“What’s wrong?” Cain put her hand to her forehead instantly. “Do you need a doctor?”
“Hannah came home from preschool today feeling queasy, so I’m sure it’s whatever bug she caught there.” Emma kissed her chin and pointed to the chair. “Sit and eat.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine, but I feel horrible for Carmen. She made her mother’s chicken recipe and thinks that’s what did it.”
They sat together and Emma watched her eat as they talked about their day. As they climbed to the second floor someone walked in and lingered in the foyer.
“Problem, Muriel?” Cain asked, her arm around Emma. She couldn’t see who it was, but guessed it had to be Muriel.
“Just working late.”
“I’m not buying that. Spill it and get up here where I can see you.” Cain kissed Emma on the temple and patted her on the butt to get her moving toward the bedroom. “I’ll be in as soon as I’m done.”
Face to face it didn’t take long for Muriel to tell her story. Cain was grateful she’d sent Emma to their room before Muriel told her about the pictures she’d found. “You didn’t discover anything that’d lead us to Juan?”
“Not yet, but I got everything else you asked for, and someone to carry it out.”
“Who?” Cain asked as she pulled her shirttail from her pants simply to have something to do with her hands.
“Nick. He’s young enough and has the same physical characteristics. In an out-of-the-way location he’ll pass, and he’s not taking away anything. If he was, that might be more of a problem.”
“Tell him to be ready tomorrow.”
Muriel nodded. “He wants a more permanent job close to you.”
“Nick’s a good kid. I’ll talk to him and have him work with Lou whenever possible, but he’s not ready for a spot in our immediate crew yet.”
“He’s going to be disappointed.”
“Disappointment comes when you don’t have a chance,” Cain said, echoing her father. “That’s not what I’m saying. Once he’s got more experience, he’s got a shot.”
“The only one that’ll make happy is Lou’s brother.” Muriel walked with her down the hall. “He’s a fireman with no interest in the life. Lou told me it’s killing him that Nick chose to follow this path. He wanted better for his son.”
“I can understand that. Every parent wants the best for their children, but he doesn’t—”
Cain stopped talking and walking, and Muriel had to turn back. “Something wrong?”
Without saying anything else, Cain went back down and into the office. The list of passengers was in the top drawer. She’d been meaning to call Hector Delarosa in Columbia to pick his brain, but now she had only one question to ask him. After Muriel told her about Anthony’s collection of pictures, she wasn’t willing to wait for the answer.
With every counter-surveillance device turned on, Cain dialed the number. “Senor Delarosa, please.” She paused as whoever answered said something. “It’s Cain Casey from New Orleans.”
She sat and indicated to Muriel to do the same. “Sometimes things are so easy it makes you miss them,” she said as she waited.
“What’s so easy?” Muriel asked.
Cain put her finger up as she heard a muted exchange on the other end. “Hello.”
“Senor Delarosa, I’m sorry to call so late,” Cain said with the sheet from the airline in her hand.
“Cain, please call me Hector,” he said in refined English with a slight accent. “I’ve heard so much about you I feel as if we’re old friends. What can I do to help you?”
“From my contacts here I understand you and Rodolfo Luis were business partners at one time.” She picked up a pen and put a check mark next to every
“Until Rodolfo became too important. Do you understand my meaning?”
“After meeting him a few times I understand perfectly.”
“It’s of no matter now. Rodolfo has chosen to do business with the Luca family, and we will deal with someone else. This person has a bigger network of friends, which means fewer enemies for me to deal with. In my business it’s a better position to be in.” Cain accepted the drink Muriel had poured her, as well as the fact that it was Remi and herself Hector was talking about, and rested her elbows on the edge of the desk. “But I’m sure you didn’t call about my history. What else can I answer for you?”
Drugs weren’t something Cain would ever involve herself in, but something about Hector made her like him. “My father always said that history was a good roadmap to the future.”
“Then it is history we will talk about tonight.”
“The story I’m interested in actually has to do more with Juan Luis than his uncle.”
“Rodolfo will learn soon enough what a rabid dog he’s raised, and unfortunately for him it will be a lesson he won’t live to learn from. He punished his sister Gracelia for soiling his family name by taking Juan away from her to raise himself. That selfishness on his part has made both Juan and his mother unstable enough to turn on him.”
That statement alone made Cain smile. Not over Rodolfo’s problems, but because Hector knew so much about them. “What I need from you is the name of the man who fathered Juan.”
