‘We can talk tonight at 8 p.m. in Albuquerque. Mama’s Cafe.’
‘Half in front, as usual. The Cayman account. You have the number.’
Keyes chuckled. ‘I’m always glad to see a man save for his retirement.’
‘I don’t save anything,’ Debritto said. He hung up.
The phone booth was freezing cold in the desert sunrise. By the time Daniel finished dialing, his breath had fogged the glass.
Volta answered after three rings.
‘Allied Furnace Repair.’
‘Hello,’ Daniel said, teeth nearly chattering.
Volta didn’t reply.
‘I got it,’ Daniel said.
‘Yes, so we heard,’ Volta said softly. ‘Good.’
‘There were complications.’
‘You knew there could be complications. There usually are.’
‘There still are,’ Daniel said. His voice sounded tight, jerky.
‘So I’d surmised,’ Volta said. ‘Their existence, not the specifics. What are they?’ Soft. Patient.
‘How did I do it?’ Daniel blurted. ‘You must know.’
‘No doubt you imagined it.’
‘No doubt? None? No, I have doubts. That should please you.’
Volta didn’t respond.
Daniel said, ‘I don’t know whether I imagined it or it imagined me.’
‘Come visit. Perhaps I could be of help in understanding the distinction.’
Daniel shuddered. ‘No. You don’t even understand what I’m saying. You don’t need to see it. I do. I need to see it. It’s my responsibility now. I’ve seen inside it and I need to see more because it wants me to.’
‘I never considered the Diamond my responsibility,’ Volta said. ‘I considered it my due. We have both earned rights in this matter. I only ask that you honor mine.’
‘That’s what I’m trying to do, don’t you understand?’
‘No, I don’t,’ Volta said.
‘You’d have to vanish with it to see inside, to see what you want to see, to even know if you want to see it.’
‘I respect your judgment, Daniel, and I truly thank you for your concern, but I have to reserve that decision for myself.’
With his fingertip Daniel drew ragged circles on the fogged glass.
‘Come see me,’ Volta said gently. ‘Take your time. They just discovered it’s missing. As far as we know, you’re clear. If it’s too complicated, I can always come to you. Tell me where and when.’
Daniel said quickly, ‘I can’t think now. I’m freezing. I’ll call again later.’ He hung up.
Volta eased the receiver back into the cradle. He shut his eyes and inhaled slowly. ‘You lost him,’ he said. THE THERAPEUTIC JOURNALS OF JENNIFER RAINE APRIL 2 (EVENING)
My name is Jennifer Raine, Malinche Cortez Rainbow, Sandra Dee, Emily X, Desiree Knott. Still crazy after all these years, huh girls?
This afternoon Doc Putney tried to be more aggressive with me. Wasn’t surprised. Men have one of two responses to me – flight or fight. I was telling him about the lightning-strike scar I got when my father was killed. It’s right at the base of my spine, shaped just like a lightning bolt. I was telling him I wasn’t killed too because when the lightning hit my brain and shot down my spine, the small of my back was touching the boat, and pulled out just enough juice to save me. I mean, I don’t blame the lightning. It just wants to get to the bottom of the lake. If it doesn’t connect, it can’t go home.
Anyway, Doc Putney challenged me about the scar, but he did it all wrong. He said, ‘You don’t have a scar, Jennifer.’
So I stood up and turned around and lifted the grey smock over my head. I wasn’t wearing anything else. I like my body close. Nakedness is one of my highest powers. I don’t mean the foxy chick-trick of turning slowly, arms crossed, lifting with a little wriggle and then dropping a dress on the floor. I’m not good at being sexy. But I know how to be naked, so naked you can’t even see my body.
Doc Putney must have almost swallowed the pencil he’s always chewing on because he kind of croaked, ‘Jennifer, put on your clothes.’
I told him, ‘Look at my scar.’ I reached back with my right hand and touched it so he’d know where to look.
The Doc got agitated. ‘There is no scar,’ he said, hitting every word like he was talking to a child. I don’t even talk to Mia like that.
I stood there so naked I could feel the scar begin to glow. Finally he came around his desk and picked up my smock and handed it to me. He looked in my eyes – with more courage than I thought he had – and said with real gentleness, ‘There is no scar. Put on your dress now. Please.’
The ‘please’ intimated what a glance at his crotch confirmed – he had a serious hard-on.
‘I showed my scar,’ I told him. ‘Let me see your cock. Let’s play, Doctor.’
I couldn’t resist. Scared him though – reminded him he was a doctor. Compromising Situation with a Female Patient.
‘No,’ he said. ‘This session is over.’ And he walked out. It was more of a controlled bolt. At the door he turned and said, ‘You should write about your feelings toward men.’
Depends on the man, Doc. And me.
Before he even opened his eyes, Volta could tell by the ring that the call was the inside line. Probably Smiling Jack or Ellison. He picked up the receiver without enthusiasm. ‘Allied Furnace Repair.’
‘Glad you gave it up and got some sleep.’ It was Jack.
‘I didn’t give it up. He called.’
Smiling Jack waited. ‘And?’
‘I don’t know. More exactly, he doesn’t know. I think the Diamond overwhelmed him. He said he’d call back.’
‘Where is he?’
‘He didn’t say. Sounded like a phone booth, so I’m assuming he’s on the road and moving.’
Smiling Jack said nothing for a moment. ‘Since you didn’t call, I guess we’re playing him loose. Or letting him loose.’
‘I think it’s fair for now,’ Volta said. ‘Not that we have much choice.’
Jack sighed. He hated to deliver bad news. ‘We have a choice now. They’ve got his cover, everything but the truck’s make and license plate number.’
Volta sat up in the chair. ‘How?’
‘You’re not going to believe it.’
‘I believe everything that happens.’
‘The president himself – though rumor has it the pressure came from his wife, through her astrologer – insisted they call in that weirdo Dredneau. According to a reliable source, he fucking deduced it from the plunger mark on the ceiling.’
‘That’s an astonishing deduction.’
‘Yeah,’ Jack agreed, ‘I thought so. Of course, I don’t have much skinny on this Dredneau, except he dresses out of the nineteenth century, has a certain dramatic flair, and evidently knows his shit. Sounds like your kind of guy.’
Volta was thinking. ‘That’s an impossible deduction. Change the code right now. Damn – I should have done it a month ago. Keep the frequency rotation, though.’
‘If we’re piped, might as well pour shit in their ear, huh?’