by C. T. Adams
“This is Tatya—Dr. Tatiana Santiago. No, it’s not an old picture. She really is still this gorgeous after thirty years and a half dozen children. She’ll be easy to spot—especially for you.”
“You’ve only been married for thirty years, and you’re how old?”
He chortled. “None of your damn business. I wasn’t the marrying kind, but you don’t get much of a choice when you meet your mate. Do you?”
I grinned. Yep, he had me there. I looked at the picture, memorizing the face. I wondered about the “especially for you” comment, until it occurred to me that she was Sazi. I would be able to see her glow. There couldn’t be many glowing women at a medical conference. He was right that he needed to stay here with Bobby, and Sue had her interview to attend.
I’m not leaving Bobby. I heard Sue exclaim in my head.
“You have to, Sue,” I replied out loud. Lucas seemed to know what was being discussed, so he ignored us. “There’s nothing you can do here, and we don’t want to piss off Nikoli again, do we?”
I looked at her strongly, willing her to remember the events of just a day ago. She started and then stared at me with understanding.
She paled slightly and her reply was quiet. “No, we don’t. I think I should probably keep my appointment after all.”
She pulled her purse from a dining room chair and removed a set of keys. She wound off a pair of car keys from the ring. “There’s a white Honda out front. It’s old, but it runs. Alena dropped it by while you were out. She said it was a gift from the parents of the kids for taking advantage of me. I tried to object, but she insisted. She said Nikoli ordered them to give it to me. I guess I’m stuck with it.”
A Honda. Gee, how…suburban. Oh, well. Any car was better than none. But I would be buying something more suitable with the gold very soon. I glanced at my watch. It was almost seven. “You need to get ready, Sue. The car will be here for you soon. Sure you don’t need anything, Lucas?”
He shook his head. He’d gotten a washcloth from the bathroom and was wiping Bobby’s face down with steaming hot water. The water, and the massive surge of power that lit up the whole side of the room, seemed to be helping a bit. Bobby was moving now, writhing in obvious pain, but even that was better than comatose. “No, just hurry back with Tatya. I have it on reliable authority that she has a green aura.”
On the way out the door, I spotted a small object on the table. I picked up the cell phone and tucked it in my pocket. The drive would give me a chance to get another problem out of the way.
Once I was stopped at the next light, I turned on the cell and glanced at the screen as the phone number of the unit flashed. I wrote down the area code and prefix on a scrap of paper from my wallet. Scotty had already given me the last four on his note.
The phone rang only once. “Hello?” The voice was quick and high, a sign that he’d been waiting on pins and needles for my call.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing, kid?” I kept my voice low and menacing. We’d talk about breaking into my house when I saw him face to face.
The voice dropped from nervous to sullen. I guess he didn’t expect an immediate reprimand. “You promised to train me. That guy Leone put me with is useless.”
That surprised me. Joey isn’t up to my level, but he’s an excellent shot. I kept my mouth shut, though, trying to draw him out.
“I mean—all he’s had me doing is cleaning guns for the past three weeks. We’ve only gone out to the range once since you left. I cleaned his clock on all of the targets. I think it pissed him off. So, I decided to find you. I knew that they wouldn’t be able to take you out, Mr. G. You had to have gone underground. All I had to do was wait around Leone’s fortress long enough, and you’d show up or someone would lead me to you.”
I was impressed in spite of my self. If Scotty had managed to hang around Carmine’s for seven weeks without being caught he had to have some talent in camouflage.
That’s not what I said, though. “If you don’t get the hell out of Chicago, I’ll track you down and remove you myself.” I couldn’t afford for him to stay here. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sommers was keeping an eye on the kid. It might be known that we’d met with him before the Prezza hit. That would paint a pretty target on his back for surveillance.
His next words surprised me. His voice was a little nervous, but grew in confidence as he spoke. “No you won’t. I’ve got you by the balls, man. This time, you’re going to do what I want.”
