Toni nodded. 'Uh-huh.'
Fernandez continued: 'The British Army is relatively tight-lipped about all this, but Peel was apparently given the choice of falling on his own sword or being drummed out, so he retired, and the incident was swept under the rug. Next time he surfaced, he was providing security for a local bigwig, Lord Geoffrey Goswell. Peel's new boss is not only a nobleman, he is also richer than Midas, a crusty old billionaire who owns half a dozen companies producing everything from computers to catsup.'
Toni considered the information for a moment. She had an idea where this was going, but she wanted to hear Howard's take on it. She looked from Fernandez to the colonel. 'I see. And this leads you to believe…?'
Howard shrugged. 'We really don't have enough information to make a conclusion yet. But it seems awfully coincidental that a former intelligence operative gets shot and poisoned and dead in a bookstore, and a few seconds later, a known killer
'You think Ruzhyo is working for Peel? Hired to catch or kill the guy in the bookstore?'
'Like I said, it's too soon to make that stretch for sure, but it certainly seems as if we ought to have a chat with this guy Peel. Even if he is totally innocent, at the very least he was there when the trouble went down, and he had to have seen Ruzhyo when he left. If Ruzhyo had been a second slower leaving, Peel would have stepped on his heels.'
Toni nodded again. 'All right. How do we go about it?'
'Cooper will set it up. We can go along as observers. No guns needed. Apparently, Lord Whatshisname is quite well-connected and beyond reproach.'
Fernandez said, 'Right. We knock on the door, have a spot of tea, then politely ask the major, 'I say, old bean, did you shoot somebody in a bookstore recently?' and he says, 'Happens I did, old boy. Is there a problem?' They are all very civilized here, pip, pip, eh, whot?'
Toni laughed.
From the sound of her laugh, Howard figured she still hadn't gotten around to discussing Angela Cooper with the commander. Well. It sure as hell wasn't his business, and he wasn't going to—
His virgil peeped, the tone indicating it was a personal call. He frowned. He wasn't really in the field, so he hadn't shut off everything but tactical reach yet; still, it was unusual for his wife to call. 'Excuse me a moment,' he said. He walked away from the table and pulled the virgil from his belt. Mindful of where he was, he kept his visual transmission off.
'Hello?'
'Hey, Dad.'
'Tyrone. Everything okay? Your mother—?'
'Mom's fine, we're three by three and go ahead here, Dad.'
Howard relaxed. Nobody had gotten into a car accident or anything. 'What's sailing, son?'
'I don't want to bother you if you're busy.'
'I'm not that busy. Shoot.'
There was a pause. It stretched.
'We are talking transcontinental rates here, Tyrone.'
'Sorry. Well, there's this girl at school…'
Howard listened to his son pour out his problem, and he felt himself grinning. Whenever anybody asked him if he'd like to go back and live his life over, he'd always told them no, not a chance. He hadn't made so many mistakes that he would go through puberty again to make up for them. No, sir.
Fiorella and Fernandez ignored him, looking at the computer visuals, and after a little while, Cooper and Michaels arrived.
Finally, his son ran down. 'So, whaddya you think, Pop?'
'Well, I could be wrong, but I think your boomerang girl likes you. And she's maybe a little jealous of Bella.'
'Oh, yeah?'
'Yeah. And she might have a point, too. Why do you like hanging around with Nadine?'
'She can
'But she's not much of a looker?'
'Not really.'
'And Bella?'
'Jeez, Dad, she's gorgeous!'
'And if my memory serves, she's also got a mean streak. You remember talking to me about her when she cut you loose before?'
'Yeah.'
'She thumped you pretty good once before. You got any reason to believe she won't do it again if it suits her?'
'Uh… no. But maybe she realized she made a mistake.'
'And maybe you're more desirable because somebody else wants you.'
'Nadine? No offense, but I can't see that Bella would be the least bit worried about Nadine, Dad. She's fun and all, but she's not somebody you'd cross the street to get a better look at.'
'If Nadine is athletic, smart, and funny, some people might find that intimidating, especially if they aren't.'
'You mean
Howard chuckled. Tyrone spoke in the same tone of voice he might use if he'd just heard his father say he was going to fly home by jumping into the air and flapping his arms real fast.
'What else changed, son, since she dropped you?'
'Nothing.' Another silence. Then, 'Man.'
'It's nice to be wanted,' Howard said. 'But you have to ask yourself who wants you, and why. You can't blame anybody for the face and form God gives them, but they can't take any credit for those looks, either. Unless maybe they've paid for a lot of expensive plastic surgery.'
'What are you saying here, Dad?'
'If Bella wasn't beautiful, if she was plain or even ugly, would you want to spend time with her? Has she got something going for her other than what she looks like? Would you cross the street to talk to her if you couldn't look at her when you did it?'
This dead air was getting real expensive.
'Uh…'
'Think about it. Let it perk for a while and see what comes out.'
'Oh, man. I guess I better go. Uh, thanks, Dad.'
'Say hello to Mom for me.'
'I will. Discom.'
'Bye, son.'
Howard hooked the virgil back to his belt. He was a soldier, and he was going to be gone a lot, that was the nature of soldiering, but he worried about not being there for his son. A man had to do his job, but a man also had responsibilities to his family. Whatever else was going on, he had a son who needed a father's help. There were values that needed to be passed on, lessons to be taught. He had to remember that. It was important.
Chapter 33
