What to do about it? She could try to set up another meeting with del Carros, but that would be madness, and he would surely never go for it. She could leave it alone and hope that he would be caught, that the truth would come out some other way. Was she prepared for whatever the truth might be? Would it be better if he just vanished again, if it all remained a mystery?

“What are you doing?” Matthew spoke from the bed. His voice was more alert than she would have expected.

“Oh, just making myself crazy.”

“You’re supposed to leave that to me.”

“I was crazy long before I met you, sweetheart.”

“Why don’t you come back over here?”

Why not, indeed? Yet she sat there several moments longer, finishing the cigarette, wondering now about Matthew and herself, and if whatever was between them could survive beyond the elevated emotions of the current crisis. Would they still care for each other when all the excitement was over, when dull, hum-drum daily life returned? When the icon was well and truly put to rest? Was she really so eager to know? Better to enjoy it while it lasted. She stubbed the butt out on the exterior sill, closed the window, then rose and went to him.

22

The hospital in Queens was not as impressive as the one in Manhattan. Older, dingier, even less well organized, if that was possible. Andreas rode up to the eighth floor in an elevator that vibrated alarmingly underfoot. The tired Jamaican nurse beside him took no notice of it.

His thinking had become confused once more. Morrison’s news echoed in his mind, testing his will. It was easy to tell himself that nothing had changed, that this visit was simply a last convulsion, a necessary act for purging his conscience and satisfying his curiosity. Easy to tell himself, but hard to believe. The important thing was not to involve Benny and Matthew any further. That much he was determined upon.

The gray-green corridor was suffused with the universal smell of institutional sickness. Stale air, urine, cleaning fluid; the memory-scent of a hundred visits to men now dead. Andreas found the room easily enough. There had been a police guard for the first few days, he’d heard, but since the patient had become well enough to question, that had been dispensed with. It was his information they had been protecting, not this life. Nicholas looked up at him as he entered, face thin and pale, dark eyes wide with concern. Andreas understood that the wounded man might still not know what exactly had happened, and that his visit could hardly be welcome.

“Peace, Nicky,” he said in Russian, taking a chair by the bed. The other man shifted under the white sheets, but the IV in his left arm limited his motion. Thick bandaging on his chest was visible beneath the flimsy blue hospital gown. Someone had placed a vase of yellow tulips on the rolling table beside him. A screen pulled halfway across the room separated his bed from the one by the window, where another patient watched a game show on television. Nicholas nodded, but spoke no reply.

“I’m here on my own.” Andreas reverted to English. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“I’m alive.” His voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes. My grandson had a hand in that.” Nicholas looked at him blankly. “Matthew. He went to see his godfather that morning, and he found you instead, bleeding on the floor. He held a towel against your wound until the ambulance arrived. Has no one told you?”

“The police asked questions. They didn’t tell me much.”

“No one has visited? No one from Fotis’ operation has checked up on you?”

“Phillip, you know, who runs the restaurant. He’s the only one.”

“Did he bring the flowers?”

“No.” Nicholas smiled just a little. “My girlfriend.”

“Good. I’m happy you are not alone.”

“She’s working now. She’ll come by soon.”

“I won’t stay long.”

Nicholas cleared his throat and shifted again, obviously still in some pain.

“I didn’t know that about Matthew, what he did. I’m grateful.”

“He’s in trouble. Matthew is, with the police. They think he might have had something to do with the robbery.”

“Has he been arrested?”

“No. They have nothing to hold him on. With Fotis gone, though, they may become frustrated and decide that someone else must take the fall.”

“I don’t understand. They’ve already arrested Anton and Karov. My girlfriend told me. Why are they looking for anyone else?”

“Come now, Nicky, we both know there was more to it than that. And the police know it also. Fotis put Karov up to it. They were all in it together, Anton, Karov, Dragoumis. Everyone but you. You were left to take the bullet.”

Nicholas made a sour face and grabbed a fistful of sheet with his right hand.

“Everyone, eh? Why not your grandson, too? Why not you?”

Andreas nodded diplomatically.

“I don’t blame you for suspecting me. You know very well that Fotis and I are at odds. Maybe you think I have some plan. But surely you know better than to suspect Matthew.”

“I don’t know anything. How can I know anything lying here?”

“Do you know who shot you?”

“They were wearing masks. I couldn’t tell.”

“Bravosou!” Andreas laughed derisively. “They try to kill you, and you are still keeping their secrets. That is what you were trained to do, yes? Keep secrets. You’re a good soldier, Nicky. They will say that about you when you’re dead. He was a good soldier, a useful tool. He kept the secrets.”

“Go to hell.”

“At least you’ll have the woman to mourn you.”

“What is any of it to you, anyway?”

“I told you. The boy.”

“Yes, well, your boy was with Dragoumis all the damn time, talking about that icon. So maybe the police are right. Maybe I should tell them so.”

Andreas leaned forward and made his voice quiet. “Fotis used the boy. As he used you, as he has used me a dozen times. It is what he does. You know this. The time is long passed for defending him, you must look to yourself. They have all betrayed you. You are the only friend you have left, unless you choose to trust me, even a little.”

“You think I’m a fool? I am looking out for myself. I don’t care about protecting them, I want to stay alive, that’s all.”

“But your silence is no protection. You did nothing wrong, and they tried to kill you anyway. Now they are on the run. Dragoumis is in hiding. Karov is in custody, and his operation is shut down.”

“Someone will replace him. You don’t know how it works in my neighborhood. If I testify against any of them I won’t be forgiven.”

“I wonder if you are right. Karov has plea-bargained, there is no testimony necessary. And I don’t think anyone would blame you about Anton, after he shot you. But let that go. I’m not asking you to testify against anyone.”

“What, then?”

“Very simple. I want to know what Fotis was up to before you put him on the airplane that morning. Anything you can tell me. You see, not a dangerous question.”

“Talking to you at all may be dangerous.”

“Well, it’s too late to protect against that. It was you who drove him to the airport, yes?”

Nicholas considered him carefully.

“Yes. I drove him everywhere. Anton is a terrible driver.”

“Early in the morning.”

“Before early. It was a seven-thirty flight, we left at four. I’ve told the police this.”

“I’m not with the police, Nicky. Why so early? It’s twenty minutes to Kennedy at that hour.”

“He likes to be early for things.”

“Did he have a lot of luggage? Anything bulky?”

“No, just a small bag and a suitcase.”

Andreas paused, looked carefully at the younger man’s face. Circle back.

“Why so early?”

“I told you.”

“You went somewhere else first. You made another stop before the airport.”

The Russian grew more agitated. Because he could not lie with ease, Nicholas could only choose between withholding information or speaking truth, and he clearly did not like his choices.