* * *
Maria worked her oar in silence for a while. Then she said "Marco, what did your Spook say?"
"Kat? She's not 'mine.' " Marco sounded almost wistful about it. "She's a wonderful girl, isn't she? And you heard what she said . . ."
Maria clicked her tongue in irritation. "Tch. Lord and Saints, Marco. Not Kat. That burned-face troll that follows you around! Ugliest guardian angel in the universe."
"Oh. Harrow." Marco shrugged. "He's just somebody who--knew our mother."
"And the other name?" asked Maria, intently. "Aleri?"
"Well," said Marco thoughtfully. "There was a high-up Montagnard in mother's time by that name. Francesco Aleri."
Benito wished like hell Marco's memory was less good. He really had to talk to Caesare about this before Maria went in like a bull in a china shop. Aleri would have to die. But Maria must be kept well clear. Best to change the subject before Marco remembered something else inconvenient. "So now you're crazy about Kat, Marco. What happened to the dream girl in the boat?"
Marco laughed happily. "Kat is the dream girl in the boat, Benito."
There was a long moment of silence from both Maria and Benito. Benito wound his jaw back up. Bossy-boots Kat, with too big a mouth, and a tongue that could scour brass?
"What!?" he croaked--in unison with Maria.
* * *
Late that night, there came a knock on Eneko's door. When the priest opened it onto the dimly lit Ghetto alley, a burly man with a badly scarred and burned face seized the Basque by the lapel of his cassock and forced his way inside. Then kicked the door shut behind him.
Eneko made no attempt to resist. The man's strength was enormous.
"Why are you following the boys?" the man rasped.
"I'm not," replied Eneko calmly.
"You've been watching them," snarled the scar-faced man. "I've seen you--you and the other two. And tonight, at Zianetti's--"
Eneko laughed softly. "I wasn't trying to talk to them. I wanted to talk to the girl they were with. The one they call 'Kat.' "
The man released the cassock and stepped back a pace. "Why?" he demanded.
"None of your concern," said Eneko, shaking his head. "But I will tell you that I mean her no harm. I simply wanted to pass a message on to another through her. Unfortunately, she left too quickly."
The man grunted. "The whore."
Eneko cocked his head. "That's not a term I use. But . . . if we're speaking of the same woman, I wonder how you know who she is."
The man took another pace back. "I'm charged with protecting the boys. I watch everything--everyone--they come into contact with."
"Charged by whom?" asked Eneko mildly.
The man shook his head. "None of your concern." He turned on his heel and left, not bothering to close the door.