“He hasn’t really convinced himself that he’s in love with me, has he?” she said.

“He’s doing a fine job of pretending, if nothing else.”

“Ugh. How awful. Will he be there when we come back?”

“Yes. Is that bad?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I drove downtown slowly to give Joe time to catch up with us. I didn’t like the idea of leaving my gun behind, but I couldn’t get it past the metal detectors at the prosecutor’s office, so I locked it in the truck’s center console, and we walked inside the building and waited on Joe. We waited for fifteen minutes, but he didn’t show. Maybe Kinkaid had been slowed up. Maybe something had happened. I was starting to grow worried when Joe finally came jogging up the steps and into the building.

“Sorry,” he said as we walked to Winters’s office. “Kinkaid wanted more of an explanation than I had time to give. He’ll want still more when we get back.”

The door to the office opened before I could respond, and a woman stepped into the hall. She was nearing fifty but still an attractive woman, with strong, firm features and auburn hair. She looked at us, her gaze lingering on Julie a bit longer than Joe or me, and then forced a tight smile.

“What a treat,” she said. “And I was planning on going home early today. Which one of you is Lincoln Perry?”

“I am.” I shook hands with her.

“Here’s how we’re going to do this,” she said. “I’m not going to talk to all of you at once. We’ll go one at a time, and because you called me, you’ll go first, Mr. Perry. Mrs. Weston and Mr. Pritchard can wait.” She held the door open, and Joe and Julie sat in chairs in the outer office while I followed Winters into a small conference room. She closed the door, sat behind the desk, and clasped her hands together.

“I need to have some idea of what I can expect to hear from this woman,” she said. “And I’ve picked you to give me that idea, because you picked me to dump this shit storm on.”

I gave her the rough summary. While I talked, she listened and kept her mouth shut, which impressed me. Rare is the attorney who can handle listening and keeping her mouth shut.

“What a mess,” she said when I was done. “Mrs. Weston has this tape with her?”

“Yeah,” I said, “but it may be too late to get any convictions with it.”

“Why is that?”

“If Dainius Belov found out who killed his son, they might have been dealt with in less formal proceedings.”

She looked at me carefully. “Is there any reason to believe he has found out who killed his son?”

I shrugged. “It’s the mob, Ms. Winters. They turn on each other easily.”

“Uh-huh.” She tapped her foot on the floor and stared at me. “You know what I wish when I look at you?”

“That you were twenty years younger and single?”

A slight smile crossed her face, and she sighed and shook her head. “I wish that I could believe you’re going to tell me even half of what you really know. Now, let’s ask Mrs. Weston to join us. I’ll leave your partner waiting in the wings for now. There are some others who are also anxious to speak with you and Mrs. Weston.”

“You want me to go?”

“No, I’ve changed my mind. You’ll stay for now, because I’m far from finished with you. I’m afraid you have no idea what you’re in for, Mr. Perry,” she said, opening the door to get Julie.

“No?” I said.

“I’m one of the last tough, old-fashioned broads,” she said.

“I see.”

She turned on her heel. “Or maybe I should say, a hard-core bitch.”

I had to laugh. “It’s going to be a long afternoon, isn’t it?”

“With this mess?” she said. “You’re dreaming if you think we’re going to wrap it up in an afternoon.”

Swanders arrived, along with another prosecutor and one of the higher-ups from the FBI. He was a small, quiet man who didn’t say much, but his face darkened considerably when I told him what I suspected of Agent Thaddeus Cody. Swanders avoided eye contact with me for most of the meeting. I couldn’t tell if he was mad at me or embarrassed that he’d been so clueless about so much. Probably those two emotions went hand in hand.

When they were done with Julie and me, Winters opened the door to call in Joe. I felt bad for him; it had to have been a long, tedious wait. Once Joe was inside, Winters stepped back into the lobby and asked Julie where Betsy was.

“She’s with her grandfather,” Julie said. “Someplace safe.”

“Mrs. Weston, I simply cannot have that. I cannot have either of you in an undisclosed location, and I’m afraid I must provide you with police security for the time being. I’m going to have to request that you stay in a hotel here in the city where we can see you have adequate protection.”

“That’s fine,” Julie said, as if she had absolutely no problem trusting her safety to the police. I tried not to stare at her.

“Now, if you’ll tell me where your daughter is, I’ll have an officer dispatched to pick her up and bring her here.”

Julie frowned. “With all due respect, ma’am, I don’t like that idea. The upcoming days are going to be very hard on my daughter, and I don’t need them to begin with a police officer taking her away from her grandfather. If you want us to stay at a hotel, let Lincoln drive me back to get my daughter and bring her in myself.”

Winters didn’t like it, but she didn’t fight it. “I want her brought to the Marriott by the airport as soon as possible,” she told me. “We’ll have officers waiting there, and they’ll have a room ready for you. When you’re settled in, we’ll talk again.”

“Should we wait on Joe?” I asked.

Winters rolled her eyes. “I know he’s your partner, Perry, but I think you can handle playing taxi without him. Go get the girl and bring them both to the Marriott. I’ll keep your partner safe.”

“If it’s just going to be the two of you in there, at the very least, let me leave him an extra gun.”

“Go get the girl, Mr. Perry.” She stepped back into the conference room and closed the door.

I drove Julie back to the cottage. On the way, she asked for more details about our meeting with Belov. I told her only that he’d promised to see that she and Betsy weren’t harmed. I did not discuss the methods Belov would likely use to ensure their safety.

“Did you get a chance to talk to John without Betsy around?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“And does he know you’re planning to leave?”

“Yes.”

I glanced away from the highway and looked at her. “And when are you planning to leave, Julie?”

“Tomorrow.”

I put my eyes back on the road. “I see.”

We were silent then until we returned to the cottage. I parked behind Kinkaid’s car, and as I shut the truck off he stepped onto the deck and waved. I turned to Julie.

“He’s going to want to talk to you,” I said. “And I’m going to give him space to do it. Make it quick, though, because we need to get you and Betsy back into the city before Winters sends out a search party.”

“All right.”

“Lincoln, good to see you, man,” Kinkaid said when we walked into the cottage. He gave me a hearty handshake, but his eyes were locked on Julie. “I was pissed with you and Pritchard at first, because you guys were cutting me out of the loop, but now that I understand what’s been going on, I don’t give a damn about any of that.”

“Hello, Aaron,” Julie said. Betsy jumped off the couch and ran to give her mother a hug. She made a wide circle around Kinkaid.

“Hi, Julie. I’m sure glad to see you,” Kinkaid said, sounding like an awkward teenager on a first date. His freckled face was flushed.

I cleared my throat and looked at John Weston, who was sitting on the couch. “John, can I see you outside for a minute?”

He followed me out. I didn’t want to leave Julie alone with Kinkaid, but I was even less interested in hanging around to listen to him gush about his feelings for her, which would surely begin soon enough. I told John about our interview with Winters and her request that Julie and Betsy stay at a hotel under police watch.