Murnir threw his arms around her. 'I'm so sorry.'
As Jack gave them a moment, he thought about how it was pretty near a sure thing that certain strings of letters and numbers out there could change the world. But code for an online game? To use the online lingua franca: WTF?
'What happened to his hand?'
Still sobbing, Barbara reached into her coat pocket. She pulled out a clear plastic bag and handed it to him. Jack checked it out.
A human thumb.
Munir gasped.
Jack said, 'What are you going to do with it?'
'See to it that he and it are never rejoined.'
Jack pocketed it. 'I'll take care of that.'
He'd noticed a rat hole in the rear wall of the garage. Maybe he'd treat them to a midday snack.
'But we've a bigger problem: What do we do with the rest of him?'
Munir looked at him. 'What do you mean?'
Might as well slap it on the table: 'If I were in your shoes, I'd get rid of him as well.'
Barbara's eyes widened. 'You mean kill him?'
'Think about it. He knows who you are, knows where to find you. He snatched you and Robby once. What's going to keep him from doing it again? His plan was to kill you-'
'You don't know that,' she said.
'Why else would he allow you to see his face? When I mentioned it to him yesterday he didn't deny it.'
Barbara pressed herself against her husband. 'You're talking cold-blooded murder.'
'Sure sounds like it.'
'No,' Munir said, shaking his head. 'I won't allow it. I… I can't.'
' 'Allow'? I wasn't talking about Barbara doing it.'
He looked confused. 'No, I meant you. Monster that he is, I don't think I can be a party to something like that.'
Now Jack saw the problem.
'Whoa. We've got our signals crossed here. I'm not a contract killer. I don't do that. Remember, I said, 'If I were in your shoes.' I'm talking about you offing him.'
Their eyes widened simultaneously as they spoke in unison. 'No!'
'Better give that a little more thought. He started cutting off your wife's nipple when the only thing he had against her was she married you. Now how do you think he feels about her?'
Munir swallowed. 'There must be another way.'
'Not that I can see. He's a ticking time bomb.'
'The police… we can press charges.'
'Sure, but that might not go the way you hope.' He looked at Barbara. 'He was wearing surgical gloves when I broke in-'
'He wore them the entire time.'
Jack nodded. 'No prints left behind. And he's set the real Hollander up as a fall guy. I'm pretty sure Hollander is dead, so he won't be able to deny his involvement.'
'But we can all identify him.'
'What about his thumb? How do you explain that? He's established reasonable doubt, while you've cut him up. In this system, with the kind of judges we have in this city, he could walk while Barbara ends up behind bars.'
Murnir shook his head. 'No, that can't happen.'
'It damn well can. I'm not saying it will, but it can. You want to take that risk?'
Jack wouldn't. If this were personal-if Gia and Vicky were at risk-James Valez would not see sunset. Hell, he wouldn't see noon. But this wasn't personal. This was Munir and Barbara's problem. They had to make the choice and do the deed.
Munir seemed lost in thought.
Barbara said, 'Oh, Munir… you can't be considering…'
He looked at her. 'What do you say? He kidnapped you, he cut you, he hurt Robby in front of you. I will go along with whatever you choose.'
She closed her eyes. 'I've hurt him back. If he had a heart attack now I would not try to save him. The world would be a better place without him, but I don't want any more of his blood on my hands, and I don't want it on yours.' She turned to Jack and shook her head. 'No. We can't.'
Jack sighed. 'I didn't think you could.'
He understood. They were regular citizens. They hadn't walked in Jack's shoes, or made the mistakes he'd made-like allowing a killer with a grudge to walk away. Someone had died because of that. He'd never make that mistake again.
'Then we'll have to let him go.'
He could tell from their expressions they were frightened, and well they should be.
Munir tightened his arm around his wife. 'What can we do to protect ourselves?'
'Arm yourselves and hire someone to teach you defensive tactics. Meanwhile, take off. I'll deal with him.'
'How?'
'Let me worry about that. I'll be expecting the rest of my fee tomorrow.'
Munir nodded. 'Absolutely.'
When they were gone, Jack climbed back into the back of the van. He'd noticed the door ajar earlier. He hoped Valez had heard his conversation with the Habibs. He lay there with his eyes closed. The bandage on his hand was completely red now.
Jack yanked the tape off his mouth.
'You awake?'
Valez moaned. 'My hand…' His voice was hoarse, gravelly. 'Killing me. Need a doctor.'
Jack had to laugh. 'You're kidding, right? You're lucky you're still alive. Up to me you'd be rat meat. Like your thumb.'
He groaned.
'Okay,' Jack said. 'Here's the deal: You live to see another day. Just how many more days depends on you. I know who you are and I know where you live.'
He opened his eyes. 'No you don't. The first thing you asked me this morning was my name.'
'Had a cop buddy trace your prints last night.' I wish, he thought. 'You weren't easy to find, but he found you.'
'Bullshit. Don't have a record.'
'Amazing how many people think that means something. But just because you've never been arrested doesn't mean your prints aren't on file somewhere. Anyway, my buddy matched yours, James Valez. And the reason I asked you your name this morning is because an interrogator should always know the answer to at least one question he's asking. How else you gonna know if the interrogatee-that'd be you-is telling the truth?'
Sounded good for something Jack had just made up on the spot.
'Anyway, here's the deal: I dump you somewhere and you find your own way to a doctor. After that, you leave the Habibs alone. You bother them again, or they get even a hint that you're sniffing around, I'm back in the picture. Despite what the wife did to you-be thankful she wasn't working on your crotch-they're gentle people. I, on the other hand, have impulse issues. I'll come back and shoot off your kneecaps and smash your elbows. It's part of my warranty. I guarantee my work. So the bottom line is, you're out of their lives forever. Got it?'
Valez said nothing, so Jack kicked his wounded hand.
'Got it?'
He howled. 'Yes! Yes!'
Jack hoped the message had penetrated.
'Now, a couple more questions.'
'Please…'
'Why did you want that code?'
