Exit Strategy

FORTY-TWO

Downstairs, Jack sat with his gun on his lap, a polite reminder.

“You said this wasn’t what you thought,” I began. “And that would be…?”

“I hadn’t made up my mind,” Evelyn said.

I waited for an explanation, but she only eased back in her chair and slanted a look at Jack, who grunted, as if her meaning was perfectly clear.

“So what the hell is this about?” Evelyn said. “I can’t even imagine what I could have done to deserve both of you pulling guns on me.”

“Gallagher talked,” Jack said. “Gave Dee a name.”

“ Dee? But she said…Okay, so this must be connected to that name. What could-?” She paused. “Gallagher didn’t finger me, did he? Now, that would explain this reaction, but it’s obviously impossible. I was with Dee for one murder and couldn’t have done the others then gotten back here in time to meet you two.”

“Wilkes.”

“The killer is Wilkes-Bullshit. Gallagher is pulling your-” She studied our faces. “And if I continue like that, I’ll only convince you I’m involved. You honestly think I’d cover for that loser, Jack? Partner with him on a job this big?”

“Had to know.”

“The only person I’d trust on something like this would be you. Wilkes ranks at the bottom of my former partners and proteges. I still say he could not be responsible. He doesn’t have the ingenuity-”

“Forget ingenuity. Technical skill?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Could have quietly killed Kozlov. Not easy. Not impossible, either. Didn’t need this…exit strategy. Wanted more. Had something to prove.”

“Well, yes, theoretically that would fit Wilkes-”

“Gets a taste for power. Control. Gets drunk on it. Full of himself. Challenging the Feds. Making impossible demands. Playing head games. Thinking he’s winning. Now he’s somebody. Finally somebody.”

Evelyn sighed, then shook her head. “Son of a bitch. So now we need to find him. That’s not going to be easy.”

“Jack says you know his name,” I said. “His real name. Is that going to help?”

“I trained him well,” Evelyn said. “If he’s using a name, it’s probably not his own. If it is his own, any information you’d find with it would lead to a dead end. Even at the absolutely best scenario-he’s forgotten everything I’ve taught him and has a house registered under his real name-we aren’t going to show up there and find him. I’ll do the search and give you what I find, but right now, he’s out there-” She waved at the window. “Setting up his next attack. We need to figure out what that is.”

“We might already know,” I said, and told her about the missed train tip and the next one, in West Virginia.

“He fucked up with the train,” Evelyn said. “Personally, I like your idea, Dee, fulfill a promise, break a promise, get the Feds running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Brilliant-and exactly what I’d do. You, Jack or I could pull that stunt without giving a shit who thought we’d ‘failed’ the train hit. But Wilkes? Not a chance.” She lifted three fingers. “One: he’s single-minded. Two: he lacks creativity. Three: he’s got a balloon ego.”

“Balloon ego?” I said.

Jack grunted. “One prick, it deflates.”

“Something did go wrong with that train hit,” Evelyn said. “As for what, it’s moot. What matters is that he’ll be mad as hell right about now. He’s going to be at that parade, and he’s going to make a hit, and if the Feds are standing this one down, then I’d sure as hell recommend we be there.”

“To do what?” Jack said. “Needle in a haystack.”

“True,” I said. “But do you know the best way to find a needle in a haystack? With a magnet.”

Evelyn chuckled. Jack went still for a minute, then his gaze shot to mine, eyes hardening.

“Better not be suggesting-”

“That we draw out the needle ourselves? That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“You are not setting yourself up to become the next victim,” Jack said.

I considered commenting on the length and completeness of that sentence, but the look in his eyes said this wasn’t the time.

“Jack’s right,” Evelyn said. “Wilkes has established a plan and he’s already ‘done’ any type you could play. We need to bait the trap with something he doesn’t have yet, something he won’t be able to resist.”

She looked at Jack.

“Because he knows Jack?” I shook my head. “Sure, he might go for it, off a fellow hitman, but-”

“It’s been over twenty years. A bit of work and he’d never recognize Jack. What he will recognize is a prize missing from his collection. A tough guy.”

Jack snorted.

“You know what I mean. A biker, a hood, muscle, all roles you’ve done many times before. There are a million guys out there right now, bragging in bars about how they’d take down the Helter Skelter killer if he ever came near them. Give him one of those, in a setting that’ll make an easy kill, and he’ll pounce on it, to prove that nobody is safe…and reinflate his ego after the train fiasco.”

FORTY-THREE

It was a five-hour trip and we didn’t have time to stop for lunch, so we grabbed sandwiches on the way. We were almost to West Virginia when we had to pull into a gas station to fill up, and for Jack to use the washroom. I eyed the attached convenience store, considered getting some candy for the stakeout. But I had a more important use for the time alone with Evelyn.

I waited until Jack headed into the store to prepay for gas, then shifted into the middle of the seat, so I could lean forward and talk to her on the front passenger side.

“So, I suppose after what happened today you’ll be rescinding that ‘offer’ you made?”

“Because you held me at gunpoint?” She smiled. “I consider it a logical and important step in a developing relationship with any good student. I’m sure I’ll give you cause to do it again and, if I don’t, then you’re not the sort of hit-woman I’d care to mentor.”

“Ah.”

As I eased back into my seat, she peered under the headrest at me. “Is that disappointment I hear? Don’t tell me you’re hoping I’ll retract the offer, save you from having to make the decision. I expected better of you, Dee.” Her gaze studied mine, then she smiled. “Or, I suppose, this was just a good excuse for bringing up the matter, since I haven’t done so myself.”

“Just checking. Seeing whether it still stood.”

“It does and, as you haven’t said no, I presumed you’re still considering it, which is good enough for me. If that offer doesn’t suit your tastes, I can get others. Someone with your talent is wasted on Mafia punks.”

When I said nothing, she tilted her head, gaze boring into mine. “I’m giving you a chance to really quench that thirst, Nadia. Take out people who even I’ll agree have lost the right to walk on this planet.”

I didn’t miss the switch from Dee to Nadia. A calculated reminder of how much she knew about me. If I called her on it, though, she’d only claim a slip of the tongue, so I said, as evenly as possible, “I’m not a vigilante.”

“So you’ve said.”

I turned my gaze to the window, watching Jack start pumping the gas, then looked back at Evelyn. “What would you get from it?”

“A cut, of course. Money is always good.” She eased back in her seat, gaze returning to the windshield. “When I got into this life, I only wanted three things. Money, power and respect. A girl like you, comes from a nice middle-class background, born after the so-called sexual revolution, gets a good education, takes on a man’s job.