Curt looked at the card before raising his eyes back to Yuri’s. Some of his irritation had metamorphosed to confusion.

“Operation Wolverine is in jeopardy,” Yuri said. “We have to talk right now!”

Curt ran a worried hand through his short, blond hair. He looked around again at the card players. They were concentrating on their game.

“All right,” Curt growled. “This better be important! There’s a bar around the corner called Pete’s. Steve and I will be there as soon as we can.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Yuri said before accelerating down the street. He fumed about Curt’s anger. In his rearview mirror he caught the firefighter studying the card briefly before turning back into the firehouse.

The bar was dark and smoky and smelled of old beer and rancid grease. There was a limited menu featuring hamburgers, fries, and soup of the day. Country music whined in the background at low volume. Every now and again, Yuri could make out a lyric about jilted love and lost opportunity. A number of men were having lunch and a brew. Yuri had to walk the entire length of the narrow tavern before finding an empty booth in the back next to the lavatory. He ordered a vodka and a hamburger and sat back. He didn’t have long to wait. Curt and Steve arrived at the same time as the food.

The two firefighters slipped into the booth across from Yuri without bothering to greet him. Their vexation was palpable. They were silent while the waiter served the hamburger and placed a napkin next to it. The waiter looked at them inquiringly and they ordered a couple of drafts. When he’d left, Curt brazenly flicked Jack Stapleton’s business card onto the table so that it skidded over to Yuri’s side.

“Start talking!” Curt ordered. “And it better be good.”

Yuri took a bite from his burger and chewed. He eyed his friends. He was being deliberately provocative by making them wait, but he didn’t care. In fact, it gave him a bit of enjoyment.

“We don’t have all day, for crissake,” Curt snapped.

Yuri swallowed and chased his mouthful with a swig of vodka. Then, after running his tongue around the inside of his lips, he picked up the business card and tossed it back in the firefighter’s direction.

“This Dr. Jack Stapleton is the medical examiner I told you about who I ran into at the Corinthian Rug Company Office.”

“Big deal,” Curt scoffed. “That was two days ago.”

“Yesterday he showed up at the Strickland funeral home,” Yuri said. “He was with Connie’s brother.”

“You didn’t tell us that.”

“I didn’t think it was so important,” Yuri said. “At least yesterday I didn’t.”

“But today you do?”