‘I wonder whose fault that is.’
‘I ask only that you not be cruel to him.’
‘He’s threatened to kill me before.’
‘Only words.’ As if words didn’t matter.
‘He’s…’ She searched for the term. Crazy might be appropriate, but it was not a word she could use with Jargo. ‘Troubled.’
‘He lacks confidence. You could give it to him.’
Her skin went cold. ‘How?’
‘Pay extra attention to him.’
‘I’m not sleeping with him.’
‘But you’d sleep with Evan Casher. For the good of our network.’
‘I’m not sleeping with Dezz.’
The hotel phone rang. Jargo didn’t look at her; he punched the speakerphone button.
‘Good news and bad news. Which you want first?’ Galadriel said on the speakerphone.
‘Bad news,’ Jargo said.
‘Evan’s off the grid,’ Galadriel said. ‘No sign of credit card use, no police report yet that he’s surfaced. You won’t be able to grab him before your meeting, unless he’s stupid enough to use his credit card for a hotel or restaurant.’
‘He’s not stupid,’ Carrie said.
‘Did you pull all stolen-car reports for the five-county area?’ Jargo asked.
‘Yes. Finally I was able to get it. The most likely candidate is a pickup truck, a one-year-old Ford F-150, stolen from a driveway in Bandera. A note with the keys to a Ducati motorcycle were found on the porch.’
‘Are the locals tracing the Ducati?’
‘That I don’t know,’ Galadriel said. ‘Sorry.’
Carrie watched Jargo. ‘CIA or FBI trace it back to Gabriel, they’ll arrive back at that house. Start asking questions.’
‘I’m not worried,’ Jargo said. ‘What’s of more interest is if they don’t trace the Ducati.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Carrie said.
‘Sure you do. The Bandera authorities don’t trace it, it’s because the investigation’s been shut down. Because our friends at the FBI and at the CIA don’t want the motorcycle traced, don’t want the truck theft pursued.’
‘Because they’re looking for Evan now themselves,’ Carrie said in an even tone.
Jargo nodded at her and said, ‘So that’s the bad news. What’s the good?’
‘I got a partial decode on the e-mail message that Donna Casher received from Gabriel,’ Galadriel said. ‘He used an English variant of an old plain-language SDECE code abandoned back in the early seventies. The name for the code was 1849.’ SDECE was French intelligence. Carrie frowned. 1849. The same as the date in Gabriel’s e-mail to Donna. Telling her what code to use.
‘Odd choice,’ Jargo said.
‘Not really. One assumes Donna contacted Gabriel in a hurry, and they needed a common code base from which they could both easily work.’
‘So what’s the message say?’ Carrie resisted the urge to hold her breath. She didn’t look over at Jargo.
‘Our interpretation is READY TO GO ON MAR 8 A.M. PLEASE DELIVER FIRST HALF OF LIST UPON ARRIVAL IN FL. IS SON COMING? SECOND HALF WHEN YOU ARE OVERSEAS. YOUR HUSBAND IS YOUR WORRY.’
‘Thank you, Galadriel. Please call me immediately if you get a trace on Evan.’ Jargo clicked off the phone.
Carrie studied the tension in Jargo’s shoulders, his face. She had seen the kicked-to-chunks remains of Joaquin Gabriel and knew this man was on a lethally short fuse. She chose her words carefully. ‘The Cashers were to rendezvous in Florida. Where?’
‘We grabbed him in Miami, returning from a job in Berlin. He must have broken protocol and let Donna know his itinerary,’ Jargo said. ‘She must have promised Gabriel the final payoff delivery when the family was overseas and hidden.’
‘Second half. Sounds like two deliveries,’ Carrie said. ‘What else did she have beside the account files?’
Jargo’s face darkened. ‘Half the files first, half the files when they were safe.’ He looked to Carrie as if he were scared and furious and trying to suppress his rage.
‘Jargo. What are these files?’
