“Maybe you’re finally reaching your goddamn potential. I always told you if you quit fucking around, you could be one of the greats.”

“Thanks for the compliment—I think.”

“Don’t be a snot nose.” A pause. “Guys like Mark can’t come cheap. If you need more money, call up one of my places and I’ll put more cash in your accounts. As nice as it’s been to chitchat with you, Gabriel, duty calls. I’ve got to go.”

But Gabe wasn’t ready to hang up. “Aren’t you worried about this call being traced?”

“They trace cell calls by relay towers. And towers can get scrambled if you have the right equipment.”

“If you find Mom, please don’t hurt her.”

“I’m not going to hurt her. I’m done with that.” Said more to himself than to Gabe. “I’m pissed as hell, but I’m not without insight. I’m impossible to live with. If she needs to get something out of her system, I can handle it. I want to find her mainly because I love her. But also all my businesses are in her name. I’ve got taxes coming up and she’s got to sign papers or I’m screwed.”

“Why don’t you forge her signature?”

“I do that all the time. That’s not the problem. The problem is if she’s officially missing—not dead, just missing—she can’t sign anything. That means everything she owns is in limbo until there’s a legal resolution. I’d rather have her alive. But I’d rather have her dead than missing. If she was dead, you’d own everything. I could deal with that. If you need something, call up one of my places in Elko, okay?”

“What do you mean, I’d own everything?”

“You’re her legal heir, not me.”

“But it’s not mine, it’s yours.”

“But legally it would be yours.”

“So like do I have to sign something to hand it over to you?”

“Gabe, I can’t own brothels and casinos. I’m a felon.”

“I thought you were pardoned.”

“I was let out of prison but I still have a record. I’m not worried about my assets being in your name. You’re not going to steal from me. That would be really stupid. If you need money, it’s the one thing I can give you. Take care of yourself. And lay off the fighting.” A pause. “I can’t believe you fought off a mugger. That’s so unlike you.”

“Maybe I’ve got more Whitman in me than either of us thought.”

“Maybe.” Chris was silent. “So maybe you actually are my kid.”

Gabe laughed. “You have doubts?”

“You’re the only carelessness that led to an accident and I’ve been careless all my life.”

“Thanks for relegating my existence to a fluke.”