The Spy Is Cast

by Diane Henders

  He shrugged, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

  “Did you get breakfast?” I demanded.

  “I ate at the airport.”

  “Which airport?”

  “Calgary.”

  I consulted my watch. “Okay. I need lunch, and you probably need to eat again, too. Then we can head out. I have some more questions about this party, so I’ll ask you on the way. If you can stay awake.”

  He nodded. “I’m not in desperate straits yet. I napped on the plane.”

  We all stood. “Oh!” My hand flew to the weight of the necklace around my neck. “I’d better take this off.” Spider opened the box, and I laid the heavy chain into it. Closing it, I handed it to Kane. “I’ll feel better if you’re carrying it,” I told him. “That’s more responsibility than I care to assume at the moment.”

  We filed out of the room, and I headed eagerly for the door at the end of the hallway. Now that I was no longer focused on my network tests, the thought of being trapped underground was an oppressive weight.

  I took the stairs two at a time and opened the door to let us into the timed exit chamber. I went immediately to the exit door and let the scan do its thing, counting down the time in my mind. When the latch released after what seemed much longer than thirty seconds, I yanked the door open and stepped quickly into the lobby, taking a deep, thankful breath.

  Chapter 4

  Kane drove directly back to the small shared office. As we got out of the Expedition, I frowned up at him. “Will you be comfortable riding with me?”

  He grinned. “Why, are you a bad driver?”

  “Very funny. No, I meant, will you actually fit in my car?”

  He regarded the small Saturn doubtfully. “Maybe.”

  I stuck my key in the passenger door lock. “Better try it and see.” I opened the door and leaned in, making sure the seat was as far back as it would go.

  He folded himself into the car with his usual athleticism and turned a surprised face up to me. “There’s a lot more room in here than I expected. This will work fine. Are you ready to go?”

  “Lunch first,” I told him. “Spider, do you want to join us?” He nodded eagerly, and I reached in past Kane to unlock the rear passenger door for him.

  He stooped and clambered into the back seat, his bony limbs awkwardly uncoordinated. “Sorry, it’s not too roomy in the back,” I apologized, but he smiled.

  “It’s fine. I wouldn’t have thought I’d be able to fit in with the front seats all the way back, but I’m good.”

  I went around to the driver’s side, keyed open the lock, and slid into the seat, realizing as I did that Webb was chuckling in the back.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “I think you’re the only person left in the world who doesn’t have power locks. How old is this car, anyway?”

  “It’s a ’98,” I replied primly. “I love this car. It’s never let me down.”

  He nodded understanding, his eyes still dancing. “It’s a great car,” he soothed.

  I grinned at him in the rearview mirror. “It’s about to haul your ungrateful ass over to Blue Eddy’s for lunch. You better believe it’s a great car.” He laughed as I pulled away from the curb.

  The excellent blues music made me smile when we walked into Blue Eddy’s. My usual table was available, and I made a beeline for it and sat down with my back to the wall so I could observe the rest of the bar. Kane slid in beside me, and Spider sat across from us with a mischievous grin.

  “You guys never change,” he said.

  I shrugged, taking him in good fun. “So I’m a paranoid freak. So sue me. It beats having my back exposed.”

  Eddy glanced up from behind the bar, and I waved to him. His face split into a smile as he came over to the table. “Aydan, hi! I thought you weren’t coming in until Tuesday. And John. Long time, no see.”

  Kane smiled and shook Eddy’s outstretched hand. “It’s been a while.”

  “I’ll be back again on Tuesday,” I assured Eddy. “Today I’m just looking for food.”

  “As usual, Hungry Aydan,” he teased. “Do you want a beer, too?”

  I shook my head. “Want, yes, but I can’t have one. I’m driving. Just a glass of water, please.”

  He turned to Kane. “John?”

  Kane nodded. “I’d kill for a beer right now. Do you still have that dark draft on tap?”

