“I barely remember,” I said.

“Liar.”

“I may recall a birthmark in the shape of Winston Churchill.”

“Most men would have made the most of the situation.”

“Most men don’t have what I have.”

“The woman in all of your pictures?”

“Yep.”

“She is quite beautiful,” she said.

I nodded.

Jemma smiled slightly as she shook her head and reached for a brioche. She took a healthy bite and washed it down with some coffee. I ate a scone and drank some coffee while standing at the counter.

“What do you think is happening?” she said.

“I think a lot of very powerful people are battling it out for a license to print money.”

“That’s most of it.”

“What I don’t understand is why they would come for you,” I said. “You don’t work for Rick Weinberg anymore.”

She nodded. “That’s partially true.”

“And the other part?”

Her eyes roamed over my face. A light breeze washed in from the window over my sink. I waited. “I did not tell you the other reason Rick came to see me,” she said.

“Okay.”

“He wanted to figure out the company’s next move,” she said. “I had not been fired. We only said that so the people in Revere would sign the agreement.”

“Makes sense.”

“You don’t believe me.”

“No,” I said. “I believe you very much.”

“Rick was in a very good mood. He knew we had made the deal and that Wonderland would be a reality.”

“So you are now in charge of the project in Revere?” I said.

“And Las Vegas, and Biloxi, and now Macao,” she said. “I now run the whole company.”

“Envolve?”

“Weinberg Entertainment,” she said. “In the event of Rick’s death, I take over as CEO. The board insisted on a clear line of succession.”

“What will Rachel Weinberg say?”

“Nothing.” She squinted her eyes in surprise. “She voted on the promotion like everyone else on the board.”

“I guess she forgot to tell me you were taking over.”

“I imagine she had other things to worry about.”

“She was more concerned about you and Rick having an affair.”

“She knew I was shagging her husband.”

“Yikes.”

“Well,” Jemma said. “We’re both adults.”

“Somewhat.”

“Well, that’s what adults do.”

“Shag each other?”

“Understand the difference between love and sex,” she said. “Rick and I had been intimate for some time. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you. She was completely complicit with the arrangement.”

“She did,” I said. “So now what’s Rachel’s role with the company?”

“She remains on the board,” she said. “But I am the CEO.”

“And the list grows.” I nodded and took a breath.

“What list?”

“People who would want you dead.”

“Aren’t you skipping the most obvious?” she said. Her legs looked tan and muscular in my cut-off sweatpants. Certain details were crucial to my profession.

“Let me go back to my notes,” I said. “I’m starting a flow chart.”

“Harvey Rose is one of the most ruthless, calculating bastards I have ever known,” she said. “With Rick dead, I am the only one left between him and getting the license for East Boston.”

I nodded.

“Have you checked in with your friend at the condos lately? I would expect an offer, if only to block the sale.”

“Do you think Harvey had Rick killed?”

“Perhaps,” she said.

“And tried to have you killed?”

“Perhaps,” she said. “I can make arrangements for my own protection. I can’t impose on you further.”

“I’ve spoken to my associate,” I said. “He can guard while I make inquiries.”

“Is he as good as you?” she said.

“I think one day he’ll be even better,” I said.

“With less ideals.”

“We share the same ideals,” I said. “Z just hasn’t found the right woman yet.”

“A stalwart lover,” she said. “I hope your girlfriend knows this.”

“I think she suspects it.”

45

“YOU WOULD LIKE the food down here,” Susan said. “They serve a lot of cornbread and have swell biscuits.”

I could hear restaurant sounds around her. She had stepped away from a table and the sounds became more slight.

“I took a drunk woman home last night,” I said. I leaned back in my office chair and crossed one jogging shoe over the other. “She got naked as a jaybird.”

“Good for you,” Susan said.

“And this morning, I brought her breakfast.”

“Even better,” she said. “If you had made her breakfast, I might become resentful.”

“She had great legs. Very tan and muscular.”

“Why else would you take her home?” Susan said.

“That and two men tried to kidnap her at gunpoint,” I said. “I had to intervene.”

“Are they dead?”

“One.”

“She must have been frightened to death. Or is she used to this kind of life?”

“Can’t say,” I said. “She’s from Vegas.”

“Ah,” Susan said. “The Brit who used to work for Rick Weinberg.”

“She says she’s now the CEO of his company.”

“And what does Rachel Weinberg say about that?”

“I don’t think she knows,” I said. “I’ve tried to reach her, without success.”

“Does your Brit admit to the affair?”

“She said Rachel and Rick had an open marriage.”

“Professionally, I do not condone or refute an open marriage,” she said. “I have patients who find it not only freeing but sexually stimulating.”

“Ick.”

“You would not find it sexually stimulating to think of me with another man.”

“Did you miss the part where I just killed someone?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. My chest swelled with the sound of her breathing. “Have you spoken to Hawk?”

“I’m starting to develop a complex,” I said. “Every time something dangerous happens, you want me to call Hawk.”

“Just looking out for you.”

“I call Hawk only in case of emergency,” I said. “I break that glass sparingly.”

“Where is Z?”

“Close.”

“He is not Hawk,” she said.

“Hawk would argue that nobody is.”

“He may be right.”

“Z stumbled a bit after the beating,” I said. “Physically and mentally, but he’s making a comeback.”

“Is he drinking?”

“Not to excess.”

“As much as he tries to emulate you, you can’t change ingrained behavior overnight. It takes time. And often, therapy.”

“He works hard on his own,” I said. “I hope he’ll come back even better.”

“Has he wavered on wanting to be like you and Hawk?”

“Nope.”

“Could I interest him in a solid career as a social worker or a stable office job?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“And if he’s going to do this, we both have to watch him stumble and fail.”

“It’s never pretty,” I said.

“Before I met you, did you often fail?”

“Meaning did I often have the crap kicked out of me?”

“Yes.”

“But I never liked it much.”

“Perhaps until Z is one hundred percent, you find better help.”

“Few options,” I said.

“Vinnie?”

“I will explain later.”

“And dare I ask about the naked woman?”

“I plan to drop her at the Boston Harbor Hotel,” I said. “Z will watch her. But first I’ll make sure she puts on some clothes.”

“Did she really look that good naked?”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “I had my hands over my eyes.”

“Hmm.”

“But she is no lithe, flexible Jewess.”

“No shit,” Susan said.

“Z seems very excited about his new gig,” I said. “I think he put on some cologne.”

“Be careful,” she said. “After what he’s been through, he may be very susceptible to her advances.”

“And that would be bad?”

“You yourself seem not to trust the woman.”

“I don’t one bit.”

“And may I remind you, Z can be quite impressionable.”