"I need to know more about him, Fabio. Where to find him."
The old man's eyes narrowed. "Do you now?" he purred. "Why?"
"I want to talk to him."
"Talk to Paucar Wami?" Fabio laughed. "He's not much for talking, not by any account."
"Do you know where he is?" I persisted.
"If I did, I wouldn't tell. I'm not sending his enemies after him. I know only too damn well he'd kill you and come looking for the snitch. I ain't getting on the wrong side of that mother."
"Please," Ama said, squatting. "We're not his enemies. We just want to talk." She grasped his hands, rubbed them gently and smiled. "Please?"
Fabio looked at the hands, at her, at me. And grinned. "Ain't it funny how a pretty lady always thinks she can find out anything from an old fart if she smiles nice and throws him the eye? They must think we're fools." He looked down at the hands again and his eyes crinkled with memories. "And they're right." He lifted his head. "You really just want to talk?"
"That's all."
"You'll keep my name out of it?"
"We won't say a word."
"Hmm." He considered the matter. "Now, I don't know if this is his place for sure," he eventually drawled, "but he was spotted there a few days back. Man who saw him only glimpsed him, but those snakes are distinctive. If he's not there, I don't know where he is."
"Thank you," Ama said softly, rubbing his wrists.
"Damn old fool is all I am," he growled, then smiled and gave her the address.
We pulled up at the apartment building and killed the engine. If Wami was here, he was on the sixth floor. I took a deep breath, stepped down and confronted Ama. "I'm going up by myself," I said, quickly raising a hand as she tried to interrupt. "Don't argue. There's no point more than one of us risking it. Besides, we don't know for sure that he's after you."
"Chances are he is," she snapped.
"Chances are," I admitted. "But if he's not, it would be crazy to draw attention to yourself. Leave this one to me, Ama. You know it makes sense."
She didn't like it but she knew I was right. She pulled out her gun and offered it to me. I was tempted but shook my head. I'd be a fool if I thought I could barge in and overpower a trained killer like Wami. I remembered him dropping from the sky and dispatching Johnny Grace and his men like a tiger. I took out the knife I still had from the night before and gave it to her.
"Wait a couple of hours," I said. "If I don't return, or if you see a bald, black killer come out alone, get the hell out of here as quick as you can."
"Do you think you can pull this off?" she asked.
"I doubt it." I smiled and kissed her. A long kiss, slow and passionate. When we parted there were tears in her eyes. Probably in mine too. "Is this where I say 'I love you'?" I chirped.
"No. This is where I say, 'See you soon,' " she replied.
It was an old building from the early twentieth century. The walls were riddled with cracks, holes, damp patches, burns and faded bloodstains. The doors were barred. Several apartments had been burned out. Squatters abounded. All the people I passed walked in a crouch, hunched over in anticipation of an attack. The only people here who didn't live in fear were the younger children who had yet to learn the cruel ways of the world.
The apartment I wanted was on the sixth floor. There were no bars, no bell, no mail slot. The door had been green once but the paint was old, discolored and peeling. I could sense Ama watching, though I didn't turn to check. Taking a deep breath, I rapped on the door with my knuckles.
There was silence. This was a largely deserted floor, most of the rooms along the landing blackened and bereft of occupants. I heard a noise to my left and, glancing over, spied a tiny old woman coming out of her home with a shopping bag. She looked suspiciously at me, turned and made for the far set of stairs. I smiled and faced the door again.
It was open and Paucar Wami was standing there, grinning, the snakes on his cheeks showing their constantly unveiled fangs.
"Capac Raimi," he said softly. "What a pleasant surprise."
I gulped a couple of times, then gasped, "I want to talk."
"You didn't want to talk this morning," he said. "Do you make a habit of taking early baths in public fountains?"
"You saw me? But… why didn't you…?"
"Come in," he said, standing aside. "We have much to discuss."
I walked past automatically. Dimly I heard him close the door. He didn't bolt it. I noted that fact in case I had to make a break for freedom later.
It was a tiny, cramped pad. A huge freezer lay stretched along one wall, a tall fridge beside it, mattress and sleeping bag on the other side of the room, a cabinet covering the window at the rear. The bulb was barely bright enough to light the area directly beneath. It was a room of oppressive shadows. There was a door in one wall which doubtless led to a toilet and shower.
"It's not much," Wami trilled, "but it's home. You'll have to sit on the floor. I don't hold with chairs. In a tight situation a chair can be an obstacle."
I sat on the bare floor and crossed my legs. Wami went to his mattress and sat on the edge, hands resting on his thighs. He was studying me with an unreadable expression. "What do you wish to talk about?" he asked.
"You were following me today," I said. "Why didn't you kill me?"
"Why should I?"
"Isn't that what you do? Kill people?"
"I let some live." He smiled and the heads of the snakes lifted menacingly a couple of centimeters. "It would be a lonely world if I killed you all."
"But you've been hired to get rid of me," I said.
"No."
"You haven't?"
"You would be dead if I had."
"Then why were you following me?"
"You interest me," he said. "You're an Ayuamarcan. They're an old hobby of mine. I like to keep up with them when I'm in town. I've been following you since we met in the alley."
"Adrian too?"
"Adrian?" His face was blank.
"Adrian Arne. The man who was with me."
"Ah." He smiled serenely. "Some things do not change."