  The turn of phrase was a little frightening coming from him, and I kept my face carefully neutral. I’d seen him kill. It wasn’t for beer.

  Eddy nodded, obviously unfazed.

  Spider shook his head as Eddy turned a questioning gaze to him. “I still haven’t learned to drink. Just a Coke. Thanks.”

  Eddy dropped menus on our table and went back to the bar to get our drinks. I turned to Kane with a smile. “I finally get to return the chauffeuring favour.”

  He leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head, and I briefly regretted not sitting across from him. I was quite sure Spider couldn’t appreciate those bulging biceps the way I could.

  Kane shot me a devilish look. “Now you get to suffer while you watch me enjoy my beer, instead of the other way around.”

  I shrugged, returning his grin. “Payback’s a bitch.” I picked up my menu, giving it a cursory scan. I already knew it more or less by heart.

  Eddy returned to deliver our drinks and take our food order. Kane took a grateful slug of his pint, and I sighed as he licked the foam off his lips.

  “You’re a cruel man,” I said, eyeing him wistfully. Quite apart from envying his beer, I was also having secret thoughts of licking that foam off his lips myself. I turned to Spider for distraction. “So what movies have you seen lately?”

  He immediately launched into an enthusiastic account of his latest viewings. I knew it would be a lengthy exposition, and true to form, he chattered blithely throughout the rest of the meal.

  Kane finished off his pint with obvious enjoyment, letting the conversation roll over him. Spider showed no sign of running down while we finished our food and paid the bill. It was good to see him back to his usual convivial self, but I was glad he wouldn’t be riding to Calgary with us. Two hours of constant conversation, however stimulating, was too much for me.

  We dropped Spider off at the office, and I steered the car toward the outskirts of the small town. We drove in companionable silence until we neared the turnoff for my farm.

  I turned to Kane. “Do you mind if I pop in and change my clothes? It’ll only take a minute.”

  “No problem. I was waiting with bated breath to see what befell your dress-up clothes this time.”

  I snorted. “Usually it’s just dirt. I’m trying to quit with the blood.”

  “Good choice.”

  Chapter 5

  Back on the highway, I drove in silence for a few miles before I turned to Kane again. “So tell me more about this party. What’s the story?”

  “It’s being held at the home of a local businessman, Lawrence Harchman. He owns a drilling company with interests locally and internationally. He came up on our radar because he has financial ties to Fuzzy Bunny.”

  I raised a cynical eyebrow. “Petroleum drilling and children’s toys. Seems like a natural combination.”

  Kane shrugged. “It may be pure coincidence. Harchman has very diverse business investments. But I just spent the last four months tracing a complex web of connections through central Europe, and I think this is worth following up. Webb has been monitoring the chatter, and we don’t like what we’re hearing.”

  I drove in silence for a few minutes, watching the fields roll by outside the window. “What’s the reason for the party?”

  “Harchman’s company, Osiris Drilling, has developed some new drilling control software. They’ve invited all the movers and shakers in the petroleum industry, along with various consultants, to a party to launch the new product.”

  I nodded understanding. “Gee, and you just happen to be an energy consult
ant. At least as far as they know. So you’ll be going as yourself.”

  “Right,” he agreed. “I don’t think you should go as yourself, though.”

  “You said oil and gas industry.” I considered for a few moments. “I did business in Calgary for quite a while, but I was never directly involved in oil and gas. I probably won’t see anybody I know. But I do know a lot of people in the business community generally. It would be pretty embarrassing if I was pretending to be somebody else and got recognized.”

  Kane frowned. “I still think this is a bad idea. I got blindsided by this whole issue. If I’d been here, I would have steered it in a different direction entirely.” He paused. “If you got sick tomorrow afternoon, you wouldn’t be able to go at all,” he said slowly.

  I sighed. “You know I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just can’t. You wouldn’t bail out of an investigation just because you were afraid for your own skin, would you?”

