“Why don’t you fuck off and die?”

“Just take a look,” he said. “For Vanessa’s sake.”

I opened the envelope and slid its contents out onto the table. Averett sat back and smirked as I numbly absorbed the evidence of my own recent indiscretion—so recent that I could still smell her on my fingers when I covered my mouth with my hand.

“I’d rather not have to share these with Arch,” Averett said. “And I’d really hate if they got into the wrong hands. But as you know, people will do pretty fucked-up things for money.”

I resisted the urge to lunge across the table and choke the bastard to death. For one thing, I was no fighter—not yet, anyway. For another, Averett had me; he had both of us. Attacking him wouldn’t deliver me from the predicament, which was not mine alone to resolve.

“Would you mind telling me how you got these?” I asked.

“You should know, Boykin,” Averett said, “that I specialize in opposition research.”

I nodded.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Tell Mrs. Creigh about our conversation,” he said. “As much or as little as you see fit. Tell her I’m coming back. If she gets in the way, I’ll be offering my services—and my resources—to the opposition.”

“What should I say to Arch?” I asked.

“Tell him to call me at his earliest convenience.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“He’ll wonder why you didn’t just call him yourself.”

“No, he won’t.”

I sat dumbly as Averett put the envelope and the laptop into his briefcase. He stood and buttoned his jacket.

“Get yourself together,” he said. “Have a drink. Then go back to the office. I’ll expect a call by tomorrow afternoon.”

He shouldered his briefcase. He paused as he walked past me.

“A word of advice,” he said. “Next time, draw the blinds.”

sixteen

I left without bothering to find Jamie. My phone rang over and over. After the tenth call, I turned it off. I paid no attention to where I was going. I rolled down the windows and listened to the noise of the city as I smoked one cigarette after another. After a while, I stopped at a gas station and bought two more packs of Camel Lights and a tallboy of Pabst, which I drank from a brown paper bag.