A voice barked into the phone. “No!”

“I have a message for you,” Maggie barked in return. “Just to prove I’m serious, look around and tell me what you see.”

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded wary. “Why?”

“Tell me what you see,” Maggie said, her voice ringing with frost.

“Lots of people. The ocean, waiters. White sand. What do you want me to see?” The voice was still wary and jittery-sounding.

“Among those people are two members of the vigilantes. There is also one local FBI agent. Right now they don’t know who they’re looking for, but if you don’t do what I want you to do, they’re going to zero in on you in the next five minutes. You told me you weren’t going to go to Hawaii until next week. You lied to me, Abbie. How much?”

“You’re lying, Maggie Spritzer!”

“You want to bring it to a test?”

“All right! All right! Tell me what you want.”

Maggie winked at Kathryn, who was trying not to laugh.

“I want…no, I need a list of all the tenants, owners, and renters who live in the Watergate. It seems our…birds…have a shell there but actually live in a different apartment. How hard can that be? You hack in and get the list. You’re done and I pay you, and you can stay in Hawaii for another two weeks.”

“I don’t want to stay here another two weeks. I might want to come back in January, when it’s cold back in D.C. What you’re asking me for is stupid. That information is not going to tell you what you want. The Watergate and Crystal City are havens for young couples and singles as well. It would take me weeks, maybe longer, even if I worked round-the-clock to sift through it all. The bottom line is: as much as I hate to admit it, I can’t do it. But, if you have time and don’t need the information in the next twelve hours, I’ll take a shot at it. My fee will depend on what you want me to do. I’m serious, Maggie, you’re grasping at straws. Want some advice?”

“Do I have a choice? What?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this to you. Use the money you’d be paying me and hire a batch of private eyes. Position them as needed and wait for whatever shakes out. People have to go outside from time to time. You said you have pictures, so hand them out to the detectives and sit back and wait. I’m sorry, Maggie, I hate turning down business, but this time it’s a no-brainer. Were you lying to me about the vigilantes and the FBI?”

“I absolutely was not lying to you,” Maggie lied, fighting to keep a straight face but crossing her fingers. “You rained on my parade, Abbie. I hate it when people rain on my parade.” She broke the connection as Abner Tookus started to sputter.

Maggie stared across the table at Kathryn. “No dice. He could do it eventually, but it will take weeks. We have to hire detectives.”