Page 44 of The Fourth Option
“That’s not how it works.”
“It is now. And until you figure how to make it work, you can keep the skids greased with another little bonus.”
“I just gave you seventy-five grand, Bates.”
The lieutenant was a shark that smelled blood. Kimbel didn’t mind. Bates just needed time to realize that threatening to blackmail Genyra was mutually assured destruction. Maybe he would take it up with Vargas.
“We have a profitable arrangement for all of us,” Kimbel said. “We should aim to keep it that way.”
He lifted his phone, tapped on the screen, and turned it to Bates. “Another seventy-five headed your way. Good?”
Bates nodded.
“For now.”
The Genyra executive pressed the blue button and shot another seventy-five thousand dollars over the wires.
Bates finished his Pappy and set the empty glass on the table.
“I’m glad I swung by for this little chat,” he said, getting up to leave. “I’ve kept Cecily waiting long enough.”
Kimbel watched him leave and took a deep breath, wondering how long they would be able to keep their enterprise alive.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE TULANE MEDICALCenter cafeteria was never truly quiet, but just now, things were deceptively mellow. Walker was always in tune with rhythms. Over the buzz of the overhead fluorescents, he listened to the soft clinks from vending machines, a nurse flipping through chart printouts, her pen tapping in tempo at a nearby table. The air was heavy with the aroma of burnt coffee and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Leigh Ann sat across from him next to the window. The sleeves of her scrubs were rumpled. Her hair was pulled back in a loose braid, clipped hastily and starting to fray. A paper cup of black coffee sat untouched on a napkin.
“You didn’t bring Paladin,” she said, glancing at the empty spot near his boots.
Walker shook his head. “Didn’t want him picking up the wrong scents.”
He took a bite of his turkey sandwich, chewing slowly. The artificial chill of lettuce met the faint bite of mustard. “I’ve been watching the Ninth for the past four days,” he said after swallowing. “Connor’s journal is starting to make a little more sense.”
“You’ve cracked his code?”
“Not quite. I’ve started working up a few notes on the typewriter. He used a cipher that requires a key we don’t have, but like you, I see context. Now that I’ve been out there a bit, I recognize some of the place-names.”
Leigh Ann leaned in, one hand wrapped around her coffee cup. “How about Officer Slate?”
“I’ve seen multiple police patrols. One cruiser lingered near a stash house on Clouet for twenty minutes. It’s not exactly damning.”
She sipped her coffee at last. It had already gone cold. “Be careful, Chris.”
“I’m careful,” he said. Then added, “You should be too. Vary your routes to and from the hospital. Lock your doors. And I’d recommend a security camera setup that you can monitor from a mobile device.”
She shook her head. “I know. I need to do that.”
“Make time,” he said, voice low but firm. “You’re not invisible in this.”
She gave a small nod, her eyes serious.
“Do you have a firearm in the house you are comfortable with?”
“I have John’s Glock. He taught me to shoot but I’m not any good.”
“We’ll find a place and get you back up to speed.”
