“Not buyin’ it, chief. This call from you came too quick, didn’t it? You’re tryin’ to help. You’re in the middle of all this.”
Court did not argue. Instead, he just asked, “Which of the hits was yours?”
The answer came quickly. “Hyattsville, Maryland. Last night. That’s all, so far, but I’ve got work ahead of me yet.”
“How doIknow you—”
“Knife, from behind, straight across the throat. One cut, left to right. Has that been released yet?”
Court didn’t have a clue how the victim in Hyattsville had been killed, but there was an authority in the man’s tone that left no doubt that what he was saying was true.
“All right, then. What do I call you?”
“Call me whatever you like.”
“I’ll call you Dick.”
“Suit yourself, Gray Man.”
Court could hear a searing intensity to the man’s words. A derision he did not understand but knew was somehow relevant to all this. To draw the man out a little, he said, “I’m already bored with this conversation. I’ve got to help a friend move today; he just found out his place has pests, so if you’ll excuse me, Dick, I better—”
The Irishman shouted now. “You’ll sit right there and you’ll feckin’ listen to me, yeah?”
Court gave it a few beats. “I’m listening.”
“Within the hour there will be another killing. It’s my doin’, though I won’t be there personally when it happens.”
“A bomb, you mean?” Court said.
“You’ll see.”
“Any chance I can talk you into stopping it?”
“None,” the man said with finality. “We’re not talking about that victim. He’s as good as gone. We’re talking about the others.”
“How many killers are out there?”
“You’ve done what I do. Did the people in charge tell you everything what was going on?”
“No,” Court admitted.
“Nah, mate. You just killed ’cause it’s all ya knew how to do. You didn’t need a reason.”
Court never killed without a reason, but he wasn’t going to argue with the man. Yet something in the tone of the Irishman’s words bothered him.
Court said, “You seem like you’re mad atmeabout something. That this is somehow personal. Do I have that part right?”
“Aye. You do.”
“Do we know each other?”
“We’ve never met. I know your work, though. Intimately.”
Court rubbed his eyes now. “What is it you think I did?”
“Don’t think.Know.And I want you to know that I am comin’ for ya, and I will be finding ya, yeah?”
This somehow unsettled Court even more, but he fought revealing it in his voice. He said, “All that, and you’re going to be busy killing intelligence professionals across America?”
