“Maybe. Maybe he missed the fucking train. Wilkes never could keep time.” He stared off into the distance for a moment, then gave a sharp shake of his head. “Doesn’t matter. He fucked up. That’s good.”

“So are the Feds going to release the note? Make it sound like they managed to abort the attack? That’d be a nice win for them, and right now they could use it.”

“Quinn doesn’t know. Doesn’t think they’ve decided. They’ve got another problem. Bigger concern. Another tip-off.”

“Another? Goddamn it. That’s going to put them in a corner. Did he intend to make the train hit and something went wrong, in which case they should put all their efforts into dealing with this new one? Or are the tips red herrings now, keeping them busy chasing phantoms instead of pursuing the investigation?” I looked at Jack. “Maybe missing the train hit was part of the plan. Get the Feds second-guessing him, splitting up their manpower.”

“Could be. That’s what they’re doing. Main team is ignoring this one. They’ll go back to investigating. Put a secondary team and local forces on security detail.”

“Where’s the hit supposed to go down?”

“Homecoming parade. Late this afternoon. West Virginia.”

I was still shooing the dogs from the gate when Evelyn appeared on the back porch.

“Girls,” she growled.

They fell over each other getting out of my way. I unlatched the gate, walked in, then closed it behind me.

“Where’s Jack?” Evelyn asked.

“He took another flight. He said he had to check something someplace else and he’d meet up with me later.”

She waved me into the house. “You two have a falling out?”

“I don’t think so.” I set down my bag and tugged off my shoes. “Why? Did he call?”

“No, but I can’t see him splitting up. There’s no reason to take separate flights—you two aren’t on a job. If he wanted to check something, why not take you with him?”

“So it seems odd to you, too, huh?” I moved into the living room and sat down. “I thought he’d at least try to persuade me to go with him but…well, he’s been acting weird.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Weird? Jack? I can use a lot of words to describe that man’s behavior sometimes, but weird isn’t one of them.”

“I know. Normally he’s so focused. But he seemed distant last night, almost…rattled. Ever since he talked to Maurice Gallagher.”

Evelyn went rigid, then settled back into her chair, taking awhile to get comfortable, trying to hide her initial reaction. When she spoke, her voice was calm. “I warned him, didn’t I? About crossing the old spider. I suppose Gallagher threatened him…” She let the words fade, frowning, as if thinking. Putting two and two together?

“Were you there?” she asked.