I chuckled darkly as I drove slowly down the busy city street. Traffic was a mess with the snowfall. “Big words, kid. Why do you think that?”
I could suddenly feel Sue in the back of my mind. I was blocking her a bit because I knew she wouldn’t want to hear Scotty’s voice again. But I could feel that she had gotten the job. It was a bookkeeping job, all right—at a fast food restaurant just down the block. She could walk to work if she wanted. She was to start the next day at eight o’clock sharp. She was back at the house, and Bobby wasn’t looking good.
I could hear her whisper in my head. Lucas says to hurry.
I was hurrying as fast as I could through rush hour traffic, at about the pace of a three-legged turtle. Fortunately, I could see the conference center up ahead.
Scotty was stalling, trying to decide whether to ante up. When he finally spoke his words made me swear internally. “I’ve got pictures. I’ve been following you for days. You at some hotel by the stockyards. You and that black guy in Leone’s library. The prints are dated and timed by the camera. I gave them to a friend for safekeeping.”
I suspected that I knew who that friend was. I decided to string him along; make him think didn’t mean anything to me.
“I suppose that if you don’t call her in twenty-four hours, or something like that, she’s got orders to take them to the cops. And you think they’ll lock me up for years. Is that the best you can do?”
He was taken aback, but recovered quickly. “It’s pretty damn good, and you know it! All you have to do for the negatives to disappear is teach me stuff—useful stuff. It’s no skin off your nose.”
He was right. It wasn’t any trouble, and I would be willing to do it under normal circumstances. But not by blackmail. “Okay, kid. Let me think about it for a bit. I’m on my way to pick up someone downtown.” I glanced at my watch. It was nearly eight o’clock, so I had to hurry. “I’ll call you back between one and two this afternoon to tell you my decision.” I didn’t wait for a reply. I hit the disconnect button, and immediately dialed another number. Hey, might as well use the minutes that he’d so kindly paid for.
“Go ahead,” said a familiar baritone. That’s Carmine. No time, or inclination, for pleasantries.
“We’ve got a body up here,” I told him. “Same M.O. as Babs, with the smell and all. No sign of our girl yet, good or bad. But Bobby’s down. Something weird, and I mean weird—even for these guys. I’m on my way to get a special doctor. I’m still on top of things, though. Wanted you to know.”
“Good. Keep me informed. Anything else?”
“Yeah. I need a favor. Remember the girl—Sally?”
I knew he’d remember. He’d met with her a couple of times during the plans for the hit on the player from Atlantic City.
“Yeah? So?”
“Pick her up and hold her. Nice and safe; not a scratch. But search her and her place.”
His voice grew shrewd. He knows that I don’t ask things without a purpose. “What are we looking for?”
“Photos. Of me. With you.”
“Dated?”
I didn’t bother to reply. The silence said it all.
“Fuck!” He spit the word. He doesn’t swear unless he’s really irritated. He couldn’t afford those photos any more than I could.
“Exactly. But I need it done before noon.”
“Who’s holding the reins? Why don’t we just take her out?”
I shrugged my shoulder up to hold the phone so I could park in a space that
conveniently opened right in front of the front door. I had to wait while the other driver took three tries to get into traffic. His tires kept slipping in the slush.
“Don’t know if she has the only negatives. The kid’s here in Chicago. Apparently, Joey didn’t treat him right. Had him doing clean-up instead of shooting. The kid swears he’s already better than Joey and Joey got pissy about it.”
Carmine’s voice lowered thoughtfully. “I wondered about that. Mike mentioned that the kid was really good, but Joey said he was crap. It might be time to remind Joey of his place and what happens when pride gets in the way of following orders. You might also get your wish about taking care of the kid, Tony. It’s a bad precedent.”
“Yeah, maybe. But I think he’s still salvagable. It sounds like he could be my replacement if he learns some respect. So, you’ll take care of it?”
“Yeah. I’ll take care of it.” I could tell by his voice that he wasn’t happy: with Joey, and with Scotty. In this mood he was even more dangerous than usual.
