BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

He sighed and leaned forward. “I ever see either of you two around that girl again,” he said, “and you’re going to wish you were never born.”

14

When Laurel got back to the hotel room, Roth wasn’t there. She was too tired to figure out where he’d gone and climbed into the bed, as far from his side as she could get. She was out before her head hit the pillow.

When she woke he was in the room, dressed, with coffee. Light came in through a gap in the curtains.

“What time is it?” she said.

“Eight.”

“I slept in.”

“You had a long day,” he said, handing her a cup of coffee.

“Where were you last night?” she said.

“I couldn’t sleep so I worked.”

“All night?”

“I fell asleep on an easy chair in the lobby.”

She looked at him a few seconds, a gentleman after all.

He ruined it by saying, “I’ll have to molest you some other time.”

She took a sip of her coffee.

“Anything interesting happen last night?” he said.

Laurel shook her head. “You were out there, weren’t you?”

“I’m still a spy.”

She smiled. “You tell me what you saw then, spy.”

“I saw the same thing I’ve been seeing from Lance Spector since the day I met him.”

“And what’s that?”

“A loose cannon.”

“He handled the situation,” Laurel said.

“Handled the situation? He nearly killed two men.”

“They had it coming.”

“It was a mess.”

“No, really. That girl’s the daughter of someone in his old unit.”

“I know who the girl is.”

“It shows loyalty,” Laurel said.

Roth shook his head. “You let him charm you,” he said.

She looked at him, then looked away.

Roth finished his coffee. “I’ll let you have some privacy,” he said. “Meet me in the breakfast room when you’re ready. There’s a buffet.”

After he left, Laurel had a long, hot shower. She used the hair dryer to clear the steam from the mirror and then stood, staring at herself, seeing what Lance saw. It felt as if someone else were looking back at her.

It had been cold in DC but nothing compared to the mountains. She’d packed the down jacket she usually brought skiing. It was nowhere near as warm as it should have been for what she paid for it.

When she was dressed she went downstairs and found Roth doing the New York Times crossword. He was doing pretty well for a Thursday.

They got a table, more coffee, and Laurel had toast with marmalade. Roth made his own waffles with batter scooped from a messy plastic bucket and then drowned them in fake syrup. He had another plate solely for sausage.

“How’s the diet going?” she said.

“What are you, a doctor now?”

“Yes, actually.”

He forked a sausage and put it, whole, into his mouth.