A knock at the door. Carrie checked the peephole and opened it. Dezz stepped in. He didn’t look happy. ‘Nothing in Dallas. Gabriel’s office is under surveillance.’
‘Locals or federal?’
‘Locals. But it’s got to be at the request of the Agency, probably asked via the Bureau,’ Dezz said. ‘I couldn’t get close to see if there was any info on Evan’s aliases in his office. They’ve connected Gabriel with this case.’
‘You didn’t answer my question, Jargo. What are these files?’
Jargo didn’t look at her. ‘Donna Casher stole our client list.’
‘Bullshit,’ Dezz said. ‘There’s no such list.’
‘She amassed a list. A brilliant insurance policy.’ Jargo turned to Carrie. ‘Either through Gabriel or his mom, Evan knows all about us now. He just promised me the goddamned files in exchange for his dad. He knows Dezz is my son. He knows about us, Carrie. He’s seen more than the client files. Maybe files on us.’
‘So we have to meet him,’ Carrie said.
Dezz said, ‘Let us take Evan, Dad. You go back to Florida, break out the knives, make Mitchell talk. See if he knows where the client list is.’
Jargo rubbed at his lip. ‘But I’m sure Mitchell had no idea Donna betrayed us. He wouldn’t have gone on a mission for me if his wife was about to stab me in the back and then return the moment I summoned him back to Florida. It put him straight in our hands, left his family defenseless.’
‘He could hardly say no to you,’ Dezz said.
‘Sure he could. He could have argued a reschedule. I respect his opinion. He could have easily run from us, and he didn’t.’
‘You’re blinded by affection for Mitchell,’ Dezz said. ‘It’s not very appealing.’
‘I can’t afford sentiment. Even when I really wish I could.’ Jargo closed his eyes, rubbed his temples.
For the first time Carrie saw a light that wasn’t cold and hateful in Jargo’s gaze. For the first time since Jargo had told her a year ago, I know who killed your parents, Carrie, and they will kill you, too. But I can hide you. You can keep working for me, I’ll take care of you.
‘Carrie. Did Evan ever mention New Orleans to you? They might have told him where to run if he ever got into trouble. Or if something ever happened to them.’
‘I’m sure they never gave him any kind of escape plan because he didn’t know his parents were agents. If he’d had a hint of the truth, he would have found out long ago. That’s who he is.’ She shrugged. ‘He told me he was born in New Orleans, but he hasn’t lived there since he was a child. I assume you know that already.’
Jargo nodded. ‘Evan specifically asked you not be at the meeting, Dezz.’
‘He doesn’t like me? I’m hurt.’
Jargo gave Dezz a stern glare. ‘We’re not having a repeat at the zoo tomorrow. You will be calm and you will do as you’re told.’
Dezz chewed a caramel and stared at the carpet.
‘What is Mitchell Casher to you?’ Carrie asked Jargo. ‘You seem worried about him as much as frustrated with him.’
‘I would like for him to contact his son for me. To bring him in. He refuses. He doesn’t trust me.’
‘Obviously. You’re holding him prisoner.’
‘I’m convinced he wasn’t part of Donna’s scheme now. But I can’t yet convince him of my good intentions toward his son.’
‘I wonder why,’ Carrie said. ‘Since you don’t plan to honor your deal with Evan.’
‘He won’t be expecting to see you, Carrie. You’re the element of surprise,’ Jargo said. ‘I can’t let Evan walk away from that meeting. Once we have the files, Evan’s a done deal. You know that. He’ll talk. He won’t keep his mouth shut. It’s the kind of man that he is. You said it yourself.’
‘The Audubon Zoo is a very public place. Major attraction,’ Carrie said. ‘Too many people. Too contained. He made a smart choice. You won’t be able to grab Evan there, Jargo.’
‘Not grab. Kill,’ Dezz said.
‘Not there you can’t,’ Carrie said.
‘No. We’ll get him to leave with you. He’ll be thrilled to see you,’ Jargo said. ‘Take him someplace private. Where just the two of you can talk. Then you can kill him.’