Now and Then

“Not him,” I said. “Not his style. He might have shot her in a rage and then put the gun in his mouth. But he wouldn’t hire some guy with no ID to do it, and then drown himself later.”

“Okay,” Hawk said. “Maybe Alderson don’t want people to know he been fooling around with Jordan.”

“Killing two people to cover it up seems extreme,” I said.

“Maybe he don’t want people knowing other things,” Hawk said.

“If he does and he stole the tape he’ll be disappointed,” I said. “I edited it down to just the lovey-dovey stuff.”

“But you still got the original.”

“Yes, I do,” I said.

“Anybody know that?” Hawk said.

“Not yet,” I said.

“So maybe they think they got all there is,” Hawk said.

“Maybe.”

“On the other hand,” Hawk said, “they know somebody made the tape.”

“Yep.”

“So they ain’t free and clear yet,” Hawk said.

“Nope.”

“Unless Jordan told them ’bout you.”

“My guess is that she didn’t,” I said. “She was pretty desperate to get them back, more than she should have been, since her husband had already heard them.”

“She worried about Alderson,” Hawk said.

“Maybe.”

“So maybe she don’t tell him,” Hawk said.

“Maybe.”

“Doherty could have told them ’bout you before he died?”

“He was FBI,” I said. “They may have thought he did it himself.”

Hawk finished up with an elegant flurry of punches, and stepped away from the jeeter bag and looked at me. He nodded.

“They don’t know,” Hawk said.

“That’s my guess.”

“They knew,” Hawk said, “they would have made a run at you already.”

I nodded.

“So we’re probably under their radar,” I said.

“There you go with that we again,” Hawk said.

“I leave you out and you get sullen,” I said.

“I always sullen,” Hawk said. “You thinking about letting them know you got the tape.”

“It’s an option,” I said. “Let’s see what develops.”

“You could just give the tape to Epstein,” Hawk said. “Then there’d be no reason for them to come after you.”

“And there’d be no way to smoke them out,” I said.

“You won’t give Epstein the tape,” Hawk said.

I shrugged.

“It’s our only hole card. Otherwise these people have no reason to show themselves.”

“They might get Alderson arrested,” Hawk said.

“You heard them,” I said. “Did he ever say anything that would get him jail time?”

“No.”

“But as long as there’s a tape and he wants it,” I said.

“If he wants it,” I said.

“Mr. and Mrs. Doherty died for a reason,” I said. “And the tape’s missing.”

“’Less you buy it’s suicide,” Hawk said.

“You?” I said.

“No,” Hawk said.