M. J. caught the glance that flew between Beamis and Shradick. Careful, Adam, she thought. They're looking for suspects. Don't provide them with one.

She said, quickly, "Do you think Maeve knew about his real identity? We know she and Esterhaus weren't getting along-those arguments at the lab, remember? Maybe it had nothing to do with the job. Maybe it was personal. Maybe she learned the truth about him. And she walked out. Not on the job, but on him."

"She could have told me," said Adam. "But she didn't. Lord, what a disaster I've been as a father."

M. J. touched his arm. It wasn't enough to close the gap yawning between them; perhaps nothing could close that gap. But it let him know she cared. "Maybe she couldn't tell you. Maybe she was ashamed she had fallen for the guy in the first place. Or scared."

"Of what?"

"The man she was sleeping with had a price on his head. And he was pushing poison on the street. That would scare a lot of people."

"Then why didn't she come to me?" said Adam. "I would have kicked him out of Cygnus so fast, he wouldn't know what hit him."

"You may have answered your own question," said M. J. "If she had any feelings at all for Esterhaus, she wouldn't expose him. So she just walked away. Went some place he couldn't find her."

"South Lexington?" Shradick snorted. "I can think of better neighborhoods to hide in."

Beamis scooped up the envelope of photos and rose to leave. "We'll keep trying to find her," he said. "But I'm afraid it's turned into a game of hide-and-seek. And Maeve's pretty damn good at it." He glanced at Adam. "As you already know."

Adam shook his head, a weary gesture of acceptance. Defeat. "You won't find her," he said. "No one will. Not unless she wants to be found."

They spotted Celeste a block away, her curlicued hair bouncing up and down as she skipped rope. She didn't break stride as they drove closer and pulled up next to her. She was counting to herself in a soft, flat drone: "One twenty-eight, one twenty-nine, one thirty…"

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Adam whispered to M. J. "Maybe we should try Anthony again."

"And get dinged for another two hundred bucks?" M. J. shook her head. "This lad knows her way around. Let's see if she'll help us out."

"One thirty-eight, one thirty-nine…"

"Hello, Celeste," M. J. called through the open car window. "Can we talk to you?"

"One forty-four, one forty-five."

"We need a little help."

"One forty-eight…" The rope suddenly fell limp, snagged by Celeste's shoe. She stamped her foot in annoyance. "I was goin' for a record, too." Resignedly she turned to M. J. "So what ya need?"

"We want to talk to Jonah," said M. J. "The big man."

"What for?"

"Just talk. About what's coming down."

"Jonah doesn't talk to outsiders."

"Maybe he'll talk to us. A new jump rope says he will."

"I'd rather have a watch. Y'know, with all those fancy dials and things."

"And you thought Anthony was steep," muttered Adam.

"Okay," said M. J. "A watch. But only if he talks to us."

Celeste grinned. "Wait here," she said, and trotted off down the street. She turned left, into an alley, and vanished.

"Is this going to work?" said Adam.

"We can't get to Maeve any other way. So we have to try going to the top. If she's Jonah's lady, that's where she'll be. With him."

"Maeve won't talk to us. She won't let us anywhere near her."

"But things have changed. Esterhaus is dead. She's a suspect. So she'd better talk to us. Before the police make her talk." She looked at Adam. "Besides, this is your chance to call off the feud, or whatever it is between you two. It's gone on long enough. Don't you think it's time for you and Maeve to be a family again?"

He gazed down the street, at the alley where Celeste had vanished. "You're right," he said softly. "It's time…"

They waited. Ten minutes, fifteen.

Instead of Celeste, it was their old escort Leland who emerged from the alley. He sauntered over to their car and peered inside.

"You two again," he said.

"We want to see Jonah," said M. J.

"What for?" demanded Leland.

"This place is gonna be thick with cops. I thought the big man might want to know what's coming down."

Leland looked skeptical. "You doin' him a favor? Sure."

"I got one to ask in return."

An exchange of favors-that concept, Leland could grasp. He opened M. J.'s door. "Okay, you're on. Just you, not the dude."

"Now wait a minute," said Adam, climbing out of the car as she did.

"It's the chick or nobody."

"She's not going in there without me."

"Then she ain't goin' in at all."

"If those are the terms, then we're not-"

"Adam, can I speak to you?" M. J. grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. "Don't ruin it."

"You don't know anything about this Jonah character!"

"And I never will, if I don't go in."

Adam glanced at Leland, who was standing by the rear bumper. "He's twice your size. No, he's twice my size. If he wanted to, he could-"

"Do you want to contact Maeve or not?"

"Not if it means sending you off with Bigfoot."

She laughed. "I'm not afraid of him, you know."

"Which says something about your sanity."

"There's a code of honor here, Adam. You may not believe it, but people do play by the big man's rules. Jonah says I'm in, then I'm in. And no one touches me."

"What if the rules have changed?"

"I'm gambling they haven't."

"There's the word for it. Gambling."

"Are you comin' or what?" said Leland.

"I'm coming," said M. J., and turned to follow him.

Adam caught her arm. "One question, M. J. Why are you doing this?"

"Because you need your daughter. And I think she needs you. Besides." She laughed. "I'm a sucker for a warm fuzzy, remember?" With that she pulled away and followed Leland up the street.

They turned left, into the alley, then right, up another alley. There Leland halted. He pulled out a bandanna and tossed it to her. "Put it over your eyes," he said.

"You boys got a secret hideout?"

"We wanna keep it that way."

Stupid kid stuff , she thought as she wrapped the bandanna over her eyes and tied it in back. The cloth stank of cheap after-shave. "Okay. I'm blind as a bat. Now don't screw up and let me trip on anything."

"You, lady, I'll be happy to throw out a window. Come on." She felt his paw take hold of her arm-not gently, either.

They moved forward. She felt glass skitter away before her blindly shuffling feet. Leland's grip remained firm, her only link to the world. She tried counting paces, then gave up after awhile, knowing only that they'd traveled a long way-maybe in circles. She stumbled over a threshold, was dragged back to her feet. They were in a building, she realized, listening to their footsteps echo across the floor. Too many turns to keep track of now. Up some stairs, then back down. Cold air on her face-outside? A walkway, perhaps? Back inside-those echoing footsteps again.

The echoes elongated, bounced off widely spaced walls. There were others here; she could hear footsteps and a murmur of voices.

Leland halted.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"My castle," said a voice-one she didn't recognize. It boomed forth, like an actor's from the stage.

"Are you Jonah?" asked M. J.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" said the man. "Take off your blindfold."

M. J. hesitated. Then, slowly, she reached up and pulled off the bandanna.