The two fishermen had been maneuvering the bass boat along the northern bank of Lake Austin for half an hour, every so often putting in next to the cliffside woods, tying up temporarily to an overhanging tree and then casting their lures into the shade along the bank. The boat was covered with a canvas canopy to keep the searing afternoon sun off them as they dabbled along, heading in the direction of the looming steel arches of the Loop 360 bridge.
They were having lousy luck. The ski boats were active on this particular afternoon, roaring up and down the center of the long lake, throwing an endless series of swelling wakes toward the wooded shores. The fishermen stubbornly worked their way in the direction of the bridge, stoically tolerating the rolling action of their boat, casting uselessly into the thin margin of shadows thrown onto the water by the woods that crowded against the limestone cliffs.
Finally they tried one last spot. After tying up close to the bank, they pulled the boat under a thick shelter of oaks. From across the lake the boat was almost hidden, but no one noticed. The bass boat had been piddling along for three-quarters of an hour now, and all of the attention on the water was attracted to the skiers who blazed up and down in their lanes in the lake's center. Summer afternoons on this part of the lake were given over to water sports that were louder and faster than fishing.
From the clifftop homes above, the bass boat hadn't been visible at all for the last half hour.
The boat hugged its shady bower for nearly twenty-five minutes. The ski boats continued to plow liquid furrows in the lake, only to have them dissipate in swells that headed slowly for the shores in a lugubrious flight from the boats that had created them.
Finally the anglers had had enough. Slowly the boat emerged from overhanging vegetation under the high cliffs and moved out into the lake. After crossing to the other side, it turned southward and picked up speed as it headed downriver toward the main part of the city. Soon the boat was clipping along, wasting no time. It was too far from shore and moving too fast for anyone to see clearly under the deep shade of its canvas canopy. But anyone who had had the opportunity, or cared enough to follow closely the boat's progress up, and now down, the river, would have made the curious observation that there seemed to be only one angler in the bass boat now.
When the telephone rang, Rita picked it up in Titus's office, where she was still making calls about Carla.
“May I please speak to Mr. Cain? ”a man asked.
Rita froze. He had a Spanish accent. All of the planning, all of the tactical maneuverings, were taking place over secure transmissions. What was this? Was it unrelated? She threw a look at Janet, who was standing at the window.
“May I tell him who's calling?”
“He's expecting me.”
Another alarm bell.
“Just a second, ”she said, “I'll have to connect you to his phone. ”She punched the hold button and spoke to Janet. “This is someone asking for Titus. Mexican accent. Won't leave his name.”
“Just put him through, ”she said, and then she turned aside and spoke softly into her mike.
Herrin was tapping away on the laptop found in the orchard, with Titus and Cline looking over his shoulders. Cline, who was wearing headphones and a mike on a long cord, was the communications hub for everyone. He heard all transmissions among the bodyguards and all the phone calls.
“Uhhh…, ”Herrin said.
The three of them were looking at a picture of Rita just about as naked as anyone could be and still be wearing clothes. She was beautiful.
“Son of a bitch, ”Titus said. “How many of those are there?”
“Uhh… one other, ”Herrin said, closing the image.
“Let's see it, ”Titus said, and Herrin hit the keys.
Unbelievable.
“Delete it, ”Titus said, “and keep going. ”Jesus Christ. He was furious, and uneasy with the creepy feeling that came over him as an image popped into his head of some guy crouching behind the stone wall taking nearly nude pictures of Rita.
Herrin's fingers snapped over the keys in double time, as if to get the hell away from those images as fast as possible. Then he hit the ones he was looking for. Five shots. He went through them quickly, slowing on the last two. He threw them both on the screen at the same time. The three of them stared at the photos.
“I just don't see how you could identify him from those,” Titus said.
“I guess that depends on what kind of software they're going to use, ”Herrin said.
“Yeah, I guess so, ”Titus agreed. “But, right off the bat, I don't see how this is any great revelation for them.”
The phone rang on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Surprised, Titus saw that it was coming from his office. He went over and picked it up. He glanced at Cline, who seemed to be listening to some other communication.
