“It ain’t adding up.”
“It’s very important we sort that out,” Wesley concurred.
“Can you do some more checking?”
“I’ll do what I can,” I said.
“I’m supposed to be in Hogan’s Alley.” Marino got up from the table as he glanced at his watch.
“In fact, I guess they’ve started without me.”
“I hope you plan to change your clothes first,” Wesley said to him.
“Wear a sweatshirt with a hood.”
“Yo. So I get dropped by heat exhaustion.”
“Better than getting dropped by nine-millimeter paint bullets,” Wesley said.
“They hurt like hell.”
“What? You two been discussing this or something?” We watched him leave. He buttoned his blazer over his big belly, smoothed his wispy hair, rearranged his trousers as he walked. Marino had a habit of self-consciously grooming himself like a cat whenever he made an entrance or an exit. Wesley stared at the dirty ashtray where Marino had been sitting. He turned his eyes to me, and I thought they seemed uncommonly dark, his mouth set as if it had never known how to smile.
“You’ve got to do something about him,” he said.
“I wish I had that power, Benton.”
“You’re the only one who comes close to having that power.”
“That’s frightening.”
“What’s frightening is how red his face got during the consultation. He’s not doing a goddam thing he’s supposed to do. Fried foods, cigarettes, booze. ” Wesley glanced away.
“Since Doris left he’s gone to hell.”
“I’ve seen some improvement,” I said.
“Brief remissions.” He met my eyes again.
“In the main he’s killing himself.” In the main, Marino was and had been all of his life. And I did not know what to do about it.
“When are you going back to Richmond?” he asked, and I wondered what went on behind his walls. I wondered about his wife.
“That depends,” I answered.
“I was hoping to spend a little time with Lucy.”
“She’s told you we want her back?”
I stared out at sunlit grass and leaves stirring in the wind.
“She’s thrilled,” I said.
“You’re not.”
“No.”
“I understand. You don’t want Lucy to share your reality, Kay.” His face softened almost imperceptibly.
“I suppose it should relieve me that in one department, at least, you are not completely rational or objective.”
I was not completely rational or objective in more than one department, and Wesley knew this all too well.
“I’m not even certain what she’s doing over there,” I said.
“How would you feel if it were one of your children?”
“The same way I always feel when it’s my children. I don’t want them in law enforcement or the military. I don’t want them familiar with guns. And yet I want them involved in all of these things.”
“Because you know what’s out there,” I said, my eyes again on his and lingering longer than they should. He crumpled his napkin and placed it on his tray.
“Lucy likes what she’s doing. So do we.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“She’s remarkable. The software she’s helping us develop for VI CAP is going to change everything. We’re not talking about that much time before it’s possible for us to track these animals around the globe. Can you imagine if Gault had murdered the Steiner girl in Australia? Do you think we’d know?”
“Chances are we wouldn’t,” I said.
“Certainly not this soon. But we don’t know it’s Gault who killed her.”
“What we do know is that time is more lives.” He reached for my tray and stacked it on top of his. Both of us got up from the table.
“I think we should drop in on your niece,” he said.
“I don’t think I’m cleared.”
“You’re not. But give me a little time and I’ll bet I can remedy that.”
“I would love it.”
“Let’s see, it’s one o’clock now. How about meeting me back here at four-thirty?” he said as we walked out of the Boardroom.
“How’s Lucy getting along in Washington, by the way?” He referred to the least-sought-after dormitory, with its tiny beds and towels too small to cover anything that mattered.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t have offered her more privacy.”
“Don’t be. It’s good for her to have a roommate and suite mates not that she necessarily gets along with them.”