon as he hung up, his phone rang.
“Smoke honey, is that you?” Mariah’s voice was more breathy this time, dripping with exaggerated sexiness. There was also a faint echo, as if she had moved to a smaller room. Maybe she had slipped into the bathroom for this conversation. Hannibal pulled on his street voice, like an uncomfortable shirt that was nonetheless right in style.
“Yeah, baby. Just wanted to know what was going on with that party tomorrow. Your boy don’t play none of that redneck shit, do he? I’m ready to get crunk.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, panting as if in anticipation. “I’ll make sure you get your party on. And Rod will have the dance tracks booming, loud and heavy.”
“Good deal,” Hannibal said. “Between you and Sheryl this ought to be a hell of a party.” He needed to know what kind of story Sheryl and Derek had come up with.
“Yeah, she told me you were all that,” Mariah said. “From what she said, I want to make sure I get my turn. And we won’t have to worry about her getting in the way.”
“What, you beat her down or something?”
“No, silly,” Mariah giggled, surprising him by sounding very young for a moment. “You must have turned her out, cause Derek was scared of losing her. He collared her last night. Replaced that braided leather piece of shit choker with a real nice silver band. So now she does what he says, and I know one thing he won’t say she can do is you.”
Hannibal’s mind snapped back to the hidden collars he had found in the last few days and the looks on Anita’s and Marquita’s faces when confronted with them. Now Mariah sounded quite casual as she dropped this news into his ear. Was that funny? Should he laugh? Should he care? What was the right response? Before Hannibal had time to gather his answer, Mariah rushed into his silence.
“Hey, don’t you worry about that. I’m twice as good as Sheryl. I know stuff she never thought about, and do stuff she’s afraid of. And I can take a hell of a lot more.”
He knew the right answer now. “Like to walk right up to the edge, eh? Well all right then. But dig, I don’t want to get in no pissing contest with the big dog. If Rod and me rumble, I’ll have to put him down hard.”
“Rod will be busy with the newbie,” Mariah said, with an edge in her voice. “While he’s training her, we can be upstairs. He won’t even care.”
Right, Hannibal thought. That was why she was hiding in the bathroom. Well, whatever the punishment was for straying off the preserve, she probably enjoyed that too. Aloud he said, “All right, Shorty. I’ll slide in around, what, eight o’clock? Then we’ll see how well the big dog trained you.”
Mariah whispered, “Yes Sir,” and her words surprised him as much as the soft tone in which she said them.
By the end of that conversation Hannibal felt tired. The sun had disappeared while they talked, and he leaned back in his seat to consider the next night in more detail. With his eyes closed he could picture Rod’s summerhouse and imagine all the players and where they would be.
Hannibal jerked upright at the tapping on his window. Cindy stood on the other side of the glass in a green velvet sweat suit that fit like it was painted on. Her smile implied total ignorance of his frustration at trying to contact her. He pushed a button, rolling the window down.
“How long have you been sitting out here?” Cindy asked. Hannibal’s stern expression pushed her face back a few inches. “What are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for you to come home,” Hannibal said. “I couldn’t imagine where you were.”
“Oh honey, I was in the office all day. This IPO is really taking off and if I do this right…”
“I called the office. No answer, no response to my message. No answer at the house, no answer on your cell.”
“Oh, babe.” Cindy pulled the car door open, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry. I never checked for messages at the office all day. And I thought I told you I don’t carry that cell anymore. Why didn’t you ‘berry me?”
Hannibal powered his window closed and stepped out of the car, stretching. “Bury you?”
“My Blackberry, silly,” she said, trying a tentative hug. “That’s the only place I check for messages anymore. You could leave a voicemail, or you can text me or drop an e-mail. I know I gave you the number.”