"Why do you suppose she would be so foolish as to return to Puerto Vallarta?"

"Because she was running from her husband," the captain replied. "This is what your friend Mr. Cupie told me. Also, she had shot Mr. Cupie, and she had to leave Mexico City. I was not surprised to hear that this woman and your client's wife were the same person. Perhaps you can understand why I am extremely disappointed not to have apprehended her."

"I can certainly understand," Vittorio said. "I would like to meet her again myself, for my own reasons."

"Is it possible that the woman had something to do with your swim in the Gulf, senor?"

"Let's just say that if I should encounter her again in the United States, you will have no further need of arresting her."

The captain smiled broadly, revealing two gold teeth. "Perhaps if that should happen, senor, you might do me the courtesy of informing me of the outcome?" He handed Vittorio his card.

Vittorio pocketed the card. "I would be very pleased to do so," he said.

The captain saluted. "Then I bid you good day and good journey," he said.

They shook hands, and the policeman returned to his car.

Vittorio got back into the Chevrolet, wondering if the captain's story could be true. He decided it probably was.

Forty

EAGLE RETURNED HOME AND FOUND SUSANNAH SITTING in the living room, reading a book.

"Hi, there," she said. "When I woke up, you had gone."

"Yes, I had a call from the district attorney."

"About the man who tried to kill you?"

"No, about another man, the one who called me from the jail to warn me."

"I don't know about that. Why don't you tell me the whole story?"

Eagle sat down next to her on the sofa and began at the beginning, taking her up to his killing of Joe Big Bear.

"And the man you talked to today called to warn you?"

"Yes, but I didn't exactly talk to him; I observed his interrogation by the police from the next room, through a one-way mirror."

"Is it over, then?"

"No, it isn't. A detective I hired to find Barbara was supposed to send me some sheets of paper with her signature on them. They arrived today, but they were blank, and I haven't been able to reach either of the two investigators I hired to find her. I don't know what to think."

"You certainly lead an interesting life, Ed Eagle."

"Lately, it's been a little too interesting."

"What are you going to do next?"

"Nothing. There's nothing I can do, until I hear from either Vittorio or Cupie. I've left messages on their voice mails."

"Doing nothing isn't much fun for a man like you, is it?"

Eagle smiled. "I think you've got a pretty good grip on me."

"Not yet," she said, "but stick around."

VITTORIO HUNG BACK until the police car and the black Suburban left him behind, then he made a U-turn and went in search of Cupie and Barbara. The delay had allowed him to cool off a bit and to think ahead about what he would do when he caught up with her. He didn't think Cupie would sit still for his shooting her, so he was going to have to wait until he had an opportunity of getting her alone, and he didn't know how he was going to do that or what he was going to do when he did. He abandoned the search for the Toyota. Instead, he pulled into a side road and behind a cluster of billboards, where he could wait until the Toyota passed by, as it would have to eventually.

CUPIE AND BARBARA sat in the car, finishing the sandwiches the hotel had prepared for them, Barbara drinking from a bottle of tepid white wine. Cupie stuck to a can of soda, wanting to keep his wits about him. The pistol on his belt was handy, in case the red car turned around and came looking for them.

"Barbara," he said, "are you ready to tell me yet why the police want you so badly?"

Barbara sighed. "Does it really matter? They want me, that's all. I should never have gone back to Puerto Vallarta, but I thought enough time had passed."

"Passed since what?"

"All right, one of my sisters and I were there several years ago for a few days. We met this guy in the hotel bar who was good-looking and rather sexy. After a few margaritas we started talking about a threesome, and we went upstairs to our room. He got very drunk and began to slap us both around, wanting us to perform on each other. I mean, we were sisters, for Christ's sake!"

"What happened?" Cupie asked.

"I hit him over the head with a tequila bottle, and we were going to dump him in the hallway with his clothes, but Julia was really, really angry, and when she got angry she was dangerous. She found a switchblade knife in his pocket, and it was razor sharp."

Cupie's jaw dropped. "She killed him?"

"Not exactly," Barbara said.

"Not exactly? What the hell does that mean? What did she do to him?"

"She cut his dick off and stuck it in his mouth. He was still unconscious and didn't feel a thing, but there sure was a lot of blood. We packed up and beat it out of there."

Cupie blanched. "Do you have any idea who this fellow was?"

"Does it matter?"

"It may matter a very great deal."

"I don't remember his name; I just remember that he bragged about having a brother and an uncle who were policemen."

"Well," Cupie said, "I think that answers pretty fully my question about why the police want you."

"Frankly, I think it's the traveler's checks," she said. "There was no way to connect me with what happened back then. I had a different name then."

"Maybe somebody recognized you."

"Who could recognize me?"

"Somebody who remembered you from your first visit."

"But I stayed in a different hotel this time."

"Workers-waiters, desk clerks, maids-move from hotel to hotel."

"That seems pretty far-fetched to me."

"Far-fetched doesn't even begin to describe what's already happened."

She looked at her watch. "Let's get to Tijuana; I don't want to spend another night in this country."

"I don't blame you," Cupie said, starting the car. "Neither do I. Get in the backseat." She climbed over the front seat and lay down. He turned the car around, headed down the hill, and turned north again.

VITTORIO SAT UP at attention; the Toyota had just passed his location, headed north at moderate speed. He gave Cupie another minute to gain ground, then he started the Chevy and followed, waiting for an opportunity.

Forty-one

EAGLE TURNED OFF THE PAVEMENT OF TANO ROAD ONTO unpaved Tano Norte, toward Susannah's new house.

"You think they'll ever pave this road?" she asked.

"Who knows? I thought the county would never pave Tano Road, but they did. Anyway, a lot of people in Santa Fe think dirt roads are charming."

"Really? I think they're dusty in summer and muddy in winter."

"Your opinion is unassailable, but add icy to muddy. I've seen eight inches of snow on this road. You're going to need snow tires."

"And a stock of canned and frozen food, too."

"Not really. The county plows the roads in good time." Eagle turned in through her front gate and pointed at the garage. "You're going to need a private contractor to plow your parking area, though. It's uphill from your garage to the gate. I'll give you a name."

"It's very convenient that you have this stock of people to do anything needed," she said.

They got out of the car and walked down the steps to her front door. She unlocked it and stepped inside. "Oh," she said. "It's so much better without the seller's furniture. I hated his furniture. And it's spotless."

"I sent my housekeeper and half her family over yesterday."