He wasn’t that good an actor. I picked at a splinter in the wood grain of his doorway. “What time are you heading to the St. Leo tomorrow?”

Jackal rolled his eyes. “Two thirty. As soon as the cleaners have finished. I’ll set up the room, then wait. I won’t even get up to take a piss. I’ll wait with my eyes glued to the screen for the world’s oldest show. You know all the years I’ve been doing this, it’s almost not even interesting anymore?” Jackal shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. “I guess after long enough, even screwing can be boring. Even tits.”

“Send me a picture of the room as soon as you get there.” Usually, I’d wait in the lobby to make sure Ellen and Klein were on schedule. But I knew I’d check the room more than once during the wait, to make sure Jackal was where he was supposed to be. “And then one every thirty minutes, so I know you’re still there.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Never,” I said. No window in Jackal’s room. I couldn’t even check if the car was still there. I plucked at the splinter, pulling out a small chunk of his door. “I bet that goddamn car hasn’t moved an inch.”

“What do you care? It’s not like they’re here to talk to you.”

I shook my head. I had to check or else I would go crazy, coming up with fantasies of the blues storming the office, demanding their money. Asking for Lou, asking for the Lady. I didn’t need that today of all days. Like Jackal, I should be thinking only about Klein. “You’re right. They’re not here to talk to me.”

Jackal stared at my face again. Lou would have known I was lying. Jackal might have. I couldn’t tell. I didn’t care. “I’ll be there this time, Jo. Trust me.”

“If I believed every man who told me to trust him, I’d be pregnant,” I snapped.

I stomped to the front windows and hooked a finger over one of the slats of the blinds, pulling it down so butter-yellow sunshine briefly blinded me. The car hadn’t moved. But I could see the outline of a body behind the steering wheel, a hand dangling from the now-opened window. I caught my breath and looked back at Jackal’s door. Still open, but he hadn’t gotten up from the desk. Lou wasn’t in yet—I wasn’t sure when she would be. I chewed my lip, watching the car. As long as he stayed put, I wouldn’t go down there. Nothing good will come of talking to him, Jo, I thought, even as I imagined Lou pulling into the lot, stopping to chat with him.