‘I told Jimmy and J.J. to run any combos they could come up with. And those boys are whizzes on them computers.’
Volta lifted a hand. ‘I was just babbling out loud, not impugning their abilities. Actually, I was avoiding thinking about a tougher decision.’
‘Like whether to tell Daniel, right?’
‘No. He gets the information when we receive the Diamond. The tough decision is whether to tell Shamus.’
‘Not much to decide, is there? He’s gone loco, first of all, and besides he hasn’t been in touch.’
‘Not recently, but he might. And Alex Three had to get his information from close to the source, so Shamus is the best one to ask. Maybe he even knows who this Alex Three is. Let’s play it this way: Call Dolly and tell her that if Shamus checks in, she can tell him only that we’ve discovered the snitch, and how it went down in the alley with a trigger-happy agent. But don’t tell even Dolly we know who the agent was, much less the name. Only you and I have that name at the moment, and that’s enough.’
‘We can hope Daniel will make it three when he calls and decides to trade the Diamond for his mama’s killer, and a lead on the snitch.’
Volta said, without conviction, ‘Possibly.’ He smiled wryly at Jack and raised his glass of cognac: ‘To hope.’ He paused as he brought the glass to his lips and added, ‘And to faith.’
When Volta set down the empty glass, Jack said, ‘Aw, don’t worry. Things are just hanging fire right now. Pretty soon some pieces will come tumbling together, and you’ll know what to do because you – more than anyone I ever met – know what to do. I mean, don’t think you can shamelessly flatter me with this Star bullshit and get away unscathed.’
‘Scathe me,’ Volta said, ‘I need it.’ But he didn’t smile.
‘You don’t think he’s gonna trade that Diamond, do you? You really don’t.’
‘Jack, I’ve been sitting here four days feeling that Diamond take him. It was the one imponderable, how he’d react to the Diamond. Maybe I just didn’t ponder it deeply enough.’
‘Volt, would you quit whipping on yourself? I mean, how could you’ve considered that?’
‘I could have used some imagination,’ Volta said.
* * *
In a rich baritone and a horrible Irish accent, someone was singing ‘Dannnny Boy, Dannnny Boy, the pipes are calling––’
Daniel bolted awake. He looked around wildly: naked, daylight, the Diamond beside him on the bed. He lunged for the bowling bag and stuffed the Diamond inside, yelling at the singer, ‘What? Wait a minute, goddammit!’ He slid the bag under the bed, and pulled on his pants. It wasn’t until his first step toward the door that a sharp painful yank made him realize he’d caught half his pubic hair in the zipper. ‘Arrrhhh!’ he howled, clawing at his crotch for the zipper pull. At his howl, the singing stopped.
‘Daniel?’ Wally Moon called from the porch. ‘Hey! You all right in there?’
Daniel flung the door open, his face flushed. ‘Yes, Wally, I’m wonderful. Just got jerked from a sound sleep by some serenading Mongol-Apache and in my haste to get dressed I caught my pubic hair in my zipper, which caused the pained cry that elicited your concern. But other than that, top o’ the morning to ya.’
Wally winced. ‘Oooh, I’ve done that. Not only hurts like a son-of-a-bitch, but it scares you, too. Better than catching a fold of skin on your dick, though – you ever done that, zip up your dick?’
‘No, not yet, Wally.’ Daniel’s anger was dissipating rapidly, his confusion with it. He remembered Wally had borrowed his truck. He didn’t notice any sign of the keys in Wally’s hands.
As if to confirm the keys’ absence, Wally spread his arms, his open palms upraised in a mild plea for forbearance. ‘I had to wake you to give you the news.’
‘What news?’
‘Good news,’ Wally said merrily.
‘Do you have my truck?’
‘No,’ Wally smiled. ‘That’s the good news.’
‘For who?’
‘For you. See, we towed our truck in about sunup – it ate a valve – and after we had some breakfast, Annie went to Tucson for parts. We don’t have much money, but we have lots of relatives between us, and Annie’s cousin’s brother-in-law has a wrecking yard in Tucson. Anyway, about an hour ago, two guys in a grey Chevy sedan, last year’s model, came up the road. They were both large men with nice shines on their shoes. They said they were U.S. Treasury agents out looking for a man named Isaiah Kharome so they could give him a large tax settlement that he’d never collected. But to tell you the truth, they didn’t look like men happy to be returning money. They looked like men who had terrible childhoods.’
‘I see,’ Daniel said. ‘What did you tell them?’
‘I told them we hadn’t had a guest in over a month and that I didn’t recall seeing a seventy-two Chevy four-by with a camper, New Mexico license LXA 009. I wouldn’t have been able to tell them that with much conviction if your truck had been parked here.’
‘Thanks,’ Daniel said. ‘They weren’t Treasury agents, though, I can tell you that. The IRS is hunting me because I claim my writing is religious and therefore tax exempt, but they don’t agree. They’ve been hounding me for months – Isaiah Kharome is my pen name.’
‘Ah,’ Wally said, as if he finally understood. ‘I didn’t think they had money for you. Only trouble. But see how generosity encourages good fortune? You kindly lend me your truck, and it’s gone when they’re here. Not only that, I’ve always thought that when people are chasing you, the best place to be is behind them.’
‘So they’ve gone on, I take it. Toward Tucson?’
‘That’s what their car tracks show. I always take a morning run so I went down to the highway to check.’
‘I’m a little worried about your wife. They might see the truck on her way back from Tucson.’
‘Before my run, I used the CB to call my uncle in Dos Cabezas who has a phone and he called Annie’s cousin’s brother-in-law’s wrecking yard to leave a message that she shouldn’t drive on the interstate today. She will understand. Annie is strange even for a woman, but she possesses great intelligence. She also likes to drive fast, so I would expect her back by early afternoon with your truck, and also with some groceries. We will have a feast to good luck this evening if you would like to join us.’
Daniel frowned and said ruefully, ‘No, gosh, I can’t. I’m supposed to be in Phoenix tonight.’
Wally said with a faint chastising edge, ‘I had a teacher, an Apache holy man named Two Snakes, who taught that the best place to hide was where they’d already looked.’
‘He sounds like a very wise man,’ Daniel said, ‘but I have obligations beyond my control, and I must honor them.’
Wally nodded. ‘Religious obligations and family obligations are very important to keep things going right. But you should take the scenic route to Phoenix – Six sixty-six, to Seventy, to Sixty, and then Eighty. But of course these tax people are everywhere you go these days.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Daniel assured him. ‘I’m difficult to catch and much harder to keep.’
When Daniel heard his truck drive in two hours later, he was still sitting on the edge of the bed, his shirt in his hands. He was thinking about what to do next, given the news of pursuit. He felt tired, calm, and strangely content, as if something was coming inevitably to a conclusion, its trajectory locked. He admitted to himself that he wanted a conclusion, wanted one soon. He didn’t feel he had the power to hold on much longer. He decided to call Volta at the first opportunity. His cover was evidently blown and he wanted to know why. That was a practical matter. But he also owed Volta an explanation, or as much of one as he could give. And maybe Volta could give him some advice on how to proceed with the Diamond, how to see inside it. Daniel didn’t want to return it until he’d seen what it was the Diamond wanted him to see. Maybe Volta could offer him perspective. He felt like he was too close to see clearly, yet he couldn’t back away.