Stone Junction

‘He told me not to bother. I didn’t.’

‘Okay now, so all you ever heard was his voice. You can tell a lot about a man just listening to him talk. What did you hear?’

‘Male, mid-thirties or a little older, faint Germanic accent – Swiss maybe – good vocabulary, very precise. But these weren’t long conversations, you understand.’

‘No tapes, huh?’

‘No. He asked me not to. It was a request, not a condition.’

‘You think you’d recognize his voice if you heard it again?’

‘I don’t know. He hasn’t called since Livermore.’

‘Well, thanks for your help, Shelby.’ Preciate it. Mel does, too, I’m sure.’

Keyes said, ‘Yes, thanks Shel; I owe you one.’ He waited for Bennett to get off the line and said to Texas Jacques-Jacques, ‘That’s all there is, cowboy. You satisfied with my end?’

‘You know, my ol’ Pappy, bless his wildcat soul, always told me that if a man’s real anxious to sell, give it some hard, cold thinking ’fore you buy. I got to respect my Pappy’s advice. I’ll get back to you on it soon as I got it mulled over good. Keep your loop tight, Mel.’

Keyes was sputtering, ‘Hold on now, you––’ when the recording ended.

Smiling Jack hit Stop, then Rewind. He glanced at Volta, who was staring into his untouched glass of cognac. ‘You want to hear it again, Volt?’

‘Later, perhaps.’

‘What do you think? Flowers or fertilizer?’

‘Flowers. I think you got everything there was, the whole truth and nothing but, and you had fun doing it. Please reconsider giving me the honor of nominating you to replace me on the Star. The Alliance is losing that sense of fun; you could refresh it.’

‘Damn, Volt, I think you’re getting maudlin in your old age – or else it’s tougher than you thought to sit here waiting for Daniel to call. Maybe you should get some natural light and fresh air on you. Do a bunch of pushups. Jog over to McDonald’s and get back in the world.’

Volta barely smiled. ‘You’re right, waiting has been tougher than I thought. The hardest part is that I’ve had four straight days with time to reflect, and what I see of myself doesn’t please me. I’m losing my effectiveness, and I’m not having fun. I’m tired of excruciating decisions, balancing acts, judgments that must consider the welfare of the Alliance before the good of my heart – though truly they aren’t often at odds.’

‘Jesus,’ Jack said, ‘you’re turning sane.’

‘I’m beginning to cherish that infrequent state of mind, yes.’

‘Well, before your effectiveness peters out completely, how do you want to move on this Alex Three info?’

‘I think we should follow your dear ol’ Pappy’s advice and mull it over reeeal good.’

Jack looked skeptical. ‘Way you were just talking, didn’t sound like your muller could take much more.’

‘Plenty of room,’ Volta assured him. ‘Throw it in there with the rest and sit back and wait for something to connect. I’m assuming, naturally, that you’re having Alex Three run through our own sources.’

‘Yeah, got them on it pronto, but they haven’t turned diddley yet.’

‘Alex Three,’ Volta mused. ‘Try it under Alexandra, also – and Xan. Maybe try working on Al Ex-Three, or maybe X as “times,” a multiplier, or as addition. Al Triple? All three times? A.L.? American League? Three-time winner in the American League?’

‘I told Jimmy and J.J. to run any combos they could come up with. And those boys are whizzes on them computers.’

Volta lifted a hand. ‘I was just babbling out loud, not impugning their abilities. Actually, I was avoiding thinking about a tougher decision.’

‘Like whether to tell Daniel, right?’

‘No. He gets the information when we receive the Diamond. The tough decision is whether to tell Shamus.’

‘Not much to decide, is there? He’s gone loco, first of all, and besides he hasn’t been in touch.’

‘Not recently, but he might. And Alex Three had to get his information from close to the source, so Shamus is the best one to ask. Maybe he even knows who this Alex Three is. Let’s play it this way: Call Dolly and tell her that if Shamus checks in, she can tell him only that we’ve discovered the snitch, and how it went down in the alley with a trigger-happy agent. But don’t tell even Dolly we know who the agent was, much less the name. Only you and I have that name at the moment, and that’s enough.’

‘We can hope Daniel will make it three when he calls and decides to trade the Diamond for his mama’s killer, and a lead on the snitch.’

Volta said, without conviction, ‘Possibly.’ He smiled wryly at Jack and raised his glass of cognac: ‘To hope.’ He paused as he brought the glass to his lips and added, ‘And to faith.’

When Volta set down the empty glass, Jack said, ‘Aw, don’t worry. Things are just hanging fire right now. Pretty soon some pieces will come tumbling together, and you’ll know what to do because you – more than anyone I ever met – know what to do. I mean, don’t think you can shamelessly flatter me with this Star bullshit and get away unscathed.’

‘Scathe me,’ Volta said, ‘I need it.’ But he didn’t smile.