“And it’s continued all this time,” I said. “So why now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve always known her life was in danger. Why the sudden urgency?”
“I think Tara’s in the middle of an operation that could turn sour.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Chavez got a call. Darwin told him to be ready, just in case.”
“And you know this because?”
“Chavez and I talk sometimes.”
“You’ve been keeping him on a string to see what he knows?”
“Something like that.”
I had a sudden thought.
“You’re not sleeping with Chavez, too, are you?”
“Fuck you!”
“All right, simmer down,” I said. “I’m just trying to figure out how complicated this is.”
“As far as Chavez is concerned, he and I are colleagues, nothing more. When he worked Atlanta, we met twice a year for drinks. I was careful when asking about Eva.”
“I believe you. Otherwise, she’d be dead.”
Callie eyed me carefully, as if trying to read something in my face. Finally, she said, “If you can’t talk to Darwin, what’s left?”
“I can try to talk Tara into quitting.”
“What?”
“Like you said, she’s a mess. Maybe she’s had enough.”
“If she has, she’d already be retired.”
“Sometimes people need a nudge.”
“Would you even know how to find her without Darwin’s help?”
“I think so,” I said. “We’ve got some history.”
“I heard that ended badly,” Callie said, lifting her index finger to the side of her cheek to mimic the angry scar that runs from the top of my cheek to the middle of my neck.
I shrugged. “Some people wear tattoos.”
Callie laughed. “Boston’s a pretty big city,” she said.
“It is.”
“But you know something about Tara, something you learned when you were sleeping with her?”
I nodded.
Callie mulled that over. “What if she says no?”
“Then we go to plan B,” I said.
