Tightrope (Burning Cove #3)(82)

The door to the small office was ajar. She pushed it open, walked into the shadowed space, and leaned down to switch on the desk lamp.

The light came on, illuminating the top of the desk.

The necklace of black beads was coiled like a snake on the green blotter.





Chapter 57


Luther dropped the receiver back into the cradle.

“You probably heard enough from my end of the conversation to know that Grainger is not happy,” he said.

“Can’t blame him.” Matthias propped his elbows on the arms of the leather chair and put his fingers together. “No self-respecting director of a clandestine government agency would be thrilled with the press that the Burning Cove Police Department is getting this week. Detective Brandon and his officers are making headlines as the heroes who recovered a top secret encryption device and shut down a ring of gunrunners.”

They were in Luther’s private quarters above the Paradise Club. He had listened to Luther’s side of the conversation with Grainger because Luther had insisted he remain in the room while he took the call.

“He knows it’s too late to do anything about the story,” Luther said. “He’s just lucky that his people managed to collect Lorraine Pierce and the Ares machine from the FBI in Los Angeles this morning. The Bureau was probably not happy about that turn of events.”

“Maybe J. Edgar Hoover didn’t put up much of a fight,” Matthias said.

Luther’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “You may be right. Hoover probably figured out right away that this situation wouldn’t reflect well on the FBI. The fact that a rogue spy turned gunrunner was able to operate for years without drawing the Bureau’s attention is a trifle embarrassing.”

“True. As Amalie said, no agency comes out of this mess looking good.”

Luther got to his feet and went to stand at the open French doors. He contemplated the sun-warmed gardens below the terrace.

“Grainger is, of course, relieved that Failure Analysis recovered the Ares machine, but he’s annoyed because Smith is dead and, therefore, not available for questioning.”

“What about Lorraine Pierce?”

“Grainger is afraid she won’t be of much use to him.”

“She’s a professional killer. There’s no telling how many people she took out over the years. But it’s true that Grainger won’t get a lot of information about Smith from her. As far as she was concerned he was just her number one client. She never realized that he was actually her boss.”

“Smith was good,” Luther said. “Very, very good.”

“Not as good as you,” Matthias said. “He didn’t see through your cover until the very end.”

“Or yours. Most people, even former spies, see what they expect to see. In our case that happens to be a nightclub owner who is a mob boss and his associate who is also an underworld figure. Why look deeper?”

Matthias pushed himself up out of the chair and went to stand beside Luther. The golden sun warmed the land and sparkled on the Pacific. Just another perfect day in the fantasy that was California.

So why was he suddenly feeling so uneasy?

“Considering that Grainger is personally responsible for destroying your career and taking over the department that you created,” he said, “I don’t think he has any right to criticize the outcome of the Ares case.”

“Oddly enough, that did not stop him from making his irritation known,” Luther said.

“What annoyed him the most is that you were the one who ran a successful operation. What did he say when you warned him that he might have a double agent working for him?”

“He went from irritated to furious. He only hires gentlemen from the finest, most established families, you understand. Every single one of them is a true patriot, et cetera, et cetera.”

“Not men like us?”

“The problem for Grainger is that our cover is so close to the truth that it is the truth.”

“Mom did warn me about that little perception problem,” Matthias said. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to get rid of the small chills.

“Raina thinks she’s got a lead on the code breaker who used to work for me in the old days,” Luther said after a while. “If the poems in Smith’s notebook turn out to be encrypted, I’m going to have to make a decision.”

“About whether to notify Grainger or the FBI?”

“Or both.”

“If the poems are in code and if you get them deciphered, you may have the information you need to make that decision,” Matthias said.

“Maybe.” Luther paused. “After Grainger calmed down he said something else.”

“What?”

“He asked if I would be willing to undertake additional unofficial investigations for him in the future. Evidently it has occurred to him that he does not have a network of reliable agents stationed out here on the West Coast.”

“How insightful. Was that the question you were responding to when you said I’ll think about it?”

“Yes.”

“Will you do it? Take care of his West Coast problems?” Matthias said.

“Probably, but only on a case-by-case basis. I will also make it clear that I don’t work for him. I’m an independent contractor.”