  “No. But I’m a trained agent. It’s my job. You’re a civilian. It’s not your job.” I felt his eyes bore into me. “Right?”

  “Yes, I’m a civilian. But apparently nobody else can use the key to access the network. That leaves me. Whether I want to or not.”

  I gave him a cheerful grin. “Besides, I’m getting paid this time. The extra cash will be nice.”

  He let me change the subject. “How is your bookkeeping business going, anyway?” he inquired.

  “Fine. I’m working for the seamy underbelly of Silverside.”

  Kane raised an amused eyebrow. “How so?”

  “I lucked into a perfect setup when I moved in March. There were originally two bookkeepers in town, and one had moved away in January. The remaining bookkeeper is quite religious, so she won’t touch any business that has any overtones of booze, sex, or gambling. That leaves all the good stuff for me.”

  He laughed. “So that’s what Blue Eddy meant about seeing you Tuesday.”

  I nodded. “I love having Eddy for a client. He’s such a nice guy. And it’s a great excuse to go to the bar and listen to blues once a week.”

  I returned to the point. “I still need to figure out how to introduce myself at the party. God, I hate small talk.”

  “Could you use your maiden name?” Kane asked.

  “I never changed my name when I got married. I’ve always been Aydan Kelly.”

  We lapsed into silence again, thinking. He scrubbed his knuckles through his hair. “How about Aydan Kane?” he suggested hesitantly. “We could go as husband and wife. I hate to use that as a cover, but it’s the only way you can introduce yourself using another name and still be plausible if somebody recognizes you.”

  I grimaced. “It’s a lousy cover. It’d just never happen.”

  There was a short silence. “What are you trying to say?” Kane asked in mock indignation.

  I laughed. “Nothing personal. Anybody who knows me would know I’d never change my name. And I wouldn’t get married again, either. I had one shitty marriage and one good one, and I’m not looking for a tie-breaker.”

  “Really?” Something in Kane’s voice made me glance over, trying to read him.

  I trod carefully. “Have you ever been married?”

  “Once.”

  I eyed his expressionless profile. “I guess it’d be pretty hard to maintain any kind of relationship when you have a job that could take you away for months at a time without even telephone contact.”

  “No, I was still in the army then,” he replied slowly. “I was away on training a lot, and then I saw combat in Yugoslavia and came back pretty messed up. Alicia was devastated when she found out she couldn’t have children, and I wasn’t there for her. In the end, we just fell apart.”

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured.

  “But you had a good marriage, and you still wouldn’t do it again?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  I drove in silence, thinking. “In a good marriage, you give away part of yourself. I’m not willing to do that again,” I said finally.

  “Mm.”

  I couldn’t interpret that, so I didn’t bother to try. “Anyway,” I said, “I don’t think it really matters. I likely won’t meet anybody there who knows me well enough to know this stuff. So we might as well go with the marriage cover. I’d rather do that than give my real name.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. “We’ll need rings.”

  “Shit.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Kane assured me. “What size do you wear?”

  “Seven, but don’t bother. I brought my diamonds with me since it’s a black-tie. I’ll just wear one on my left hand instead of my right.”

  He glanced over at my naked hands. “I didn’t figure you for the diamond type.”

  “I’m not. But Robert loved to buy me jewellery. I kept trying to get him to buy me tools, but he only listened part of the time.”

  Kane laughed. “He got you some good tools. I’ll never forget you swinging around on me with that air nailer. I thought I was going get a spike through my forehead.”

  I laughed, too. “That’s what you get for charging into my bathroom with a sub-machine gun.”

  We drove for a few more minutes in silence, occupied with our own memories.

  “But getting back to the party,” I said. “How black-tie is this black-tie? What’s the age range you expect to be there? Are we talking long gowns, or just your typical cocktail dress type of thing?”

