phones. They’re probably listening to us right now.”
Harv nodded. “Whatever the case, we should probably go stealth from now on.”
“Agreed. Also, I was thinking about Frank Ortega. When was the last time you talked with him?”
“I called him early this afternoon.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Hard to say. He seemed calm. He was very curious about your trip out to the Castle and your chat with Fitzgerald. He was especially interested in your meeting with Amber Sheldon. He really grilled me over it.”
“Grilled you? What about?”
Harv pointed at the ceiling. “I’ll tell you on the way to dinner.”
In the elevator, Nathan resumed their conversation. “What did Ortega want to know about Amber Sheldon?”
“Everything. He wanted to know what you two talked about. Word for word.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I thought it best not to get too specific. I basically told him you asked Amber about Ernie’s background, anything she could share that might help us find him. I said she didn’t have much to offer. I didn’t say a word about Janey being his daughter.”
“Good thinking. We need to keep that under wraps.”
“I’m uncomfortable withholding information from him.”
“I’m not. Something tells me Lansing and Ortega are closer pals than we realize. I’ve been thinking about that too. How much clout would you need to involve a couple of outsiders like us in top-secret bureau business?”
“A lot.”
“Exactly. Ortega’s been cashing in a big debt Lansing owes him. I wish we could find out what it is.”
“With all due respect, Nate, why would we care? We don’t need to know.”
Nathan sighed. “I suppose you’re right. I guess all this cloak-and-dagger crap is getting to me.”
Neither of the Hyatt’s restaurants were open yet, so they walked a few blocks to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was still a bit early for dinner, so the place wasn’t crowded, which suited them just fine. They were escorted to a corner table by a hostess who looked sixteen years old. In reality, she was probably in her late twenties.
Nathan just stared.
“What,” Harv said.
“You got a hollow leg or something?”
“I’m hungry. What about it?”
“I’ll bet you fifty bucks you can’t eat all that.”
“You’re on.”
Forty minutes later, Nathan fished out his wallet.
On the walk back to the Hyatt, Nathan shook his head. “You amaze me.”
“I know.”
Nathan switched to Russian. “You spot the two agents watching us in there?”
“Yes,” Harvey answered in Russian. “Opposite side of the room. Male-female combo sitting at the bar. They were good. I thought maybe you had missed them.”
“What are we going to do about them?” Nathan asked.
“You want to mess with them?”
“It is tempting, is it not? Did you see them while I was out of town with Henning?”
“No.”
“Means they are watching me, not you.”
“Probably, but I could’ve missed them.”
“You are better at this than me.”
As they chatted in Russian, they passed a homeless man sitting against the brick wall of a liquor store. “Gol-darned for-ners,” he muttered.
Nathan smiled at the comment, removed his wallet, and took out a twenty. “Don’t spend it all in the same place,” Nathan said in English. He used the opportunity to glance back at the Hard Rock’s entrance. Their tails were just walking out the door. They turned and started down the sidewalk holding hands. Yeah, right.
Harvey kept walking without turning.
“Yes. I will divert over to the registration desk and let them catch up. You head into the bar and order a glass of wine. I will head up to the room. Give me three minutes, then come up.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Waste some taxpayer money.”
At the registration desk, Nathan spoke softly to the woman behind the counter. She was in her mid-thirties and slightly overweight. Her dark hair was in a bun. As usual, she did a double take at Nathan’s face, but recovered quickly and forced a smile.
Nathan leaned forward and spoke quietly. “There’s a man and a woman following me. When they come through the doors, give me a nod. Okay?”
“You want me to call the police?”
“No, just nod when they come in. They work for an insurance company, they’re harmless, but don’t make it obvious you’re noticing them, okay”
Ten seconds later she gave Nathan a nod.
“Thanks,” he said.
Nathan strolled over to the bank of elevators and pressed the button. At the sixth floor, he hurried to his room and let himself in with the electronic card key. He grabbed his 9-millimeter from the duffel bag and unloaded it. After opening the door on his side of the adjoining room doorway, he placed an ear against the second door. Sure enough, he heard the room’s door open and close. With a smile, he stepped back, raised his foot, and kicked the door with all his strength.
The door splintered away from its jamb, flew open, and smacked the dresser hard.
Nathan burst through. The woman he’d seen in the Hard Rock was just setting her purse and sidearm down on the bed.
She made a move for her gun, but Nathan pointed his Sig at her chest.
She held her hands up. “FBI special agent.”
“I know that. Where’s your partner?”
She hesitated. “In the lobby, watching Mr. Fontana.”
Nathan held his gun up. “Do I need this?”
“No.”
“I’ve got your word on that?”
“Yes.”
“Good, ’cause it’s not loaded.”
“When did you spot us?”
He tucked the gun behind his back. “In the Hard Rock. Your partner kept using the mirror behind the bar to watch us.” He smiled, but it wasn’t returned. He gave her a closer look. She was actually quite attractive. Around the same age as Nathan, she wore jeans and a white silk shirt under a black leather jacket. Her blond hair was cut shoulder-length and she had piercing blue eyes behind a Slavic face.
Nathan looked around the room at all the surveillance equipment. Half-a-dozen black boxes were stacked on the dresser next to the door, all of them connected to a digital recorder.
“Okay, Special Agent…”
“Grangeland.”
“How do you want to play this out? We have a couple of options. The first, I smash every piece of equipment in this room and you’ll have to explain its destruction to whoever you’re reporting to, presumably Lansing. The
