What Have We Done (63)

Nico downs the pills without water. He looks around the room.

“Where’s Jenna?”

“On a call outside.” Donnie gestures to the window.

Nico looks pale, clammy.

There’s a knock on the door, sending a wave of panic through him. But it can’t be the crazy hit lady. Jenna’s outside and would warn them. Donnie peers through the peephole. It’s Reeves.

Donnie opens the door, steps outside. He doesn’t want Reeves to see Nico. It will invite more questions. Donnie sees Jenna eyeing them from across the lot, phone still pressed to her ear.

“I’m headed out,” Reeves says. “I wanted to say goodbye before the Uber gets here.” He hands Donnie the keys to the rental car.

“Cool, man. We’ll connect next week?”

Reeves nods.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what you put together for the book,” Donnie says.

“Me too. You’ve given me a lot of material to work with.”

“Try not to make me look too stupid, okay, Hemingway?” Donnie grins. They shake hands.

The Uber pulls into the lot, and Reeves heads over. Before he gets in, he stops, calls out. “Hey, Donnie.”

“Yeah?”

“It was an honor to hear your story.”

“Shucks, man.” Donnie gives him a crooked smile.

The Uber disappears, and Donnie returns to the room.

“Who was that?” Nico asks, seeming both curious and concerned.

“A writer.”

“Writer?”

“Yeah. Long story, but we’re working on a book about my life, if you can believe that.”

Nico raises a brow.

“Don’t worry. It’s about the band.”

“Is that why you’re here? I hope he’s not going to dig into—”

“Don’t worry, Hollywood. It’s all good.”

Nico tilts his head to the side. “What if he—”

“Don’t worry. The book won’t get into anything before I joined Tracer.” It’s a lie, but not a big one.

“Then why are you in Chestertown?”

Donnie decides it’s safe to tell Nico about his conversation with Benny’s law clerk and the cryptic message he left for Donnie.

“He said we all had it wrong. He said, ‘The proof is with Boo Radley.’”

“What the hell does that mean?” asks Nico.

“You got me, boss. Boo Radley apparently is a character in a book. I thought coming back might rattle something loose.”

“And…”

“And no such luck.”

“I hate this fucking town.” Nico sighs.

“Me too, Hollywood. Me too.”

CHAPTER SIXTY

JENNA

In the hotel’s parking lot, Jenna looks out at the interstate, the steady hum of traffic making it hard to hear Artemis on her cell phone.

“You are sure?” he asks in that monotone voice of his.

“As sure as I can be. I don’t think either of them reached out to the FBI. Donnie said the agent came to his hospital room, showed him a photo of a woman who was on the cruise ship. But there’s no way she could’ve been on the ship and in D.C. when the hitter tried to take you out.” Jenna still hasn’t told him that she was the shooter. That the woman who set her up for the job knew about her past with The Corporation and threatened her family.

“You believe him?”

“I think so. Donnie hasn’t changed all that much and doesn’t exactly keep things close to the vest.”

Artemis makes a noise of agreement, no doubt recalling the whimsical southern boy from their youth. “What about Nico? My team says he’s a TV producer but owes a sizable sum to the O’Learys.”

“Who are the O’Learys?”

“A Philadelphia crime family.”

“What’s the debt for? Drugs?”

“No, gambling.”

The other reason people borrow money from bankers who wear leather jackets and gold chains and carry brass knuckles.

“Nico said he hasn’t spoken to the FBI and when Donnie mentioned reaching out to the agent Nico shot it down quickly.” She notices that Donnie is outside the hotel room now. He’s talking to someone, a guy who looks like a college professor—blazer with jeans, wavy hair that touches his shoulders.

“Okay, I guess we need to approach Derek Brood.” Artemis says approach like it’s a code for something.

“The agent’s following him, so I’m not sure about the best play here,” Jenna says.

“In business, sometimes you have to go directly to the top.”

Jenna listens … waits.

“I’m going to set up a meeting,” Artemis finally says.

“Just like that?”

“You’d be surprised how quickly people drop everything when I call.”

“Okay, a meeting. Then what?”

“I’ll have a business discussion with Brood. If that doesn’t work, well, you’ll have to join the meeting. And you’ll need to bring Donnie and Nico. Like before.” Artemis clearly wants them to be part of whatever happens so they all have something to lose.

“And how will I know if your negotiation is successful or unsuccessful?”