“Call me when it’s done.” I gave him the number and waited while he wrote it down.
“She’ll be picked up right now. I’ll get on the horn with Marvin. He’s wandering around down there anyway.”
“Carmine,” I said warningly. The only reason Marvin would be wandering was if Carmine hadn’t stopped looking for the kidnapper.
His voice was placating. “Just a precaution. It’s not active, just defensive. If they can take Babs, we need to keep our nose to the ground.”
Uh, huh. Right. But that reminded me, “Hey, once Bobby is up and around, I’m going to send him over with a woman who’s got some special talents. She’s got a nose that won’t quit. Found the body up here by scent alone over twenty feet down.”
His voice sounded startled. “Well, hell. Send her over. Maybe she can find something everyone else has missed. You’ll vouch for her?”
I growled slightly as I turned off the ignition and pocketed the keys. “I don’t like her, but she’s good. Name’s Asri Kho—Indonesian. She’s meaner than hell, so don’t piss her off. I don’t know that she won’t consider your guys expendable. Hey, I’ve got to go before I miss my contact.”
“I’ll call you back in a few minutes when we have the girl.”
It was three minutes to eight by my watch as I bolted through the front door to the convention center. A sign directed me to the early-bird breakfast. The first speaker was to start in an adjoining room in a few minutes.
I walked in the dining room. Most of the tables were full of talking men and women. A few stray people were still filling plates at a long buffet at the front of the room. I scanned the crowd, looking for the gorgeous blonde, to no avail. So, I concentrated with my—what did he call it?—oh, yeah, second sight. A warm golden blur appeared at a table in the far corner, but I couldn’t see the person. He or she was shorter than the others at the table. And, hadn’t Lucas said Tatya’s aura was green?
I glanced up as an announcement came over the speaker in the corner. “Will the attendees for Advancements in Mitochondrial DNA in Criminal Law Enforcement please report to the Sierra Room. That’s Mitochondrial DNA on the Atrium Level—Sierra Room. Thank you.”
People began to stand and gather their belongings. My Sazi was one of them. It was a woman, but not the one in the photo. This one was very short, probably not up to my collarbone. She was a stocky sort of slender. Her short blonde hair framed a round face that was very no-nonsense and obviously middle-aged. But when she smiled and laughed with her companions, she seemed very young. Which one was the illusion?
She headed my way and I ducked behind a plastic plant and appeared to be looking for something in my pockets. It was too crowded to approach her. I’d have to wait until she was by herself. I followed at a distance, but even then, she stopped to look around her suspiciously. Her nostrils flared briefly and she excused herself from her companions to head down the hallway to the women’s bathroom. I waited until she was completely inside before I followed.
A few moments later, I heard a familiar roaring sound, followed by water running in the sink. I reached for my weapon. I’d left the gun in the car. I’d been right that they would wand for metal. But they hadn’t found the ceramic knife with deer antler hilt tucked into a pocket inside my boot. I removed it. I hoped she would come peacefully, but she would come. Bobby’s life might depend on it.
She stepped out of the room, apparently knowing that someone would be waiting for her. I was surprised for only a millisecond when she raced a fist toward my face with Sazi speed. I grabbed the hand, stopping it cold, and then the world disappeared again.
The flickering gas lamps on the wall held the darkness of the powder room at bay. I opened the door and exited the room, and looked up into the smiling face of my companion.
“Are you recovered then, Madame?”
My words were heavily accented French, “just a bit faint. Eet is zees…zees corset. Mon dieu! Why do your American women allow such discomfort?”
The gentleman seemed surprised by the strength of her comment. “But they are high fashion, are they not, Madame, even in France?”
She let out a shallow, exasperated breath and tugged on the whalebone and wire contraption once more. The wire bit painfully into the skin that I shared with her. “Perhaps in the salons of Paris, Monsieur, but not in the countryside, where I make my home. Eet does not allow even for a decent meal, Monsieur. They should be banned.”
The man raised his brows, but smiled as well. “You certainly speak your mind, Madame.”
