“No. I don’t care who Costigan deals with. What I need is information as to where Susan Silverman might be.”
Buddy Holly glanced sideways at Ives. “Susan Silverman,” Buddy Holly said.
“This too hard for you?” I said. He looked at Ives again.
“The maiden in the tower,” Ives said. “She’s part of the deal.”
Hawk’s head lifted and he glanced at me. I turned slowly toward Ives. “She is the deal,” I said.
“Absolutely,” Ives said. “No question about it.”
Buddy Holly looked confused. “Then they don’t get the whole briefing?” he said to Ives.
Ives shrugged. “It’s not stamped on their dog tags that they have to,” he said.
“We need to know where Susan might be,” I said. “Homes, apartments, resorts, hotels Russell often stays in, places he often goes. If you have anybody on his tail it would be good if you knew where he was now.”
“We’re not allowed to do domestic surveillance,” Buddy Holly said.
Hawk got up and went into the kitchen, which was separated from the living room by a low counter. He looked over the wine bottles on the counter, took a Napa Valley Pinot Noir, uncorked it, poured some in a big wineglass, and came back in carrying the bottle and the glass. He gestured with the bottle at Ives.
“Too early in the day for me,” Ives said.
“Probably always will be,” Hawk said. He took a sip of wine and walked over to the front window and stood looking out at the off ramp.
“What have you got on the domestic habits of Russell Costigan?” I said.
“He lives with his parents,” Buddy Holly said, on Costigan Drive in Mill Valley, California.“
Hawk turned slowly from the window. He was smiling widely, his eyes bright with pleasure. “Mill Valley?” he said.
Buddy Holly said, “Yes.” He glanced at some notes in his folder. “Costigan Drive, it’s on Mill River Avenue in Mill Valley. Mill Valley is north of San Francisco, I believe.”
Hawk smiled some more. He looked at me. “Good to know they’re keeping the Russians at bay,” I said.
“It’s Mill River,” I said. “Mill River is south of San Francisco.”
“And it Mill River Boulevard,” Hawk said. “Not avenue.”
Buddy Holly studied his folder. some more.
“I have here Mill Valley,” he said. “And they maintained a hunting lodge in the state of Washington. The lodge was recently destroyed by a fire of suspicious origin.”
Hawk turned back toward the window. He poured some more wine from the bottle to the glass, and sipped some more as he looked out. “You folks get a chance, you want to send in some champagne?” he said.
“French? Moet and Chandon, Taittinger, Dom Perignon, something like that?”
I got up from the table and walked to the kitchen and rested my hands on the kitchen sink and looked out the kitchen window.
“Good spot to hide us out,” I said. “Hawk’ll blend in perfect with all the other blacks in Charlestown.”
“Maybe I use a disguise,” Hawk said. “Faith and begorra, motherfucker.”
“Listen,” Ives said. “We don’t keep these furnished nurseries everywhere. This is the best we had.”
Buddy Holly said, “I really don’t have too much else in domestic terms.”
“Most of the domestic bird-dogging is done by our cousins in the Bureau,” Ives said. “Perhaps Brother McKinnon can help you.”
“Where’d you get this stuff?” I said, pointing with my chin toward Buddy Holly and his folder.
“The FBI supplies us with most of our domestic intelligence,” Buddy Holly said.
“Sure,” I said. A red Ford Bronco like Susan used to have came down the ramp from the bridge and turned left onto Main Street heading toward City Square. “We’ll get them to help us.”
Ives stood. “Punch in with us now and anon,” he said. “We’ll keep our nose right on the ground and feed you anything we catch.”
I nodded. I could hear the click as Hawk poured himself some more wine. Buddy Holly closed his folder and slipped it into his briefcase and stood.
Ives opened the door. “Happy trails,” he said. He went out.
Buddy Holly followed. “Glad to be able to help,” he said. “Good luck.”
“Sure,” I said. “And it’s a damned shame about you and the Big Bopper.”
CHAPTER 24
HAWK WAS DOING HANDSTAND PUSH- UPS against the far wall of the living room when Rachel Wallace arrived. I introduced them and Hawk said hello upside down, and kept doing push-ups.
“We haven’t had much chance to work out,” I said. “And we’re both getting feverish.”
