Cole thought nothing of it until he went through his notes to build a timeline of events. Then he discovered a discrepancy.

Cole worked steadily for almost an hour before Larkin came out of the bedroom. She came out wearing fresh five-hundred-dollar jeans, a tight black Ramones T-shirt, and the iPod. She looked fresh and clean without makeup or jewelry, and her feet were bare. She stretched out on the couch with her feet hanging over the arm, closed her eyes, and rocked to the iPod, her right foot moving with the beat.

Cole said, “Hey.”

Her eyes opened and she looked at him.

Cole said, “The feds didn’t know Meesh was Meesh until you identified him?”

“No.”

“That’s what they told you?”

“Yeah. They got all excited when we finally had his name.”

Cole returned to his timeline, but didn’t really work after that. The twelve people who had been questioned by the feds had all been questioned the day after the accident. The very next day. All twelve stated the feds had shown them pictures of two men, and all twelve had described the same two pictures. It was as if Pitman knew or suspected Meesh was the missing man even before he met with the girl, and had lied about what he knew.

Twenty minutes later, Cole saw movement and glanced up. Larkin rolled off the couch, went to the window, and peered out at the street. The day was dimming, and soon they would have to pull the shades.

Cole said, “If you’re getting hungry I’ll make dinner. I just want to finish this.”

She didn’t hear him. She was looking up the street, then shifted position to look in the opposite direction.

Cole wadded up a piece of paper and bounced it off her back. When she turned, Cole touched his ear, telling her to take off the headset.

She said, “Did you say something?”

“If you’re hungry I’ll make dinner.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for him?”

Him.

“He might be late.”

“I’m okay.”

She went back to the couch and resumed her position, only now her foot didn’t move. Cole went on with his work.

“Was he really in Africa?”

Cole glanced up. She was still stretched out on the couch with her feet up, but now she was looking at him. Cole was surprised Pike told her about Africa. Pike never mentioned those days, and had rarely spoken of them even back when he was making the trips. Way it had been, Pike would say something like, I’ll be gone for a while. Cole would say okay, and a few days later Pike would vanish. Couple of weeks after that, Pike would call, say something like, Everything okay? Cole would say, Sure, everything’s fine, and Pike would say, I’m back if you need me.

Larkin misread Cole’s silence and made a cynical laugh.

“I thought so. I knew he was making it up.”

Cole tamped the pages together and settled back. He had done a lot of work on the map and now had more questions than answers.

“What did he tell you?”

“He watched a woman cut off her own fingers. What a gross thing to say. Like I’m supposed to be impressed by that. What a gross and disgusting thing, trying to scare me.”

“You changed your mind about dinner? I’m pretty much finished here.”

“No.”

She wrapped her arms across her breasts and stared at the ceiling.

“Is he married?”

“No.”

“Ever?”

“You crushing on Joe? I think Larkin is crushing on Joe.”

“I asked him, but he didn’t answer. He does that. I’ll say something and I know he hears, but he ignores me. I don’t like being ignored. It’s rude.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then why does he do it?”

“I asked him once, but he ignored me.”

Larkin didn’t find it funny.

“So he’s the one who won’t talk, and you’re the one who makes a joke out of everything.”

“Maybe Joe doesn’t answer you because he figures the answers are none of your business.”

“What about the courtesy of polite conversation? Here I am stuck with a man who won’t talk. He never laughs. He won’t smile. He has absolutely no expression on his face.”

“Jeez, with me he’s a laugh riot. I can’t shut the guy up.”

“You’re not funny. You’re one of those people who thinks he’s funny but isn’t. I’m bored, and he gets us this place with no television.”

“Yeah. Having no television is hell.”

“Of course you’d say something like that. You’re his friend.”

Cole laughed.

“You’re probably used to people trying to impress you-they’re trying to be funny or get your attention or make you like them. Don’t confuse that with being interesting. It isn’t. Pike is one of the most interesting men you’ll meet. He just doesn’t want to entertain you, so he doesn’t.”

“It’s still boring.”

“Try reading. Beautiful rich chicks can read, can’t they?”

The corners of her mouth made the curl.

“You talk a lot. Does that mean you’re trying to entertain me?”

“It means I’m trying to entertain myself. You’re kinda dull.”

Larkin rolled off the couch and went back to the window.

“Shouldn’t he be back by now?”

“It’s still early.”

She returned to the couch, but this time she pulled her feet up and crossed her legs. Cole could see she didn’t want to let it go. She was frowning at him as if he was keeping something from her.

“Well, is it true? Was he in Africa?”

“He’s been to Africa many times. He’s been all over the world.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Joe didn’t cut off her fingers.”

“I mean being a mercenary. I understand being drafted and all, but I think it’s sick, getting paid to play soldier.”

“Joe wasn’t playing. He was a professional.”

“I think it’s disgusting. Anyone who enjoys that kind of thing is insane.”

“I guess that depends on what you do and why you do it.”

“You’re just making excuses for him. You’re probably just as sick as him.”

Cole loved her certainty so much he smiled.

“That story he told you about the woman, did he tell you why he was there?”

“Of course not.”

“You still want to know?”

She stared at him as if it was a trick question, but when she finally nodded he told her. He told her the one story. He could have told more.

“A group called the Lord’s Resistance Army was running around Central Africa, mostly in Uganda. They kidnapped girls. What they would do was, they’d blow into a village out in the middle of nowhere, shoot up everything with machine guns, loot the place, and grab the teenage girls. Not one or two, but all of them. They’ve kidnapped hundreds of girls. They take them as slaves, rape them, do whatever. It’s the Third World, Larkin. It’s not like here. Most of the planet isn’t like here. You understand?”

She managed to nod, but Cole sensed she didn’t understand, and couldn’t. They didn’t have police; they had warlords. They didn’t have Republicans and Democrats; they had tribes. In Rwanda, one tribe would target another and hack a million people to death in less than three months. How could an American understand something like that?

“The people in those villages, they’re farmers, maybe have a few cattle, but sometimes these villages get together and pool their money. They figured they needed professionals to stop the kidnappings, so Joe made the trip. Joe and his guys-I think he had five guys with him that time-they arrived in the afternoon. The morning of the day they arrived, a raiding party shot up another village and stole more girls. That woman’s husband and her sons were murdered that morning. That’s the first thing Joe saw when they rolled in that day, this poor woman mutilating herself.”

Larkin stared at him as if she was waiting for more, but when Cole only stared back she wet her lips.

“What did he do?”

Cole knew, but decided to keep it simple.

“Joe did his job. The raids stopped.”

Larkin glanced toward the front windows, but it was darker now, and the light in the room made it impossible to see out.