“Ah.” Victor blew out a perfect smoke ring, watched it disintegrate. “Still sulking about that, are you?”
“Cahill died in that fuck-up. Badly. McCloud was in a coma for two months. He's still gimping around like a cripple. Two of my best agents, damn it. That whole thing really sucked for me, Victor. Yeah, you could say that I'm still sulking.”
“We've been through this, Edward. I didn't hurt those men. Novak did. Besides, you should have controlled your men better. You shouldn't have let them get so close,” he chided. “You inconvenienced an extremely important client of mine. Take responsibility for your part in that fiasco, my friend.”
“I am not your friend,” Riggs rasped.
Victor spun in his chair and smiled at him. “Are you my enemy, then? Think before you answer, Edward. I make a very bad enemy.”
Riggs's throat worked. His bloodshot eyes were desperate and haunted. “Victor, you don't understand. She saw me. And she reacted.”
Victor's smile was pitiless. “Your problem.”
“It’s your problem, too!”
“Not at all. I have nothing to lose, really,” Victor reminded him. “But you have so much. Your career, your reputation, your standing in the community. And let's not forget your lovely wife, your daughters—”
“Are you threatening me?”
Victor clucked his tongue. “Threatening? Is it threatening to take a friendly interest in a colleague's personal life? It's been such a pleasure, following the progress of your charming girls. I was so happy for you and Barbara when Erin graduated from the University of Washington. Lovely girl, with that long dark hair, and such graceful bone structure. She takes after your attractive wife. So intelligent, too. Highest honors in art history and archaeology, if memory serves. Magnificent young woman. I congratulate you.”
“Stay the fuck away from my family.” Riggs's face was purple with impotent fury.
“And the little one, Cindy. More lively than Erin. I confess, she's my personal favorite. She's given you some sleepless nights, hasn't she? Oh, I'm sorry, Edward ... I forgot. All your nights are sleepless now.”
“Goddamn you,” Riggs muttered.
“Pretty little Cindy, just starting her sophomore year at Endicott Falls Christian College, and on a full band scholarship, too. I hear she's quite the talented saxophonist. Three-zero grade point average, they tell me. In my opinion, she could apply herself a bit more. But she's such a party girl. Youthful high spirits, and all. Girls will be girls.”
Riggs dropped into a chair and turned away, but Victor was relentless. “And Barbara seems to be burying herself in community service lately. Or is all this philanthropic activity just her way of compensating for the fact that she's married to a whoring, murdering drunk? She must sense the truth, even if she doesn't know it consciously. Women always do.”
No “ Riggs moaned, putting his head in his hands. “No.”
“I'm sure that even after sixteen years, Barbara would be very much interested in the content of certain high-resolution video footage that I possess. Hours of you fucking my ex-sister-in-law, and in the most imaginative ways, too. Bizarre positions—oral, anal, what have you. And you, a law enforcement agent with a perfect family.” Victor shook his head sadly. “Come to think of it, your daughters might be startled by that video footage as well,” he added.
“You fucked her, too, you hypocritical bastard,” Riggs hissed.
“Certainly. Who didn't? But I tired of her in about ten minutes. She was empty, Edward. Knock, knock, but there was nobody home, eh? Not like Barbara. Now there is a woman of substance. Worth the trouble. Wasted on you, if you ask me.”
“Do not speak my wife's name.” Riggs sounded defeated.
“Ah, Alix.” Victor clucked his tongue. “She may have been an avaricious slut with no scruples, but she served her purpose well”
Riggs sat down heavily in front of the video bank, took off his glasses and rubbed his reddened eyes. Victor concluded that he had pushed far enough. Time for a new tactic. He got up and poured a glass of scotch from the decanter on the sideboard. Riggs's head rose at the sound of liquor gurgling into the glass, like a dog coming to point.
“What do you want from me this time?” he asked dully.
Pathetic. Yes, Riggs's usefulness was definitely near the end. Victor handed Riggs the glass. “To start with, you can relax. Don't take it all so seriously. Life is to be enjoyed, not agonized over”
Riggs took a swallow and wiped his mouth. His pinkish eyes were watery. “Stop playing with me.”
“Oh, Edward. Since you're already inside my den of iniquity, you might as well take advantage of some of the luxuries that I can provide for you. Look at the monitor on the far right, second from the top. Go on, take a look.”
Riggs lifted his head and looked. He leaped to his feet, snatched his glasses out of his breast pocket and slapped them onto his nose, leaning closer. “Mother of God,” he whispered.
Victor turned away to hide his smile. Sometimes it was almost painful how easy people were to manipulate. How predictable their fears and appetites made them. “Her name is Sonia,” he said. “I've had her in mind for you for some time. Judge Madison certainly seems to enjoy her attentions, no? She'll be free soon, if you care to indulge. Sonia won't mind working a double shift. His Honor isn't known for his staying power. She'll be available in, oh, probably less than an hour, if you care to wait. The time it will take for her to freshen up.”
Riggs scanned the other monitors, his mouth sagging. He chug-a-lugged the liquor left in his glass and cast a longing glance at the decanter. 'Trying to get your claws into me even deeper, huh?”
Victor's laugh was mirthless. “They couldn't be any deeper than they already are. I just thought to offer you a bright spot in the midst of the daily round of lies, betrayal and self-loathing.”
Riggs’s head snapped around. The look that flashed from his eyes was one of pure, concentrated hatred. Victor registered it with a clinical sense of relief. Perhaps Riggs still had enough juice left in him for one last task. He wasn't quite ready yet to be ground into fertilizer.
“So, Edward? What do you say? Whoops ... look at that. His Honor has already finished, poor man. He'll be asleep in minutes. Care to indulge?”
“Fuck you,” Riggs said, through gritted teeth.
“Oh, come now.” Victor picked up a silver-framed photo. It was an enlargement of the one in the library. The sunny day at the dock, with Alix, Katya, Riggs and himself. “You know that I've always been rather hurt that you don't come to my parties.”
“Why do you keep that goddamn photo around? It's dangerous!”
Victor placed the photo tenderly back on the shelf. “To keep you honest, Edward,” he said softly.
“You are one crazy, twisted son-of-a-bitch.”
Victor shrugged. “Perhaps. Since you won't take advantage of my hospitality, let's move on directly to the favor I want from you.”
“Yeah. Spit it out, and quit fucking with my head.”
“The task is simple enough. I want you to guard my niece.”
“What?” Riggs's eyes widened, and the broken capillaries over his nose seemed to throb visibly. “You're out of your mind!”
“Not at all. Don't worry, you won't have to deal with her personally. I don't want her to know about our arrangement. I just want you to keep her under your eye at all times. Keep her house under surveillance. Watch her every move. Follow her wherever she goes.”
“That's insane! The Cave—”
“You haven't taken a vacation from the Cave in over five years, Edward,” Victor cut in. “Arrange one.”
Riggs stared at him, aghast. “But I just got promoted! I can't—”
“Of course you can. Don’t play the victim, for God's sake. You're a rich man, thanks to your association with me. You have no cause to complain. And this is the last favor I will ever ask of you.”
Riggs squinted, disbelieving. “Really?” “Absolutely the last,” Victor assured him. “With this simple task, our account will be closed. You have my word.”
“What does she need to be protected from?” Riggs demanded. “Who wants to whack her? And why the secrecy?”
