The Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark de Castrique

to share with anyone, but if the Ali Baba conspirators had tracked my movements, what other conclusion would they draw?
    Calvin rolled his eyes. “Jesus, man, why couldn’t you have gone to Disney World? Your trips are as good as a confession.”
    “I don’t like talking mice.”
    “And now you’ve got an infestation of rats.” He looked at his wristwatch. “You going to call the police tonight?”
    “No. There’s nothing for them to do. I’m sure the guy outside covered his tracks. I’m meeting the lead detective first thing in the morning.”
    Calvin returned to his chair and leaned across the table. “Look, Chief. Let’s keep me out of this for now.”
    “Why? You’re right about Ali Baba’s possible connection. The police need to know that.”
    “But Ali Baba doesn’t know I’m here. If they’ve got a tail on you, then I can spot them. We’ll bring in the locals when we’ve got something to hand them. Otherwise, if I wind up in a police report, no telling who’ll see it.”
    Calvin raised a good point, but I had to give Newland a reason for considering something so improbable as an Iraqi-based conspiracy murdering a woman in Asheville, North Carolina. “I’ll tell him about your phone call to me. And that someone attacked me, but a car coming into the parking lot scared him off. That should be enough to put him in the game.”
    Calvin nodded. “I can live with that. And, believe me, living’s no small task when dealing with these people.”
    I gestured to my sofa. “You need a place to crash?”
    “Nah. Not worth the risk of being seen here in the morning. I’ll find a cheap motel close by. What time you rolling out tomorrow?”
    I looked at my kitchen clock. It was nearly midnight. “I’m going to see my client as soon as I get word she’s available. Early, I hope.”
    “Give me the location. I’ve got GPS in the rental.”
    I went to the phonebook by the kitchen extension and looked up the address for Golden Oaks. “Need anything else?”
    “I’m good for now,” Calvin said.
    “You carrying?”
    “Oh, yeah. I checked a bag just so I could bring some friends.” He lifted his pant leg and showed me a snub-nosed .32 pistol in a calf holster. “I left my serious girlfriend in the car. A little too warm to wear a jacket over my shoulder holster.”
    I thought about the permit to purchase a handgun that lay in the desk drawer of my bedroom. I’d gotten it a month ago from the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department after filling out the application and going through the five-day waiting period. I’d also been issued a permit to carry concealed. Tomorrow I’d put both of them to use.
    “How will we stay in touch?” I asked.
    “If I need you, I’ll get to you. If you need me” —he paused, looked around the room—“you mind if I check the bedroom?”
    “Go ahead.” I followed him down the short hall.
    He left the light off and pointed to the two windows overlooking the front of the apartment building. “If you want me, put those blinds halfway down. If you’re in the car, park and leave the windows halfway down.”
    “And if it’s raining?”
    He laughed. “Then you’ll get wet.”
    We walked back to the kitchen and living room area. “Have you let anybody in the Detachment know about the threats?”
    “Yeah. I wired a report Saturday after I spotted my tail, and the word came down to consider it part of the hazards of the investigation. A couple of new men are working the Baghdad side, but I’m the only one in the states. We’re stretched so thin nobody else will be assigned, unless I wind up dead.”
    “Not a good way to get new help.”
    “But now I’ve got the Chief on my side. You’re still the best.” He gave me a bear hug, and then slipped out the door, closing it before I could follow him into the hall. He left me with a lot to think about.
    My first concern was for Nakayla. She could be a target just because of her close association with me. Late as