  “I’d guess most people there would be in the thirty to sixty age range. And I’d say probably cocktail dress. But wardrobe isn’t exactly my area of expertise.”

  I sighed. “Mine either.”

  I glanced at his tired face and felt a tug of sympathy. “Why don’t you see if you can grab a nap? That’s all the questions I can think of at the moment.”

  “Just one more thing we need to talk about.” He hesitated. “We need to clear the air between us.”

  I frowned puzzlement in his direction. “Okay. What’s on your mind?”

  “I owe you an apology.”

  “For…”

  “For my inappropriate behaviour at your house before I left in March.”

  “Oh.” I grinned at him. “I don’t recall any inappropriate behaviour. I thought it was all very appropriate.”

  Kane shook his head. “I should never have kissed you.”

  “Yeah, you really forced yourself on me.” I chuckled at his expression. “Come on, John. Don’t tell me you thought I wasn’t into it.”

  His lips crooked up, despite his obvious seriousness. “Well, I didn’t exactly feel unwelcome.”

  I shot him a humorous look. “Good. Because if you thought I was shocked and horrified, we’d have to have a pretty serious talk about how to interpret body language.”

  He paused. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

  “Huh?” I frowned confusion at him. “When?”

  “After we… parted… that way. Most women would expect at least a phone call.”

  I laughed. “There you go with that ‘most women’ thing again. I’m not most women. And I know what you do for a living. Half the time you don’t even get to eat or sleep, let alone call for a chat.”

  He blew out a breath, his shoulders easing. “I’m glad you’re not upset. But it was still inappropriate, and it won’t happen again.”

  “Damn.”

  “You see, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said gravely. “We need to set some boundaries. In March, I thought… Well, it doesn’t matter. Now we’re working together, and it can’t happen again.”

  I sobered. “I guess I can see where you’re coming from. You’re a big guy. All it would take would be some female co-worker saying she felt too intimidated to tell you to back off, and you’d get crucified in court.”

  He nodded slowly, and I thought he was about to say something else, but he remained silent.

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” I assured
him after a short pause. I took my gaze off the road momentarily to meet his eyes, making sure he was listening. “Look, you should know by now I’m hard to offend.”

  “True,” he allowed with a quirk of his eyebrows. “If you liked Arnie Helmand, you’ve got to be hard to offend.”

  I laughed. “Right. So don’t worry. If we’re going as husband and wife, some physical contact is pretty much inevitable. If I feel uncomfortable with anything you say or do, I’ll tell you. Trust me to do that. And I’ll trust you to do the same.”

  I saw him relax in my peripheral vision. “Okay. Deal. Thanks, Aydan.”

  Chapter 6

  When we approached Calgary’s city limits a couple of hours later, I spoke his name quietly and his eyes snapped open, instantly alert.

  “We’re just coming into town,” I told him. “Where do you live?”

  “I’m down in Sundance. Just take the Deerfoot south and come up from 22x.”

  I followed his directions, eventually pulling up in front of an apartment-style condo building. “Should I take you to a grocery store or anything?” I asked. “If you’ve been in Europe for the last four months, the pickings are probably pretty slim in your kitchen.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve got wheels here. Do you still have my cellphone number?” When I nodded, he added, “Call me as soon as you’re checked into your hotel. I’ll pick you up there tomorrow night around five-thirty. And call me if you need anything else in the mean time.”

  He unfolded himself from the car, stretching. I popped the trunk so he could retrieve his suitcase, and he gave me a wave and strode toward the building.

  I let the car idle beside the curb while I dialled my cellphone. “Hey, Spider, where am I staying?”

  He gave me the name and address of a hotel on Macleod Trail, and I drove directly there and checked in using the information he had given me. As soon as the room door closed behind me, I called Kane. I figured he had a hot date with a pillow as soon as humanly possible, and I didn’t want to keep him up. Even after his nap in the car, he still looked exhausted.

  That done, I reluctantly headed for the mall.