"What's the word, Beth?"
"Your wife called. She said to remind you to go see Carrie Harald. Hello, Major."
"Ah, shit. I keep forgetting. Now I'm going to be late to the airport. She's going to carry on all night, and make me feel like shit every time I try to leave."
"Wasn't going to be any trip anyway."
"What?"
"Hank made me cancel it."
"He what?" He was shouting. "Sorry. The son of a bitch."
"He made me do it. Made it an order."
"Annie have anything to do with it?"
"I don't know."
She was lying. He could tell.
"I'm getting goddamned tired of people deciding things for me. It's been a long time since me and Hank had a knockdown drag-out."
"Better be careful. He can have your badge any time he wants. Anyway, I made new reservations for Sunday. At four-twelve in the morning. I'm sorry. That was the best I could do."
His anger weakened. "Okay. Thanks. At least I've got you on my side. What's been going on?"
"He's got a whole mob of volunteers coming in. He isn't fooling around. He's out for blood."
Old Man Railsback came in. He looked dead on his feet.
"Sergeant," said Tran, "I have to go. Since we're not going to Rochester, I'd better go to work."
"Sure. Give me a couple minutes, then I'll run you out."
"No need. I'll call a cab. You have too much to do here."
Cash felt obligated to argue, but couldn't work up much fight. He had too much on his mind. He forgot Tran the moment the door closed behind the man.
Norm wheeled on Old Man Railsback. "What have you got?"
The man heaved a sigh, opened one eyelid. "You were right. The money was homemade. The priest says he'll dig up somebody to read the letters. They are in Czech. And the house looks clean. So far."
"House?"
"Henry's got me over there as ramrod emeritus. We ain't found much, except that she was awful interested in doctoring. There're medical books and journals tucked away all over the place. They go back a long time."
"More medicine? That the connection with Smiley?"
"Got me. I've got the feeling the answer's there, though. If we recognize it when we run into it. I guess with fifteen, twenty experts tearing the place apart, somebody is bound to."
"Hank's pushing awful hard, isn't he?"
"Can't blame him, can you?"
"Guess not. Beth, can you get me the Post classified department? Ask for Teri Middleton. And tell Nosey Parker it's police business."
"Right."
As she dialed, Cash added, "When you get a minute, hon, see if you can add another reservation to mine. Major Tran wants to go with me."
For an instant she looked shattered.
What the hell? he thought.
Lieutenant Railsback backed through the door, arms full. "Dinner on the boss," he announced, dumping his load atop Beth's work. "Got at least one of everything here. Grab whatever you want. How'd it go, Dad?"
"Not much yet. But we haven't really gotten going."
Beth offered Cash a phone as he was about to jump Hank for having messed with his reservations.
"Teri? Sergeant Cash again. I know you haven't seen him. Look, can I see you after you get off? Yeah. It's important. No. No problem. My lips are sealed, as they say. Okay. I'll pick you up then."
In the background, Hank was telling Beth, "You'd better go home, Tavares. Get a good night's sleep. I want you to come in tomorrow, and it might be a long day."
"I want to go with Norm to see John's wife. It'd help to have a woman there."
"Suit yourself." Railsback was too preoccupied to growl about being contradicted. "Dad, I don't like it when my people get shit on."
Cash hung up, grabbed something from the food heap, slipped into his own cubicle to ponder how best to break the news to Carrie and Teri.
"Henry, you can't drop everything because John disappeared." To Cash this sounded like the resumption of an interrupted argument. "You know there's a chance he just took off because he's having trouble with his wife."
That old man sees and hears a lot, Cash thought. And it's hard to tell what he knows. He just sits there like he's sleeping, and never says anything.
"You said that before. And you told me about the girl, too. And she ain't got nothing to do with it. You heard Norm talking to her."
"Maybe. And maybe she lied."
Cash took a savage bite from a cheeseburger. Suddenly, everybody seemed to know everything about everybody else's business. What do they have on me? he wondered.
Just thinking about it made him feel naked.
"Look," Railsback continued, "I ride these guys like a bronc-buster. And they put up with it because we get results. That makes me feel like I've got obligations to them. I've got responsibilities."
His father chuckled. "And that's why the captain calls you The Prussian. You think these are the Middle Ages? Noblesse oblige, and all that? One of your tenants is in trouble, so you drop the king's business while you save his ass? John's past saving, Henry. He's just another piece of the king's business now."
"Who taught me?"
"Touchй. But I'm just a burned-out old has-been. You ought to know better."
"Pop, I can't call it off now. We've come to the narrow passage. We can't turn back."
"I know. And I'm proud of you. But somebody has to play Jiminy Cricket around here."
"And somebody has to do the tilting at windmills. Norm can't carry that load by himself anymore."
"I just want you shouldn't forget what happened when Pandora opened that box."
"Sure. There's going to be a stink. Bleeding hearts up the yang-yang. The inspector's office on us like a snake on shit. Well, I'll give them something to sink their teeth into. I just hope those guys who make careers out of handcuffing us get an idea how hard they make it for us to protect them."
"They won't even see it."
"Yeah. I know."
Poor Hank, Cash thought. His city, his empire, is under siege. He's just like poor old Belisarius, rushing hither and yon in a frenetic, foredoomed effort to beat off the barbarians. And he doesn't doubt for a minute that his Justinian, the public, will reward him as kindly for his faithful service.
The Emperor had had Belisarius's eyes put out and had left him to beg at Constantinople's gates.
And John and I, his centurions, have been wasting ourselves for months, chasing Miss Groloch. What harm could one little old lady have done the general welfare? If we had left her alone, John would be here now…
We just had to keep on till it caught up with us, didn't we?
"What do you think really happened to the Kid, Pop?"
"The truth? I think he's dead."
"Why?"
"Because he wasn't the first. Otherwise, I'd put my chips on the girl friend."
The phone rang. A moment later Beth announced, "Sergeant Kurland says there's a man from the government on his way up here."
"What kind? "Hank asked.
"He didn't say. Except he wants to talk about Dr. Smiley. And he doesn't look like he's from the FBI."