Page 64 of I’ll Be Watching You

“They know Liz called you.”

“That’s what you said.” How had the killer had time to take her phone? The murders happened quick, in public. And no one saw him.

“And I’m telling you again, you are in danger, Margo. You have to take the threat seriously.”

I tried not to snap. Jack wasn’t being annoying; he was being protective. But my nerves were wearing thin.

“I am taking it seriously. I’m watching for tails. Security’s on at my place.”

“Maybe I should pull Nate off Tess and put him on you.”

“That’s not necessary,” I said, though I felt a flicker of doubt even as I said it. Luisa was with Tess, and Luisa was security conscious. Still, I wasn’t quite ready to call in the cavalry. “Where are you headed now?”

“Lab. To see if Nico learned anything new from the evidence and autopsy.”

“Let me know what you find. I’m going to the office to do a little research, then heading out to look for Jim Novak. The folks at Honor House say he likes to stay in the Scatter Wash south of 101 in Glendale.”

“Don’t go alone.”

“Tess and Luisa are covering ground I can’t.”

Or, rather, ground I didn’t want to cover. I could dig through records and handle research if I had to, but my sisters were faster, better, and smarter about it, and right now, I needed to be out in the world. I was better in the field.

“I’ll go with you,” Jack said. “I’ll swing by after I talk to Nico.”

“Actually, Nate would be better. Can you take over for him at Tess’s house?”

He hesitated, then I heard the irritation in his voice. “I’m just as good as Nate in the field.”

“You are,” I said, a little humored that Jack sounded jealous. “But both Novak and Nate were in the Navy. It might help to have someone who speaks the same language.”

A beat. Then he muttered, “Fair enough. Just don’t leave the office until Nate gets there.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”

He hung up. No laugh, no goodbye.

We were all tense. A little scared, maybe. But panic wouldn’t help. It would only make us sloppy.

I checked my mirrors. Left, right, behind. Nothing jumped out. No cars sticking too close. No one giving me any unusual attention as I drove out of the Honor House parking lot. No one following.

I didn’t panic easily. But I drove to the office with my shoulders tight and my head on a swivel, because scared or not, someone out there was pulling strings, and I refused to be a puppet.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Joe Carter

Carter stood behind the bar in the back room of Sal Marconi’s place. It was a comfortable room, with polished tables and cushioned chairs. The bar itself took up one long wall, no mirror because of the illegal poker games they ran nearly every night. When there were no poker games, Sal sometimes rented out the place for parties or pop-up casinos. Usually, though, the back room was for friends, clients, and the occasional enemy. It was Sal’s domain, where he ran numbers and games both before and after betting became legal.

There was nothing legal about Sal’s work, but he wasn’t a killer. Carter, who didn’t generally like or dislike anyone, liked Sal. He’d been good to him over the years, both as an employer and father figure, and they had made a lot of money together.

Sal wasn’t a killer, but Carter was.

No one else was in the bar. Their client had insisted on complete privacy, his paranoia on full display. Carter was there to protect Sal, though it would hardly be necessary. Sal was a strong, muscular man who could take care of himself if necessary.

“Monday,” the client said. “I need everything calm until then.”

Sal’s client had paid off his debt three and a half years ago. Carter didn’t know all the players, but Sal had been involved in business with this man for longer than that—a man Carter didn’t trust. Carter didn’t trust anyone who gambled away their money. Gambling was for fools.