Alex dropped Rick and Milo around the corner and drove off. Milo left Rick waiting under a Brazilian floss tree and walked to his house with his eyes on high beam. The rental Taurus sat alone in the driveway, and he gave it a cursory once-over. Nothing weird. Slipping behind the car, he made his way up the driveway, unholstered his gun, and unlatched the back door, feeling foolish. The alarm buzzed, a positive sign. He disarmed the system, covered each room as if stalking a suspect. Playing Robocop in his own domicile, Jesus.

Nothing had been disturbed that he could see and the junk in the spare bedroom closet was stacked just as he’d left it: on top of the movable floorboards that concealed the safe. Still, the prickly heat of paranoia coursed up and down his back. He hadn’t relaxed a bit by the time he got in the Taurus and drove back to Rick.

Rick said, “Everything okay, I assume.”

“Seems to be.”

“Milo, the Porsche probably had nothing to do with anything.”

“Maybe.”

“You don’t think so?”

“I don’t know what to think.”

“Well given that,” said Rick, “let’s not get overly dramatic. After I get a rental, I’m going back to work, and afterward I’m coming home.”

Milo started up the Taurus but kept it in park. Rick cleared his throat, the way he did when he got impatient.

Milo said, “What’d you do this morning, work-wise?”

“Why?”

“How many surgeries did you perform?”

“Three—”

“Was I there in the O.R., telling you which scalpel to use?”

“Listen,” said Rick. Then he went silent.

Milo tapped the steering wheel.

Rick said, “Fine, I accede to your superior knowledge of the rotten side of life. But expertise doesn’t mean infallibility, Milo. If someone wanted to intimidate you, why steal my car?”

Because that’s the way they think.

Milo didn’t answer.

Rick said, “It was a car theft, plain and simple. You always told me if a pro wanted the Porsche, he could get it no matter what I did.”

“There are pros, and there are pros,” said Milo.

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning I don’t know what really happened to the Porsche, but I do know that I want you away from my mess. So stop giving me a hard time even though you think I’m being melodramatic. Worse comes to worst, I was an idiot and you were inconvenienced. What kind of rental car do you want?”

Rick frowned. “Doesn’t matter.” He tapped the Taurus’s dashboard. “One of these will be fine.”

“Anything but one of these,” said Milo. “I don’t want you in something that could be confused with mine. How about an SUV? This city, that’s like joining the ant swarm.”

“As if I care,” said Rick, folding his arms across his chest. “Sure, an SUV. Maybe I’ll go hiking.”