“Your Columbia River is beautiful but I’ve seen rivers before. It’s that I’m interested in.” He pointed to the mountain standing sentinel to the east, its top third covered in snow. “That sure puts what we call mountains in the East into a different perspective.”
“That’s Mt. Hood. Some places in Portland you can see Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens and, on a really clear day, a little bit of Mt. Rainier.”
“Mt. St. Helens? The volcano that erupted?”
“They’re all volcanoes.”
“Makes it even more interesting.”
Holding hands, they walked back down the dock toward Margo’s house — and Mr. Todd. Her neighbor was waiting at the open door to his house next door. In a starched white dress shirt and dark trousers with knife-sharp creases, he still looked like the corporate lawyer he once was. He was only about five-feet-four inches tall, with a full head of neatly combed white hair and eyes the color of a faded blue work shirt. But there was nothing faded about the careful way he watched the couple as they approached his house. Margo was sure they’d been under his surveillance from the time they’d walked down the dock.
He greeted Margo with an affectionate hug. “Good morning, Margo. Nice to see you haven’t run off to work on a Saturday.” He turned to Tony. “And who’s this with you?”
Making the introductions Margo added, “Tony’s here on police business. He’ll be around off and on for the next week or so.”
“I hope you enjoy your visit, young man. And that you get to see more of our lovely state than just downtown Portland.”
“In fact, we’re going to the Gorge for the weekend,” Margo said.
“Your favorite place. Good. You deserve a weekend off.” He looked at Tony. “Detective, was it? Alessandro, can I have a few words with you before you go?”
Tony shot Margo a puzzled look but said only, “Of course, sir,” and followed Mr. Todd into his house. Margo went home to finish her packing.
About five minutes later Tony came in the front door. “That was interesting.”
“What did he want?”
“It was like Thursday night with your friend Liz, only she was more subtle.”
“Liz? Subtle? I don’t think I’ve never heard those two words in the same sentence before.”
“Well, she was, at least relatively. Mr. Todd flat out warned me that if I do anything to hurt you, I’d have to answer to him. I told him I’ve known you all my life and would never hurt you. I think he believed me. I’m not sure.”
“Told you he looked after me.”
“I tried to polish my image by telling him I was here with the FBI working on a case of national importance. Think that’ll work?”
“Absolutely. After a lifetime of corporate law, he seems to find criminal law exciting. He’s always asking about my cases.”
“After my experiences with Liz and Mr. Todd, I’d say my family went easy on you, Keyes. Does everyone you know interrogate the men in your life like this?”
She picked up her duffle bag. “You packed?”