Nelson DeMille - Night Fall

He laughed. “Yeah? She hates me.”

“She loves you. Okay, if one of her bosses is there, it could get even stickier.” And, I thought, if Ted Nash was there, it could get very weird when Kate saw a dead man walking. I said to Dom, “But I know you can convince Kate that her loving husband sent you.”

“Right. But I gotta tell you, John, she may be your wife, but she’s a Fed. Which comes first?”

Good question. I said to him, “Make her understand what this is about without saying too much in front of anyone else. Okay? Call me if you need to, and I’ll talk to her. If all else fails, threaten them with arrest for interfering with a police officer in the performance of his duties. Okay?”

“Yeah, but you and I know it’s bullshit. We don’t have any legal right to be there.”

“You want me to come with you?”

“No. Leave it to me.” He stayed quiet for a few seconds, then said, “No matter how it plays out at the airport, the bottom line is me getting Kate to the Plaza Hotel.”

“I know that. And make sure you’re not followed.”

“The Feds can’t follow a dog on a leash.”

“Right.” I said, “You understand why this is important?”

“I do. You wanna get laid by six-thirty latest.”

“Right. Don’t mess me up.”

He laughed, then asked me, “Hey, how are you doing with Mrs. Winslow? What’s she look like?”

“A nice old lady.”

“She’s thirty-nine. What’s she look like?”

“Pretty.”

“What did you do last night at the Plaza?”

“Had dinner.”

“That’s it?”

“We’re both married and not interested.”

“There’s a concept. Hey, when I bring Kate to the Plaza, how’s that going to play out when she sees you’ve been shacking up with the star of Beach Blanket Bimbo?”

“Dom… clean up your mind.”

“You’re no fun anymore. Where’s your witness now?”

“Taking a walk. I gave her your cell number in case the Plaza gets hot.”

“You sure you don’t want some backup at the Plaza?”

“No. We’re incognito here, and no one followed us or tracked us electronically, or we’d already be busted.” I added, “The Feds can’t find themselves in a mirror. But I will need a police escort from here to a meeting with the Feds today, or tomorrow.”

“Just give me an hour lead time.” He said to me, “You really got yourself into some deep shit this time, partner.”

“You think?”

“Hang in.”

“I always do. Call me when Kate’s in your car.”

“Will do. Ciao.”

I checked my cell again, but no messages.

The rain had stopped, but it was still overcast. I settled in for a long morning.

The cleaning lady came and went, and I ordered more coffee from room service.

Every hour, Jill called as promised, and I repeated that there was no news, and she told me what she was doing, which was mostly art galleries. She’d gotten a tube of Crest and found a copy of A Man and a Woman at a video store. She said, “Mark has called about five more times and left messages. Should I call him back?”

“Yes. Try to determine if any Federal agent has called or visited him. In other words, see what he knows, and if he’s buying your story that you just need to be alone. Okay?”

“All right.”

“See if he’s at work. He works in the city, right?”

“Yes. Downtown.”

“Call him there. And don’t let him browbeat you into giving him any more information. Okay?”

She surprised me by saying, “Screw him.”

I smiled and said, “Call me back. And don’t forget, five minutes max on your cell phone, and don’t use a public phone because that will tell him on his Caller ID that you’re in Manhattan. Okay?”

“I understand.” She added, “You think of everything.”

“I try.” I hope so.

At about 12:30, I turned my cell phone on and waited a few minutes. It beeped, and I retrieved my message. The voice said, “John, this is Ted Nash. I need to speak to you. Call me.” He gave me his cell phone number.

I sat in an easy chair, put my feet up on a hassock, and called Mr. Ted Nash.

He answered, “Nash.”

I replied, “Corey.”

There was a half second pause, then he said, “As we discussed, I promised to get back to you about a meeting.”

“Meeting…? Oh, right. How’s your calendar look?”

“It looks open for tomorrow.”

“How about today?”

“Tomorrow is better. Aren’t you picking up Kate at the airport this afternoon?”

“Is that today?”

Nash replied, “I thought it was.”

Ted and I were doing our little dance, each trying to figure out who knew what, and who was leading whom. I said, “Okay, tomorrow.”

“Good. Morning works best.”

“Fine.” I said to him, “You need to have that couple at the meeting.”

There was a two-second delay before he said, “I can have the gentleman there.”

“Where’s the lady?”

He replied, “I think I know where she is. So she may be at the meeting. The man will be there, and he’ll confirm what I told you.”

“The man could be CIA for all I know. Another bad actor.”

He replied, “If the lady is at the meeting, she can verify the identity of her lover. Correct?”

“How would I know if the lady is not another impostor?”

He let a few seconds go by, then said, “I think you’ll know if the lady is real or not.”

“How would I know?”

“Because… I think you’ve met her.”

“Met her? I don’t even know her name.”

He didn’t reply to that, but asked me, “Where are you now?”

“I’m home.” He knew I wasn’t because he probably had a snatch team in my apartment waiting for me.

He said, “I called your apartment a few times, and no one answered.”

“I’m not taking calls. Where are you ?”

“I’m at 290 Broadway. In my office.”

I asked him, “Did you get home okay from the beach? You shouldn’t drive with a head injury.”

He didn’t say, “Fuck you” or “Eat shit,” but I knew he was biting his lip and snapping pencils. Also, he wasn’t alone, which was why the conversation was a little stilted, and very cautious. He asked me, “How are you feeling?”

“Great. But I need to get off this phone in case someone is trying to triangulate my signal.”

“Who would want to do that?”

“Terrorists. My mother. Ex-girlfriends. You never know.”

“Then call me back from your apartment phone.”

“It’s way across the room. Let’s set up a time and place.”

“Okay. Who will you have at the meeting?” he asked.

“Me.”

“Anyone else?”

“I don’t need anyone else. But I want you there, obviously, and Liam Griffith, and this guy who starred in the videotape, and the lady, if you can find her. Also, I want you to call Jack Koenig, if you haven’t already, and suggest strongly that he be there. And tell him to bring Captain Stein. And see if Mr. Brown is available.”

“Who?”

“You know who. And have someone there from the attorney general’s office.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

Ted Nash made a little joke and said, “Let’s not make a Federal case out of this. This is just an informal, exploratory meeting to see how to proceed. But mostly to satisfy your curiosity and to assure you that there is nothing more to this than what I’ve already told you. This is a courtesy to you, John, not a big showdown.”

“Oh. Okay. I was getting myself worked up.”

“That’s been your problem.” He asked me, “Are you thinking about bringing Kate to the meeting?”

“No. She has nothing to do with this.”