glad to do the same.”
“And I owe you for that.”
“Nonsense. The first thing I did, before I agreed to help you, was a little digging. Rachel, did you know that Calvin here scored 145 on an IQ test? I knew you were smart, but not that smart. That categorizes him as highly gifted.”
Calvin held his breath. No one was supposed to know about that.
As if Mike read his mind, he said, “That’s right, I found out about it.”
“No one was supposed to know. In my line of work, brilliance isn’t an essential attribute. If no one knew, I knew I’d always be underestimated, which gave me an advantage every time.”
“I figured that. Modest too. That’s why I agreed to help.” Mike winked at Rachel. “We’ve been playing around with computers for three years now. Calvin’s almost the hacker that I am. But I have to admit, he’s a bit more aggressive, ready to take more risks.”
Calvin intervened. “You taught me how to hack into any computer in any protected system in the world, which is going to be an extremely valuable skill now. But you also have underground connections throughout the country. You can get anything for anyone. That’s what I need.”
Mike turned back to Calvin. “Okay, chitchat over. What do you need?”
“New IDs. The total package and by tomorrow.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” he said, checking off items on a list. “Anything else?”
“Some added protection for me and Rachel. We need to secure my hideout. Rachel and I need every corner of that building protected.”
Mike thought to himself for a moment.
He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a thick book. Calvin and Rachel pulled their seats closer to the desk.
“This package is just right. Security alarms, motion sensors, fail safes, detectors and cameras inside and outside. Since I helped you set up the computer system there, I already know the place inside and out.”
As Mike continued to write, Calvin asked, “What about a secondary emergency exit plan?”
Mike chewed the end of his pen. “I’ll have it tomorrow when I come out with all the gear. I’m assuming payment isn’t a problem? It’s $20,000, cash.”
Calvin counted Pitt’s money out onto the desk. He could hear Rachel breathe in deeply and hold it.
“Here’s ten thousand. You’ll get the rest tomorrow.”
The bar owner slipped the bills into an envelope, sealed the flap and stuck it into the top drawer of his desk.
As they were leaving, Mike asked, “Do you think Pitt set you up?”
“I’m going to find out.”
“I bet you will. Just let me handle your security issues.”
He felt better hearing Mike say that and was starting to like his chances.
When the cabbie dropped them off again, Calvin said to Rachel, “I’ll walk you to the door and make sure you’re safe. Then I have one more stop tonight.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“What the hell are you doing here? I thought you said we shouldn’t be seen together until things blow over.” Pitt sat at his desk and eyed the bathroom.
Ace loomed silently in the doorway so the bookie would be even more on edge.
Pitt poured some scotch and twisted the lid back on. He threw the bottle into the bottom drawer of his desk, slamming it shut, and rose, finger-combing what was left of his hair over his bald head.
The bookie wore nothing but a pair of white boxer shorts. His fat, hairy belly hung over the waistband and a cigarette dangled at the side of his mouth. He took a hit off the cigarette and then flicked it on the side of an ashtray.
Obviously, Pitt had been trying to disguise his lifestyle, trying to persuade Ace that he could fit in with the rich and powerful. Now Ace was disgusted.
“Don’t get up.” He entered the office as Pitt sank back into his desk chair.
“How’d you get in here anyway?”
“You gave me a key, remember?” He twirled the key chain around his index finger.
Pitt swallowed hard. “Want a drink?”
“No, thanks. I just stopped by for an update.”
He tucked the key inside his jacket pocket and removed a deck of cards, which he started shuffling.
“Speaking of which,” Pitt said, his voice cracking, “what the hell happened to the original plan? I wasn’t going to say anything. I knew you had changed your mind about when and where to murder Grant and I didn’t think I wanted to know why. But since you’re here, why did you change? The cops were supposed to find Watters with Grant’s body in the office. Case closed. The plan had been to set up Calvin. I had started to dial your number at the Golden Horseshoe but thought better of it. So I sat back and waited. So?”
“Sometimes plans just change. That’s all you need to know. If you want to run with the rich and powerful, you have to learn that.”
“I will.”
He moved toward Pitt, through a haze of cigarette smoke, all the while shuffling the cards.
Pitt squirmed in his chair and glanced toward the corner of the room, his neck and face damp with sweat. “Don’t worry. The cops don’t suspect a thing. They were already in here asking about Calvin. They suspect him because he was at the office this morning and now they’re searching for him. Poor bastard?in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He grinned, raised his glass and drank a silent toast. “Like I asked before, what are you doing here? You only come out of the shadows when something’s up.”
“What did you tell the cops?”
“Nothing, I swear.”
“Does Calvin suspect anything?”
“That boy is as dumb as a stump. Not a thing.” Pitt took another hearty swig. “The idiot left his prints all over that office. But it wasn’t easy getting him there. Calvin came in here screaming he wanted out, that he was done. But I managed.”
“You’ll be well compensated, Donald.”
Ace’s reassurance seemed to relax Pitt.
“But I don’t think we should underestimate Watters. He could be a dangerous liability. We don’t know where he is, where he’s going, or what he’s going to do next.”
“You worry too much.” Pitt ground his cigarette into an ashtray and took another sip. His bleary eyes suggested he’d been sipping on scotch all evening. “We both have much invested in Grant’s death. For as long as I’ve known you, I’ve learned that you leave no detail out. That’s why you’re rich and about to get even richer. We have nothing to worry about.”
Because Pitt had been talking and drinking continuously, he hadn’t noticed that Ace was now standing behind him. He couldn’t see Ace pull on a pair of black leather gloves.
But Ace knew the man sensed him. He saw Pitt’s back hair rise.
“You are right. I am a rich man because of my attention to detail.” He dropped a gloved hand firmly on Pitt’s shoulder and kneaded the tight ball. “You’re too tense, Donald. Relax a little.” He massaged the bookie’s fat shoulders and neck.
Pitt tightened up more and gripped the arms of the chair.
“You like poker?”
The question seemed to catch the bookie off guard. “What?”
“Poker. I love it. I know that Texas Hold ‘em is all the craze right now, but I’ve always been a fan of Primero, or as rookies know it, Straight. This was the very first game of poker ever played, the root of the game. This is what they played in the Wild West.”
“What’s with the gloves?” Pitt asked with a tremble in his voice.
“Oh, you know me. Always the cautious one. Shall we try your luck?”
When Pitt attempted to get up, Ace wrapped an arm tightly around Pitt’s throat, squeezed and raised his chin
