His house was wedged in between two celebrity mansions. The kind of place that buses visit on tours. The cabbie gave a skeptical look at the elaborate gate guarded by stone lions with uplifted paws and said, “This right?”
“This is right,” I said, and I gave him a sweaty wad of cash.
He was gone before I’d gotten all the way to the intercom.
I buzzed. The speaker crackled on, and I said, “It’s me, it’s Cèsar Hawke.”
The gate swung open immediately. Fritz’s front lawn was bigger than most public parks. It was early in the morning and gardeners were working on maintaining his flowerbeds. The staff didn’t even glance at me as I headed for the front door.
A man emerged from the house, half-dressed for work in charcoal gray slacks. He was a suave motherfucker with his blond hair slicked back, a tie hanging around his neck, and a watch that probably cost more than Domingo’s house. I’d always thought he looked kind of like James Bond.
“Cèsar! Thank God!” Was I imagining things, or did Fritz look relieved to see me?
I lifted my hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not here to fight. I’m turning myself in.”
“Turning yourself in?” Fritz frowned deeply. “Aren’t you going to try to defend yourself?”
“No. I’m just…turning myself in.”
“Well,” he said. “You surprise me.”
I’d surprised myself, too. “I’ve had a bad week, man.”
He obviously already knew that. He swept a hand toward the front door. “Let’s go inside. You look like you could use a drink.”
Fritz had servants. One of them brought me a snifter of brandy. Not my usual breakfast, but considering I was about to go somewhere that I’d never have a drink like this again, it seemed like a final act of generosity from my boss. Even so, I didn’t want to drink it. I never wanted to drink alcohol again. I cupped the snifter between my hands and warmed it with my body heat as Fritz hiked up the legs of his trousers and settled on the chaise across from me.
He looked like he was going to speak. I didn’t let him.
“I’ve been doing some investigating in my…time off. Trying to figure shit out. Get my head on straight. You’ve probably heard some of it from Eduardo and Joey.”
Fritz’s eyes sparked with interest. “Agents Costa and Dawes? What about them?”
“They didn’t tell you that they found me?” I asked.
“They haven’t been back to work in days.”
Well, that was interesting. “They caught me at an RV park, dragged me out to the desert, and tried to execute me.” Fritz’s jaw dropped open. I quickly added, “I left them alive. All I did was tie them up.” I didn’t mention Isobel. If the OPA didn’t know how to find her, I wasn’t going to help them.
“I believe you,” Fritz said. “I know you wouldn’t lie about that.” He raked a hand through this hair. “That’s not good, Cèsar. Costa and Dawes are with the union , and as you know, there’s somewhat of a…veil of secrecy between our department and theirs. I’ll have to go through official channels to get authority to investigate them.”
“But you will investigate them?”
“I’ll investigate,” he said.
Relief warmed me. At least something good had come out of this. The only good thing, maybe, but at least it was something.
Fritz leaned his elbows on his knees, staring at me intently. “Now do you want to talk about what’s happened with Erin Karwell?”
I stared into the brandy. The pattern of the marble floor was distorted through the curved side. “Not really.”
“I wish you had come to me when you left the police station.”
“Would have made your job easier, huh?” I asked.
He looked surprised. “I might have been able to help you.”
“I don’t think there’s any helping me now.” It wasn’t about me anyway. Even if he could have waved his hand and made the problem disappear, it wouldn’t have fixed anything for Erin.
“You’re a good agent, Cèsar. I don’t have many good agents under me—and fewer that I can trust. I’d hate to lose you.”
Even though I’d killed a woman? “I’ve always appreciated my job,” I said cautiously. “But you didn’t send anyone to pick me up from the 77th Street station. I figured you’d written me off.”
He shrugged. “The paperwork takes time. You never would have gone to trial.”
I didn’t know what to say about that. I opened my mouth then shut it.
A man wearing a black suit and tie stepped into the doorway. He caught Fritz’s eye. My boss stood.