“I don’t think it had anything to do with Brad Cassidy,” Jack said. “It couldn’t have, because I had nothing to do with him. To tell you the truth, I think there’s a slight chance it had something to do with Paul Sutherland.”

Laurie’s face blanched. She sucked in a lungful of air, and her hand returned to cover her mouth in horror.

“Hold on!” Jack warned. “There’s no proof. It’s just the only thing I could think of on the spur of the moment, and nothing else has occurred to me since. And believe me, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought since it happened. The only reason I’m willing to tell you is because you should know even if there’s only a shred of possibility it is true.”

“Tell me why it occurred to you!” Laurie said.

Jack described the three Bulgarian Kalashnikovs Warren confiscated from the men. Then he went on to remind her of Paul’s implied threat that afternoon. When he finished, he shrugged. “I know it’s extremely tenuous, but that’s it.”

Laurie sank into her art deco chair and lowered her head into her hands.

“Hey,” Jack said, putting his hand on Laurie’s shoulder. “You’ve got to keep in mind this is all conjecture.”

“Maybe so,” Laurie said. “But it makes a certain amount of sense.” She shook her head. “How can someone’s social life be so tumultuous?”

“Come on!” Jack urged. He gave her a series of reassuring pats on her back. “Let’s not let this episode get us down. Let’s go out and enjoy ourselves.”

“Are you sure you still want to go after the experience you’ve had?”

“Absolutely!” Jack said. “Come on! We shouldn’t keep Warren and Spit waiting.”

“Where are they?”

“Down in their cars,” Jack said. “Warren insisted on coming and bringing backup on the off chance members of the People’s Aryan Army show up for an encore.”

Laurie leaped to her feet. “You should have told me Warren was waiting.” She rushed back into her bedroom.

“I told you he brought me,” Jack called after her. He stooped down to return to petting the cat.

“Who is Spit?” Laurie yelled. “Or shouldn’t I ask?”

“He’s one of the basketball regulars,” Jack explained. “Warren is his mentor and trusts him implicitly.”

“How did he get such an awful nickname?”

“It comes from one of his less endearing character traits,” Jack yelled.

When Laurie was completely ready, they took the elevator down to the ground floor and exited the building. They found Warren and Spit directly out front. Laurie and Warren enjoyed a sustained embrace, since they’d not seen each other in months.

“You’re looking good, woman,” Warren said, giving Laurie the once-over.

“You’re not looking bad yourself, man,” Laurie said, emphasizing the word “man.”