Hooten's Lighting amp; Supplies was located in an industrial complex near an elevated section of the freeway. It had been there for almost forty years, though its business had changed markedly over that time. Originally a wholesaler of lighting equipment to the casinos, its business had evolved more into the arena of electronics. It was no longer simply a supplier but a manufacturer as well. HLS now built and sold much of the sophisticated surveillance equipment employed in the casinos in Nevada as well as in gaming rooms on Indian reservation land throughout the West.

What the operators of HLS and the casinos that purchased the equipment were not aware of was that inside the company there was at least one person who made the same technology available – for a price – to those intent on circumventing the casino security systems the company installed.

Cassie parked the Boxster in the fenced rear lot, where the installers parked their trucks at night, and went in through the back door. Once inside she stood still for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior. When she could see clearly, her attention was drawn to the long counter that ran the length of the right side of the no-frills equipment-and-catalog room. Behind the counter were a half dozen men working with customers or working the phones. Most of them had copies of the thick HLS catalog open in front of them and were writing down orders. Cassie noticed that not much in the place had changed. The same slogan that had been painted along the wall behind the counter seven years ago was still there.

IN GOD WE TRUST

ALL OTHERS WE MONITOR

It took Cassie a few seconds to spot Jersey Paltz. He was working on the phone at the far end of the counter. He had a beard now and more gray hair. But he still had the ponytail and the silver loop earring. It was him.

Paltz hung up just as Cassie stepped up to the counter but he didn't look up at her. He finished writing notes on the top page of an order book. Reading upside down, Cassie could see the order was from the Tropicana. She spoke while he was still writing.

"So, Jersey, too busy to say hello to an old friend?"

Paltz finished the line he was on and then looked up smiling. The smile faltered a little and his face showed the slow register of recognition.

"Cassie Black?"

Cassie nodded and smiled.

"Hey, girl, sure been a long time. When did you… uh…"

"Ten months ago. I just haven't been around. After High Desert I moved to California. I like it out there. Where I live the temperature only hits trips a few times a year."

Paltz nodded but there was hesitation there. Cassie could easily read him. He was realizing she wasn't there to make old acquaintances – there had never been anything but a business relationship between them in the first place. She glanced around to make sure their conversation was private and then leaned over the counter, her elbows on his open catalog and order book.

"I need a kit. Full rig, at least three cameras, and one has to be green."

Paltz put the pencil he'd been using behind his ear and shook his head once without looking directly at her.

"I'm going to need a pair of NVGs and a roll of Conduct-O tape, too," Cassie added. "I stopped at Radio Shack on the way over and they don't sell the tape anymore. The rest of the tools I brought with me."

"Well, that might be a problem," Paltz said.

"The goggles or the tape?"

"No, all of it. We don't… I mean, I just don't get involved in that sort of – "

"Look, Jersey. Don't you think that if I was going to set you up I would've done it six years ago when it could have done me some good? I mean, Max and me, we made you a lot of money back then. You remember that, don't you?"

He nodded his head once, reluctantly.

"It's just that things are different now in this town. You cross a line and they come after you. I mean they really come after you."

Cassie straightened up.

"You don't have to convince me of that. Or Max."

"Sorry. I know that."

He nodded once more and put his hands flat on the counter.

"So what do you think, Jersey? I've got cash and I'm ready to rock and roll."

She casually swung her backpack under her arm and flipped up the top flap, exposing the stack of hundreds Leo had given her. She knew that loyalty and trust were one thing in the outlaw world, but showing the cash was another.

"I gotta know now 'cause if you're not going to help me I've gotta find somebody else."

Paltz nodded. She could tell, the money had turned him.

"Tell you what," he said. "I might be able to do something for you. What time are we talking about?"

"We're talking right now, Jersey. Tonight. I'm here. I gotta job to do."

He looked up at her, maintaining his hands on the counter pose. His eyes moved around to make sure they were still talking in private.

"All right… I'm working till five. How about Aces and Eights at six?"

"That old dump's still in business?"

"Oh, yeah. Always."

"I'll see you at six."

She started to step away from the counter but Paltz made a low whistling sound with his mouth and she turned back to him. Paltz took the pencil off his ear and wrote something on a scratch pad. He tore the page off and handed it to her.

"You'll need to have that with you."

She took the page and looked at it. It had a price on it.

$8,500

She thought it was high. She had read enough about the current technology to know the costs for what she needed should be in the range of five thousand dollars, including a nice profit for Paltz. Before she could say anything Paltz apparently read her.

"Look," he whispered, "you're gonna pay high end for this stuff. What we make here is proprietary. You take a bust with this stuff on you and they'll trace it right back here. Now sellin' it to you ain't illegal per se, but they could get me on an aiding-and-abetting bit. They throw conspiracy charges around now like confetti. On top of that, I'd lose my job. So you gotta pay high to cover my exposure here. Take it or leave it, that's the price."

She now realized she had made a mistake showing him the cash before they had a deal.

"Okay, fine with me," she finally said. "I'm on an expense account."

"See you at six, then."

"Yeah, six."

CASSIE had two hours to kill before her meeting with Jersey Paltz. She thought about going to the Cleo and picking up the package waiting for her at the front desk but decided against it because it meant she would have to leave to make her meeting and then come back. That would mean two extra trips under the cameras. She didn't want to give the people on the other side of those cameras two extra chances at making her.

Instead she stayed away from the Strip. She first stopped at a nail salon in a strip mall on Flamingo and had the manicurist cut her nails as short as possible. It wasn't very stylish but the manicurist, who was Asian, probably Vietnamese, didn't ask any questions and Cassie tipped her nicely for it.

She then drove east on Flamingo out past UNLV and into the neighborhood where she had lived until she was eleven. On the drive from L.A. she had convinced herself that she wanted to see it one last time.

She passed the 7 -Eleven where her father took her to get candy and the bus stop where she was let off after school. On Bloom Street the little house her parents had owned was still painted pink but she could see that some changes had been made in the two decades since they had left it. The swamp cooler on the roof had been changed out with a real air conditioner. The garage had been converted into living space and the backyard was now fenced, just like all the other houses on the block. Cassie wondered who lived there now and whether it was the same family that had bought it at auction after the foreclosure. She had the urge to go knock on the door and see if she could be allowed a quick look at her old room. It seemed that the last time she had ever felt completely safe had been in that room. She knew how nice it would be to have that feeling again. The image of her room as it had been back then made her momentarily think of Jodie Shaw's room and the collection of stuffed dogs on the shelf over the bed. But she quickly dismissed that image and moved back to her own memories.