“Oui. I have no doubt they are responsible for zees vapors spells I hear of in America, Monsieur Doctor. Vapors, indeed! No air—that ees my opinion. There ees no room to expand the lungs. Surely your good wife has mentioned her distress?”
He held out a crooked arm. “I am a single man, Madame. But it is an interesting theory you raise. They are starting the exhibits soon. I understand that one of your countrymen, Dr. Laennec, has devised a method to listen to the workings inside a patient’s chest. Are you familiar with his research, Madame?”
I felt myself smile brightly. “Oui, I am indeed, Monsieur Doctor Alvers. Eet was one of my purposes for attending. I hope I will be allowed to attend the discussions.”
The reply was a blustering of protest. “But of course you must attend, Madame. Your country is well known for their fine women healers. I am pleased to have met you to share in your wealth of knowledge.” He patted her hand as it lay on his arm. “And I admit that your lovely visage is a delightful change from the soured old men who usually attend these conferences.”
I looked up and smiled. “You are too kind, Monsieur Doctor.”
He returned the smile and leaned a bit closer. “Perhaps we could discuss your corset theory later…over dinner, Madame? Being in a strange city so far from home must be difficult without your husband.”
I smiled a second time, but this smile had a warmer touch. I could tell that she hadn’t been thinking of romance, but it might be useful. She had merely said she was married to prevent being questioned about attending alone. As head of the conference, Dr. Alvers might be able to get her in to see the file she needed to remove. “You may call me Yvette, Monsieur Doctor.”
He bowed slightly from the neck and raised her hand to his lips. “And I am Jonathan.”
A gentle kiss on her knuckles got the appropriate reply. “Oh…”
“Oh! You’re one of them,” came a very American voice from behind the hand I held. The vision faded slowly away, but the voice remained. The same, but without a trace of accent. “I don’t even want to know what you saw. I really hate seers.”
“You and me both, lady.” I shook my head. I really had to stop touching people. Gloves, maybe gloves would help. I touched the knife to her ribs, just enough for her to feel the point through her expensive black blazer. It seemed fitting to place it right where the corset stay would have been. She flinched and tried to look down to see what I held, but I did
n’t give her the chance. “You need to come with me. I don’t have time for you to argue.”
Her face took on a bemused expression. She smelled of ripe grapes, with fur that wasn’t a wolf. The scent was sharp and a little sour, but not unpleasant. Maybe a cat?
“Are you abducting me? How quaint.”
My eyes narrowed. “Look, Yvette—or whoever you are, I’ve got a friend who needs a doctor. You’re Sazi, you’re at a medical conference, so you win the prize. I’d rather not have to force you.”
She didn’t even flinch at the name. She smirked. “I highly doubt you could. But you are very fast. You might surprise me.” She took a long sniff toward me. “I don’t know you. But I do smell Lucas and—what’s wrong with Bobby?” She took another sniff of my hand. I remembered I had checked his pulse with that hand. “My Lord, we have to hurry.”
She pulled away from me and headed toward the front door, leaving me standing somewhat slack jawed. “Well?” she demanded as she turned her head. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”
I hadn’t expected it to be quite this easy, but I headed toward the door with her hot on my heels. She stopped for a moment to grab the arm of one of her table companions. “Oh, Robert. Could you grab an extra set of materials for this conference? Something urgent has come up and I have to leave for a bit. I should be back before lunch.” She didn’t give him a chance to reply before she was once more leading me out the door. “Thanks!” she called over her shoulder.
She scanned the line of cars, and sniffed her way to the Honda. I opened the door for her and she dove inside, somewhat breathless. I shook my head and went around to the driver’s side. Well, I had wanted speed.
“This car smells of Nikoli’s pack. Are you a new turn?”
I shook my head. “A new member, but I’ve been turned for over a year.”
She looked at me again strongly, and her scent was a thick antifreeze, mingled with the soured milk smell of disbelief. “But I don’t know you. And I know everyone.”
