Quinn hit the remote button mounted under his dash and waited while the gate rolled aside. As soon as there was enough room, he drove in. He glanced in his rearview mirror to make sure Nate had walked in behind him, then hit the remote again to close the gate.
Quinn got out of his car, then pulled his suitcase out of the trunk. 'Here,' he said. 'Carry this.' He handed the suitcase to Nate, then walked past him and up the steps to the front door.
As he unlocked it and pushed it open, he asked Nate, 'Thirsty?'
'Sure,' Nate said.
'Did you eat?'
Nate shook his head. 'Just dropped my bag off at my place. Had an errand to run.'
'There might be a can of soup in the cupboard. If not, you're out of luck.'
Quinn stepped across the threshold and stopped at the security panel just inside the doorway. He pressed the pad of his left thumb against the touchscreen monitor, then punched in his release code. He and Nate were the only ones the system would recognize.
A moment later he was greeted with a double beep telling him the system was now on standby. Nate followed him into the house.
Quinn scrolled through a series of menus and reports, checking on the security status of his house. When he was satisfied that all was well, he switched the system to
'So, did you enjoy your Thai food?' Nate asked.
'Thought you said you had an errand?'
'I did.'
'You decided you'd try following me, didn't you?' Quinn asked.
'Just trying to get in a little practice,' Nate said, barely able to contain a smug smile. 'At first I thought you'd made me. You definitely didn't take the most direct route. But then you gave up, and I realized you hadn't seen me after all.'
There was triumph in Nate's voice. 'What's the one thing I've told you about following someone in a large city?' A bit of Nate's smile disappeared. 'That it's easy to do. Too many cars. Hard to be spotted.'
'Especially at night, right?'
'Right.'
'So how much skill would it have taken to follow me around?' Nate shrugged. 'Not a lot, I guess.' 'And how skillful would I have to be to have spotted you?'
'You'd have to be the best,' Nate conceded.
'Try following me at three in the morning if you want me to see how good you are.' Quinn paused. 'Besides, tonight you were always at least three cars behind me. A dark blue Nissan Altima.'
Nate stared at him.
'Arizona plates. I can give you the number if you'd like.' Now it was Quinn's turn to smile. 'How about a drink?'
Nate continued to gape. 'You knew I was there the whole time?' 'Try to keep up with the conversation, all right? What do you want to drink?'
'Eh . . . Scotch and soda?'
Quinn eyed him curiously. 'That's an old man drink. Since when do you have those?' Nate shook his head. 'Never had one before.' 'Then why would you want to start now?' 'Saw someone have one on TV,' Nate said.
'Thought I'd give it a try.' 'Why don't we save that for your sixtieth birthday. I'll make you a mai tai.' 'Haven't had one of those, either,' Nate said agreeably.
Quinn walked over to the built-in bar near a large stone fireplace on the left side of the living room and began making the drinks. 'What do you think your biggest mistake was?'
'When I was following you?'
'In Colorado. Where did you mess up the most?'
'Oh. I guess going to see the police on my own.'
'That was a close second, I'll give you that. Try something else.'
'That I didn't do as you told me?'
'We'll make that one-B,' Quinn said.
Nate was silent for a moment. 'I'm not sure what you're looking for.'
Quinn emerged from behind the bar carrying two drinks. He walked over to Nate and handed him one. 'What name did you use when you were out there?'
Nate glanced away for a second. 'Nathan Driscoll. And before you even ask, I know. Never use any part of your own name.'
'That's a pretty simple one.' 'I didn't want to get tripped up,' Nate said. 'Besides, I only used my first name.'
'It's enough,' Quinn said, then took a sip of his drink. 'Tripped up in Colorado this morning or killed ten years
