Cohen looked all around, as if trying to spot eavesdroppers. In a whisper, he said, “No! I don’t want anyone…made not alive. I just want it made clear to Arturo that he needs to stay away from Lily.”

Nir shook his head. “I’m afraid you have me confused with somebody else.”

Cohen reached past Nir and took the bottle of beer. “I’m afraid you have me confused with someone else too.”

Nir grabbed the man’s arm and squeezed until Cohen let go of the bottle. Nir released him, and he pulled his arm back.

“I’ll trade with one of the other guys,” Cohen said, “and then I’ll be on a 12-hour shift Saturday, 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. What warehouse do you need to get into?”

“Alicia Marcos’s workshop.”

Cohen looked surprised. “Not at all what I expected. That crew’s always been so nice…” He closed his eyes and sighed, then looked Nir directly in his. “Okay, when you come, I’ll shut down the cameras and let you through the gate and into the workshop. But if you haven’t visited Arturo before you come, don’t bother. Instead of opening the gate, I’ll be dialing nine-one-one.”

He grabbed a pen from on top of a signed check next to him, then reached over the bar and lifted a napkin off a stack. He scribbled something on it, then slid it to Nir. “Here’s Arturo’s number. I got it from Lily’s phone. I figure you can find him with that.”

“You know we only have one night for this.”

Cohen slid off the barstool. “Then you better get busy.”

The man walked out the door, and a minute later, Imri sat in the vacated seat, bottle in hand. Nir filled him in.

“We going to do it?”

“We have to.” Nir started laughing. “This reminds me of something my grandfather used to say.”

“What’s that?”

“We Jews will find a deal in anything.”

“Fair enough,” Imri said, then finished his beer.

They stood, and the bartender walked over to settle the tab. But before she had a chance to ring them up, Nir pointed to her and said, “You, my dear, have beautiful eyes.”

Immediately, all the harshness left her face, replaced with a wide smile. Nir pulled a hundred-dollar bill from a stack and set it on the bar. The two men walked out.

Chapter 40

CHAPTER 40

ONE DAY LATER

FRESNO, SOUTHWEST OF HOUSTON, TEXAS—DECEMBER 18, 2020—23:40 / 11:40 P.M. CST

CARL, Lead. Any more activity?”

“Negative,” Liora said. “We’ve had a bird on it for four hours. Only one car in. Unknown number of occupants.”