“Titus, ”Rita said, “this is some guy with a Spanish accent for you. Wouldn't give his name.”
“Did he say what he wanted?”
“He said you were expecting the call.”
Titus turned to Cline, who was already nodding at him and heading for the digital trace-and-record setup sitting on folding tables against one wall.
“Titus, I'm coming over, ”Rita said. “I want to hear this.”
Before he could object she disconnected, and he glanced at Cline.
“She can use those headphones over there, ”Cline said, pointing at the other end of the table. “We're good to go.”
Titus punched the button on the phone.
“This is Titus.”
“My name is Jorge Macias. I believe you know about me already.”
Titus, stunned, said nothing.
“I think you do, ”Macias said. “I want you to know that I am taking a deadly risk by making this call to you. I have to meet with you, Mr. Cain. We have to talk.”
Another pause. Titus didn't know what to say. The cottage door flung open and Rita and Janet came in. Herrin caught them, cautioned them to be quiet, and guided Rita to the headphones across the room.
“I don't know who you are, ”Titus said. “What's this about?”
“Listen to me, ”Macias said. “There is no time to play games here. Your situation is critical. Things… out of my control, are happening. Things that were not anticipated. We are now in a situation that is getting very close to being all or nothing-for both of us. And if we don't talk, we are both going to regret that we didn't.”
“And I'm supposed to believe this?”
“Believe it. All I have to do when I hang up here is push one button on my cell phone and everything on this end of this situation disappears. ”Pause. “But, Mr. Cain, I think you know by now that that will not be the end of it for you. And, believe me, you have no idea how much worse it can get.”
Silence.
“Does that mean anything to you? ”Macias asked.
Long pause. Titus saw no use in pretending any further.
“Yeah, ”he said, “it means something to me. Tell me, though, what's happened… what's changed that makes you want to talk to me?”
“I have to tell you that in private. Only you and I can make the decisions we have to make. We have to understand each other very clearly.”
Titus glanced at Rita, whose eyes were wide open as she shook her head no.
“You understand, don't you, ”Titus said, “that if something happens to me-”
“Mr. Cain, you're missing the point. Nothing's going to happen to you. In fact, now that I've made this call I can't afford for anything to happen to you. You're wasting time. When can you meet?”
Titus's antennae were vibrating. You didn't have to be an expert in intelligence tradecraft to see that this could be a major shift in the momentum of this ordeal. Was it possible that Macias was thinking of compromising Luquin? Titus's gut told him this could be a crucial turning point.
Or it could be a trap.
“I'll have to get back to you.”
“In twenty minutes I will call you again, ”Macias said, and the line went dead.
Rita whipped off the headphones. “You can't be considering this, ”she said, and the mixture of anger and fear in her face was painful to see.
“Damn right I am, ”Titus said, and Rita shot a look at Janet as if seeking help. Janet met her gaze stoically, saying nothing.
Titus looked at Herrin and Cline. “Get Garcia on the line and play that conversation to him. Then I'll talk to him.”
While they were doing that, Titus turned back to Rita.
“I'm not going to do anything stupid, ”he said. “If this really is a new development, not a part of Luquin's plans, if this really is an unexpected opportunity for us to end this thing quickly, then I've got to do it.”
“But why you? You've got two professionals right out there”-she gestured outside-“who can handle this kind of thing.”
“Didn't you hear what he said? It's got to be me. In private.”
“Sure, he's going to say that.”
“Rita, what if this is legit-”
“Oh, Titus! ”Tears of frustration were glistening in her eyes. “What? Were you going to say ‘legitimate'? That word has no meaning with these people.”
“Garcia's getting ready to call you, ”Cline said.
Titus nodded at Cline and then looked at Rita. “Let's just take it one step at a time, ”he said. “Okay?”
The expression on her face passed from incredulity to a fearful resignation as they stared at each other. Then she nodded.
“Yeah, ”she said, “okay. ”She was sucking it up. Rita knew how to do that. When the time came that they needed her to do that, she would do it.