“Well, don’t take too long.”
Nataly patted his arm. “I’ll keep an eye open for your friend, and let him know you’re looking for him.”
Leon left her in a dark mood, and went back to his office after another fruitless drive around town. He was surprised to find Eric there, clacking away at a keyboard.
“I thought you’d be at the base today.”
“Nope. I go in tomorrow morning. I’ll be spending the night there before the flight.”
Leon sat down. “Still no Coulter. I’ve asked all around. Maybe he changed cars.”
“Maybe he’s sick, or dead,” said Eric.
“Right. Maybe you’d better take it seriously. My stomach is crawling. Something is up.”
“Either that or Coulter has skipped town. I have enough to think about right now.”
“That’s sort of what Nataly told me today.”
“What?” Eric stopped typing, and looked at him, eyes narrowed. When he looked like that, Leon always felt hairs moving on the back of his neck.
“She said you’ve both been very busy lately. She sounded kinda sad.”
Eric’s smile could be nasty when he wanted it to be. “You in love with her, Leon?”
“No, but if I was I’d sure be with her a lot more than you are. And if you hurt her you’ll see what a royal shit I can really be.”
“Threat noted,” said Eric, and went back to typing. After a few seconds, he looked at Leon again. “Sorry. I’m sensitive about Nataly right now. We’re taking a little break to cool down.”
“That’s stupid,” said Leon, and went to his desk.
“Maybe,” said Eric, and began typing again.
They worked the rest of the afternoon without talking. Eric finished his work first, and turned off his computer. “I’m going home early and going to bed early. I’ll call you if I live through the flight.”
“Good luck,” said Leon, and didn’t look up. The door closed, and Eric was gone.
A few minutes later the telephone rang, and Leon answered it.
It was John Coulter.
“Well, hello. I’ve called you a couple of times. What’s up?”
“I just got back from Phoenix. Something has come up, and I need your advice about it before I do anything foolish.”
“That sounds ominous. What’s the problem?”
“It has to do with someone we both do business with. We have to meet. I don’t want to talk about it on the phone.”
“I’m about finished here. Where, and when?”
“How about your house? I don’t want to meet in public.”
“You have my address?”
“Sure. I know where it is. I’ve been by there on my way to the canyons.”
“Okay.” Leon looked at his watch. “I have four-twenty now. Meet me at my house at five. Just pull up to the gate, and I’ll buzz you in.”
“I’ll be there,” said Coulter, and hung up.
So Coulter had been out of town, and Leon had been wasting a lot of time searching in the wrong place for him. The problem he wanted to talk about had to be Eric. Shit. Whoever employed Coulter had probably become suspicious when Eric wanted to deal with him directly. I can think of a way to explain that: Eric is an asshole who hates authority and makes end runs when he doesn’t get his way. The money will make him back off. He loves it. What else can I say?
Leon thought about it for several minutes, then shut down his computer and locked up the office. The Humvee’s tank was nearly empty from the entire fruitless running around. He gassed up a block away from the office, drove four more blocks south and turned west towards the Canyons on Dry Creek Road. Out of habit, he watched his rear-view mirror every time he made a turn.
A black van turned with him, and was following five car lengths behind. Leon sped up, and the van kept its distance. He slowed to the speed limit and kept it there. It was only a few minutes before he reached his house. Coulter’s black Mercedes wasn’t there. Leon put on his turn signal to make a left turn and pressed on the gate activator above his head. He slowed, and the black van slowed behind him, coming close. Now Leon could see the man who drove the van.
It was John Coulter.
Leon turned into his driveway, and Coulter followed. They parked up close to the garage. Coulter got out of the van before Leon had shut off his engine.
Leon got out of the Humvee. “What happened to the Mercedes?”
“In a shop in Phoenix. The van is a loaner. This will only take a few minutes, Leon.”
“So let’s go inside.”
Leon unlocked his front door and turned off the security alarm next to it. They entered, and Coulter closed the door behind them. Leon put his briefcase on the couch, and turned to face his guest.
Coulter was standing there with a black automatic in his hand, and it was pointed at Leon.
“What the hell is that for?” asked Leon.
“Just in case you’re also part of my problem, Leon. I haven’t been able to read you as well as the man I’m after.”
Coulter backed up to the door, and opened it. Six men came into the room. They were dressed in black from head to toe. Deep red plastic-looking masks covered their faces, and they carried ugly, black and stubby weapons that looked like machine pistols. It was as if they’d been in his house before. They walked straight to his basement door, opened it, and went down the stairs.
“Guess they wouldn’t fit in the Mercedes,” said Leon, and smirked at Coulter.
“I don’t think you realize how close you are to dying,” said Coulter, and carefully aimed his pistol at Leon’s head. “You and Price are probably in it together, but I’m going to give you one chance to show some loyalty and give me a reason to keep you alive.”
“The last I heard, you gave Eric Price more money that you’ve given me in a year. And now you don’t trust him? That doesn’t sound smart to me.”
“Money does lots of things, including diverting people’s attentions. Makes them easier to read, Leon.”
“Whatever the hell that means.”
Coulter took a step closer, and lowered his gun to aim at Leon’s chest. “What it means is Price isn’t selling. He’s digging for the identity of my employer, and has no intention of providing what I’ve paid for. He’s a spy, just like you, Leon; only he’s more open about it. That makes him dangerous, so I’m eliminating him, and if you don’t help me I’ll eliminate you too.”
“Bribery is one thing, but murdering a federal officer makes you a dead man,” said Leon.
“Words can’t describe how much that frightens me. Now get down the stairs.”
“Why?”
“You’re going to lead us through that tunnel of yours to your neighbor’s house, and then you’ll get him down to the basement so we can kill him there. And when that’s done, maybe, just maybe I’ll believe you’re working for me.”
“Bullshit. All you have is suspicions. Eric has never given me a reason to think he’d cross you. He wants a good retirement as much as I do.”
“Leon, if you don’t move quick I’m going to kill you right here. I don’t want it that way, but I’ll do it.” Coulter straightened his arm, and Leon saw a tendon bulge in his hand as he began squeezing the trigger.
“Okay. Okay! I’m moving, but I think you’re wrong about Eric, and getting rid of him is just going to mess things up.”
“That’s another reason to kill him. Get going.”
Coulter waved his gun, and Leon went to the basement door and down the stairs. His own weapon was loaded and locked, but the safety was on, and the holster it was in was velcroed to his ankle. He would need a big distraction to get to it, and now, as he came down the stairs, seven men were watching him.
“Very nice,” said Coulter, and he looked around the room. “You must get a lot of practice.”