'Three and half first names. I don't know if one guy was Bryan or Ryan.'
'Any last names?' Hardy wasn't in a good mood today, hadn't been for a while. 'First names don't do us any good.'
'I know. I'll keep trying. Meanwhile, what?'
'Meanwhile, not much. If you're okay where you are, stay put.'
'That's my plan, Diz. But is anybody having any luck finding who shot at us?'
'Not much. In fact, there's a healthy skepticism about whether it happened at all.'
'If course it happened.'
'Except there's no sign of it. Apparently, I'm capable of faking these scratches and bruises to make Panos look bad.'
'You tell 'em it was Sephia?'
'He was in Nevada.'
'When?'
'When we got shot at. Well, a couple of hours later.'
'So?'
'So it's four hours away.'
'Not by helicopter. The Diamond Center's got a helicopter, remember. Sephia works for them.' The line hummed with silence. 'Diz?'
'I'm here. I've got another question for you.'
'Battle of Hastings. Ten sixty-six.'
'No. Good answer, though. The question is what made Sephia go to Silverman's? I mean in the first place.'
'That's too easy.'
'Humor me.'
'Okay. How about fifteen thousand dollars or so?'
'That might do it. But what was that?'
'That's what he lost the night before.'
Hardy spoke hesitantly, as though afraid he'd unhear what he'd just heard. 'I thought you were the one who lost so big.'
'I did. We both did, although Nick lost more. Sam had a great night.'
'John, why didn't you tell me this before?'
'You never asked, Diz. Nobody asked. It never came up.'
He heard a sigh over the line. 'Okay. So who else would have known about it?'
'Anybody else who was at the game. I heard the cops knew. That's how they got to me.'
'I hate to bore you with another list, but I doubt I can get my hands on the police version.'
Thirty seconds later, Hardy had the names of the poker players and another question. This, to Holiday, was as easy as the first one. 'Sure. Julio Rez and Roy Panos. The three of them are always together. You notice they were at the game, too?'
'So who's Rez?'
'There's a woman in the room with me. It's hard to be frank.'
'But trouble?'
'That would be a fair assessment. I bet it was him.'
'Who?'
'Rez. Who shot at us. Nick driving. Or vice versa. It doesn't really matter.'
'But with Roy Panos, it gives us three, doesn't it? And that does matter. That's the magic number.'
'Well, whatever it is, it sure looks like you've kicked up a lot of shit.'
After a short pause, Hardy's voice came back, the tone harsh. 'What's that supposed to mean, John? I'm doing all I can here for you.'
'I'm not denying it. You have my undying gratitude. But the sad fact of the matter is, all you're doing is exactly what you should be doing for yourself, anyway.'
'I should? There's no should here, John. I'm doing you a favor, plain and simple. You'd be advised to count your blessings.'
'Kiss my ass, Diz. You're doing this because I wouldn't be here in this mess if it wasn't for you.'
'Me? Jesus Christ…'
'Jesus Christ yourself. Who do you think started this whole thing? Here's a hint. It wasn't Panos, who was minding his own business until some lawyers decided to take him down and make a pile of cash in the process.'
'You know what kind of business it was, John?'
'So? They broke some rules. What are you and Freeman all of the sudden? The guardian angels of the Tenderloin? You're telling me you guys went after him because of your concern for justice and goodness? My ass.'
'Talk to some of my clients.'
'I have, Diz. Remember. I know a lot of them. Hell, I found half of 'em for you. Hookers, thieves, robbers, con artists every one. And yeah, okay, so some of them had dope planted on them, big fucking deal. None of them are strangers to dope, anyway. Better than getting beat to shit, which Panos could have done to them just as easily as planting dope.'
'And just as illegally.'
'Please, please. Sanctimonious crap. You got in it for the money. The fact is Panos was providing a service the cops don't…'
'So you're defending him now?'
'No. I'm saying you were in it, too. From the beginning. It's never been a moral issue between you guys, just a conflict of interest.'
'Great. I appreciate your input. So nobody's right? What was Silverman? Or Freeman?'
'Collateral damage. Both of 'em. The inevitable next step, that's what. What was Panos going to do, let his nephew go and take this rap? Be sued to death? I don't think so. Hell, he offered you four million dollars to just go away and you said no, remember? What'd you expect him to do, send you a Hallmark card?'
'I think we ought to just go,' Michelle said.
'Where?'
'Anywhere. Away from here.'
'And then what?'
'I don't know. We just live.'
'We wouldn't be living. We'd be hiding.'
He was on the ottoman in front of her. She was sitting in the chair by the window. She reached over, flipped the blinds open, then closed them again. 'Isn't that what we're doing now?'
He smiled at that. 'It won't be too much longer. My lawyer's got some ideas.'
'Oh yeah, it sounded like you were great pals.'
Holiday glossed over that. 'Besides, if I run it looks like I'm guilty of something.'
'I hate to mention it, John, but so does not turning yourself in.'
'I was hoping maybe you wouldn't notice that part.' He took her hands in his. 'This is going to work, Michelle. All of it. Our life. I don't want to start it out on the run. I didn't do any of this.'
'I believe you,' she said, 'but it seems like they have so much.'
'It's all easily explained. A little turn of the prism. It was three other guys, and now Hardy knows who they are. He'll get their names in front of the right people. You'll see. Another two or three days, they'll cancel the warrant and it'll be all over.'
Hardy was going to write a book someday and call it Nothing Is Ever Easy, his companion volume to Nothing Easy About It-A Parent's Guide to Raising Happy and Well-
Adjusted Children. The inspiration for today's chapter, after his fury at his client had ebbed slightly, came
