fingerprint is found on your card in Jimmie’s wallet. Is that right?”
“Thumbprint,” I tell her.
“Excuse me. His thumbprint. And of course the authorities know this because they have one of Liquida’s matching prints from an earlier crime scene in Southern California. What was the name of that case again?” She looks at me. “You remember? Your partner was just about to say the name when you stopped him.”
“Tell you what,” I say. “You tell me everything you know about Thorn. And I’ll tell you what I know about Liquida and the earlier case. How’s that?”
“You know what I want?” Joselyn gives me an exasperated look. “I want your testimony concerning what happened at Coronado,” she says. “Both of you. All the information you have about the nuclear device and the Russian who was killed outside the base. Agree to go public with that and I will help you in any way I can with Thorn and Liquida. That’s the price. Don’t forget, I have some very good sources of information.”
“Can’t do it,” I tell her.
“Why not?”
“I just can’t.”
“Why, because you think the FBI, your friend Zeb Thorpe, might keep Liquida off your back?”
“What do you know about Thorpe?” I say.
“I know he headed up the investigation following the attack at Coronado. That he provided protection for you, your daughter, your partner, and Mr. Diggs here for the better part of three months. But it didn’t have anything to do with Liquida. All he wanted was to keep you quiet. To keep you away from the press.”
Joselyn knows more than I thought.
“Then what makes you think that Thorpe’s involved in any way with Liquida?”
“Give me a break,” she says. “Liquida killed Afundi. That’s your earlier case. The one with Liquida’s matching thumbprint.”
“Whoops,” says Herman.
“She’s right,” I tell him. “She does have good sources.”
“So stop lying to me,” says Joselyn. “I know everything already. It’s just that I’m not a percipient witness. Everything I have is secondhand, from reports and documents, and other sources,” she says. “I don’t have copies, but I’ve been allowed to look at them. Problem is it’s all hearsay. But you, you both saw it, the bomb and everything that happened. More than that, you can corroborate each other.”
“We saw a device,” I tell her. “Neither of us is an expert. We can’t verify that it was nuclear.”
“What, does it have to go off before we know this? You talked to the Russian.”
“He didn’t speak English,” I tell her.
“But his daughter did. And she told you it was nuclear. She knew it was. Her father was the guardian of that device. We know that. I’ve even heard him referred to as the ‘Guardian of Lies.’ He was the expert, right from the horse’s mouth.”
“Sounds like she knows everything already,” says Herman. “So the only question is whether we’ll talk.”
I look at him. “What do you think?”
“Feds aren’t giving us anything anyway,” he says. “Of course, they might try and throw us in the slammer.”
“Not after you go public,” says Joselyn. “They wouldn’t dare. It would look like the biggest cover-up in history, which is exactly what it is.”
“Okay, but it depends on what you can give us in return. If the information you provide leads us to Thorn and Liquida, I’ll talk. Otherwise no.” I look at Herman.
“That’s good by me,” he says. “Let’s hope your sources are better than Thorpe’s. They don’t seem to have squat on Liquida.” He looks at Joselyn. “Of course, if what you got is ten years old and cold as a witch’s tit it probably ain’t gonna help us much anyway.”
“Then we have an agreement?” she says.
“Agreed. But the information has to net Liquida,” I tell her. “If we bag Thorn in the process, great. But Liquida’s the key. If the information we develop results in his arrest and conviction…”
“Or his death,” says Herman.
“Or his death, then we’ll go public, in any forum, any way you want to do it.”
“Agreed. One other thing,” she says. “Some of my sources are confidential. Not all, just some. And on those I can’t disclose their identity. Is that understood? I can assure you the information is golden.”
I look at Herman. He nods. “Agreed,” I tell her.
“Good. Then I have some information for you,” says Joselyn.
“Already?” I say. “Just like that. Damn it.” I look at Herman. “She probably would have given it to us anyway. Wouldn’t you?” I put it to Joselyn.
“I don’t know. You weren’t looking terribly pathetic today. I’m not sure. But based on what I know, Thorn is very big on planes. Which I already knew. Apparently he’s qualified to fly commercial aircraft, large jets. That I didn’t know. According to my information, over the years he’s purchased more than one plane from places called commercial boneyards. Out in the desert, here in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. I have a list of names and addresses for these.”
“I assume this is from one of your confidential sources?” I ask.
“No, as a matter of fact it came from Bart Snyder. I got an e-mail from him a few days ago.”
“Where did he get it?” I ask.
“I don’t know. He just said he got it from unidentified sources.”
“And this is your golden information?” I look at her.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to find out.”
“Maybe you could call him and find out who his sources are and whether they’re reliable before we chase all over the Southwest?” I say.
“If you want, I can do that,” she says.
“Why didn’t he copy us on this e-mail?” I ask.
“I don’t know. You want me to ask him?”
“No.”
“Perhaps it’s your demeanor,” she says.
“What’s wrong with my demeanor?”
“You tend to put people on the defensive. Like right now, you’re angry because you think you might have gotten this tidbit for nothing. You need to drain some of the lawyer juices.”
“Snyder is a lawyer. So are you,” I tell her.
“Yes, but I’ve had time to develop a soft side and shed the bristles.”
“That’s true. You slid under the table like a slinky, in that clingy, soft sweaterdress. Certainly nobody could call that abrasive. That must be why he communicated with you. What else did he say? In the e-mail, I mean.”
“Now you sound jealous,” she says.
“Why would I be jealous?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “Did you like the dress?”
“Very nice.”
“It’s up in my luggage. I packed it in case I needed it again.”
“You wear it like a weapon, do you?”
“Only if I need to.” She’s already searching the Web on her phone. “One of the boneyards is in Victorville, north of here. We could cover that one by car, and then book flights to Arizona and New Mexico if necessary. I have copies of the pictures of Thorn, the ones Snyder showed us. He scanned them into his computer and sent them attached to his e-mail. I printed them out.”
“I’ve got copies in my briefcase too. I got them when he was at the office,” I tell her.
“See, he didn’t withhold everything from you,” says Joselyn.
“We could split up, but I don’t think we ought to fly,” says Herman. “It’d be a long drive to Arizona and New Mexico, but we’ll have to use the car.” He winks at me. We have already ditched the tracking device from my car, and Herman took care of the other two, the one from his Chevy and the one from Sarah’s VW. By now they are crisscrossing the country on the back of sixteen-wheelers, so Liquida must be getting dizzy.
“If you and I split up, we don’t save that much time. If the place in Victorville turns out to be a dead end,
