Ms. Kilby studied my face. “You’re sure about that?”
“She told me enough to know we’ve met before.”
“And do you have an idea who this mystery woman might be?”
“Haven’t the foggiest.” I cut a keen glance her direction. “That’s where you come in.”
Kilby leaned back, a hint of a smile on her lips as she adjusted her thin-rimmed eyeglasses. “Why would I know something that you don’t, Mr. Trubble?”
“You wouldn’t. But folks you know might. Because when it comes to badass dames with guns, none come any badder than the Gutter Girls, right?”
Kilby’s eyes narrowed. “You understand I’m only loosely affiliated with that organization, don’t you? You don’t see me in a latex catsuit with weapons strapped to my body for a reason.”
I lifted my hands in a forestalling gesture. “I understand. But loosely affiliated or not, you should be able to do a little digging and find out if any of their members have a contract on your favorite Troubleshooter, right? Just trying to eliminate as many possibilities as possible.”
Kilby’s mouth tightened, but she nodded reluctantly. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Outstanding. Give Selene my regards.” I turned to Flask. “What have you turned up so far?”
His laugh was distinctly humorless. “Nothing, Mick. Just been sitting around with my thumbs in my ass waiting for you to solve the case.”
“Besides that.”
He glowered. “I’ve got men combing the city for clues, goddamnit. They’re not going to come up with much. People get their throats cut every night in this city and you know it, Mick. And on top of that the Mob is all tied in, so you can bet nobody will talk even if they know something. So don’t play games with me. I got you on the case because I don’t want some kind of gang war to explode in the streets. Seems like all you’ve been able to do so far is catch a few stray slugs. Pardon my lack of empathy.”
Angel patted him on the arm. “No need to get all riled up, Roddy. Everyone’s one edge right now.”
I gave Flask my most annoying smirk. “That’s right, ‘Roddy.’ Let’s not let our emotions get the best of us. Time to bump noggins and see what spills. So what do we got so far?”
Benny cleared his throat. “My cousin Sophia — murdered. That’s first and foremost.”
I nodded. “That’s where everything started. This faceless dame claimed the hit, but why?”
Benny frowned. “I thought you said this was someone out to get Moe by knocking off his family. You said Sophia was the first, and the attack earlier tonight was the same person trying to whack me.”
“Earlier last night, actually. It’s a brand new day, sport. But you’re right. That was my assumption at the time. Things have changed.”
“How so?”
Poddar stirred from his chair, his dark eyes thoughtful. “Because the attack on Mick wouldn’t make sense in that scenario. Why attack Mick if the point was to kill you, Ben?”
Benny shrugged. “To get him outta the way, I guess.”
“The dame said she was targeting me with an X-ray scope. I don’t think she was bluffing. That being the case, there was no need to even alert me at all. She could have taken the shot at you in your room and been ghost before you hit the floor.”
Benny scratched his head. “I don’t get it, then.”
Flask tapped some notes on the interactive screen that emitted from his holoband. “So the hitwoman calls you up, lures you in the alley out back and proceeds to give you a bad case of lead poisoning. Obviously she didn’t know about your built-in healing system, but she definitely meant to kill you.”
“I’m not so sure. The dame was obviously a pro, and a pro wouldn’t make the mistake of leaving before making sure the kill was righteous.”
Flask gave me a skeptical glance. “You saying the assassin knew you would survive that hit? I don’t know, Mick. Sounds like the meds talking.”
“C’mon Flask, you’re embarrassing yourself. You’ve been on the beat long enough to clean up after a few professional hits, right?”
“Yeah. So what?”
I shook a finger his direction. “You wanna punch someone’s ticket, you tap them in the heart or head. You know what I’m talking about. I’m telling you, the dame knew I could take the damage.”
“Then why go through the trouble at all? What’s the point?”
“She wanted to show him what she’s capable of,” Natasha said. “She wanted him to know she can kill him whenever she wants to.”
We all turned to stare. I’d nearly forgotten Natasha was there. She’d been sitting quietly on a stool the whole time, listening to every word. She blushed prettily at the sudden shift of attention, but continued to speak.
“I don’t think this is about Sophia or Benny.” Her smoky eyes locked with mine. “I think it’s about you, Mick. I think the assassin is playing some sort of twisted game with you, and everyone else are just pieces on the board.”
I sighed, exhaling a cloud of gasper smoke. “Points to the lady for putting the pieces together. I’m inclined to believe she’s right. At first I thought it was a vendetta against Flacco, but that’s nixed at this point. I’m the target. This is about my past catching up to me.”
Flask shrugged. “Ok, where does that leave us, then? Is this lady gunman working alone? And if not, who’s really behind all of this? All we’re doing is going around in circles here.”
“Not for long. You all know I lost most of my memory not too long ago. Everything I remember is after I woke up in this Haven. And since that time I haven’t had dealings with any dame who would hate me like this one does.”
Angel sniffed. “I’m surprised you can keep up. Your apartment may as well be called the Red Light District from the rumors I hear.”
I winked. “Only the best parts are true. You should know that, Angel.”
Her face turned scarlet as Flask gave her a questioning look. My amused chuckle turned into a coughing fit after noticing Natasha’s decidedly neutral gaze. I doused my sputters by chugging the rest of my coffee and quickly returning to the main subject.
“The point is, I don’t know any woman who would come after me with a killer grudge. She mentioned things about my past I can’t remember at all. Which means she’s probably an agent of the Secret Service.”
Poddar’s eyes widened. “You worked for the Service? You never told us that.”
“I only recently found out. Besides, that’s not something a body just shares with anyone, you know? I’m opening up a Pandora’s box just telling you right now.”
Flask whistled softly. “I knew there was something different about you. You’re right — that definitely changes everything. If the Service is gunning for you there’s not much that can be done. They don’t exactly play around when it comes to finishing a job.”
Benny stared bug-eyed as though he’d never seen me before. “The hell, Mick. You didn’t say nothing about being with the Service. This could muck with my uncle’s entire operation.”
I pulled a bottle of Jack and some shot glasses from under the table. “Don’t everybody start dying at once. I swear, you’re all squealing like a bunch of newborn kittens. Take a drink and calm your nerves.”
Ms. Kilby waved away the offer. “Although I tend to agree with the sentiment, you can’t deny this puts us in a bit of a pickle, Mr. Trubble. The Secret Service has long sought a way to infiltrate New Haven and place their operatives in charge. The fact that you have ties to such a lethal association is unsettling to say the least.”
“Anyone can be a target at this point.” Poddar held his shot of Jack as though not sure what to do with it. His eyes slid over to Ms. Kilby. “I’ve seen what those SS butchers can do firsthand. Any and all means to get to an end. Collateral damage means nothing to them.”