"So we got burned on the same case," Kevin said darkly.
"I don't believe in that big a coincidence."
"Neither do I."
"Who are they protecting?" Alex wondered. "Whoever it is, he's got to be calling the shots. Which means he knows about both of us."
"Which means we've got to get to him, too."
They stared at each other again.
"Alex? Kev? Guys? Is this place soundproofed?"
Alex looked up slowly, her eyes not totally focusing on Daniel walking through the doorway.
"Is something wrong?" Daniel asked in a quieter tone as he took in the tableau. He hurried to the bed and put one hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Just putting a few things together," Kevin said grimly.
Daniel looked to Alex.
"We need to add another name to our list," she told him.
"Who?"
"That's the problem," Kevin said.
"Let me think," Alex said. "If I didn't know the answer to that question, they wouldn't be trying to kill me." She glanced up at Kevin. "I know this is incredibly nonspecific, but did you ever hear a name beginning with a P involved with this on your end?"
"A P? I'll have to think about it, but not offhand. I'll go through Deavers's calls again, see if I can turn anything up."
"I'll work on it while I go through the Carston stuff."
Kevin nodded, then looked at Daniel. "I hope you came in here because there's some food ready. Got to feed Ollie's big brain so she can figure this out."
*
THEY SET THEIR computers up on the big kitchen island and started into it while they ate. Val and Einstein hadn't moved, but they were watching the shopping channel now. Daniel pulled a stool up beside Alex and looked on as she scanned through the video of the front of Carston's very respectable-looking town house. She fast-forwarded through the downtime when no one was in residence, simultaneously listening to Carston's phone calls on her earbuds. Carston was careful--his work conversations were vague, never naming any person or project specifically, and since the office calls were recorded on an exterior microphone, she could only hear his side. He used so many pronouns it was impossible to follow. She could tell only that there were a few hes and hims that were getting on Carston's nerves in a bad way and that at least one project was not going well. He sounded stressed. That could have been because of what happened in Texas and the e-mail to Deavers. Did Carston feel in danger? Did he think Kevin knew about him? He would have to play it safe, just in case. Carston didn't get to where he was now by not being paranoid enough.
His house had an alarm system, ornamental bars on the first-floor windows, and exterior cameras. Some of the footage Kevin gave her appeared to be from those cameras--he must have hacked into the system. The street wasn't ideal--lots of close neighbors, lots of activity on the street both morning and night. A plethora of witnesses.
"You have to break into that?" Daniel muttered as she pulled up yet another camera angle of the barred windows.
"Hopefully not."
Alex pointed to the small woman who was walking up the front stairs. She had several paper grocery bags weighing her down as she stuck her key in the door and unlocked the dead bolt. From this angle, Alex could see as she paused in the doorway and punched in the code for the alarm. Her hand covered the keypad; there was no way to read the sequence.
"Housekeeper?" Daniel asked.
"Looks like. And she does his shopping."
"Is that good?"
"It might be. If I could get a new face so I would be able to follow her around a bit."
"What about me?" Daniel asked. "I haven't been on the news in a while."
"Daniel, we haven't watched the news in a while," she pointed out.
"Oh. You think they're doing the bad-guy story now?"
"It's possible. We should check it out."
"You want the news?" Val called from the sofa in the adjacent room.
"Um, not if you're using the TV now," Daniel said politely.
"There's another one in the cabinet to the left of the fridge, two over," she told them.
Daniel walked to the indicated cupboard and pulled the door open to reveal a television screen recessed into the space. The door rolled back into a side pocket.
"Sweet," Kevin muttered, glancing up from his own computer for half a second.
Alex went back to her research while Daniel flipped through channels until he found a twenty-four-hour news network. He set the volume low, then came back to sit with her.
Alex didn't hear Val get up, but suddenly the blonde was leaning over her shoulder.
"That looks really dull," she commented.
"Well, adding my mortality into the equation spices it up a bit," Alex told her.
"Did you say you needed a new face?"
"Um, yes. See, the bruises and bandages make me too memorable."
"And being memorable isn't a good thing in your case?"
"No."
"I could do that."
"Huh?" Alex asked.
"Give you a new face."
Alex turned to give Val her full attention. "What do you mean?"
CHAPTER 26
This would be easier if you'd stop trying to do two things at once," Val complained.
"Sorry. I'm sort of on a deadline."
"Just hold your head still."
Alex did the best she could. She had Kevin's laptop on her knees with her earbuds plugged into it. While Carston was in his car, she could hear both sides of the conversation. Unfortunately, it seemed Carston usually chose to use his driving time to connect with his only daughter, Erin. They spoke almost nonstop about the granddaughter--the one whose picture was in Alex's locket--and after the first forty-minute discussion about which prekindergarten program was most likely to result in an Ivy League happy ending, Alex had started fast-forwarding as soon as she heard the daughter's voice or, if Carston was in the office, the special tone he used only to speak to Erin. They talked a lot more than Alex would have expected. She stretched her fingers down and touched the Play button. Erin was still blathering on, something about taking Livvy to the zoo. Alex hadn't missed anything. She hit fast-forward again.
"I want you to know this is an imperfect job, and it's your fault."
"Any imperfections are on me, agreed," Alex said.
Val had turned Alex away from the wall of mirrors in the bathroom so she couldn't see what was being done. She knew only that it felt like a coat of heavy, oil-based paint had been applied to her skin. Something pulled across the slash on her jaw, tight and constricting.
She'd thought the guest bathroom was opulent, but this palace was insane. Two families of five could live comfortably in just this room.
She focused her attention back on her computer screen. The housekeeper was arriving again at Carston's. It looked like she brought groceries in about every other day. Alex noted the things she could see in the tops of the bags--a quart of organic skim milk, a box of bran cereal, OJ, coffee beans. She had the housekeeper's license plate, and Kevin had gotten an address. After dark, Alex could run out and put a tracker on the woman's car so she could follow her to the store.
She checked the audio again, and Erin was saying her good-byes. Alex didn't know how Carston was able to devote so much time to listening to his daughter talk. It was a good thing he had only one child. Probably he multitasked, just like Alex was doing.
On his work calls, there had been no names mentioned at all, let alone one that started with a P. She felt as though if she could just push this worry to the back of her mind, her subconscious would figure it out for her. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop obsessing about it, so of course she wasn't making any progress.
"Okay, the final touch," Val said, wrestling a wig onto Alex's head.
"Ouch."
"Beauty is pain. You can look now."
Alex stood stiffly--she'd been immobile for too long--and revolved to face the mirrors.
It gave her a start. Sh
e didn't recognize herself right away as the short woman standing next to Val.
"How..." Her fingers went automatically to the place where her scabbed wound should be.
Val slapped her hand away. "Don't touch anything, you'll smear it."
"Where did it all go?"
The face of the woman in the mirror was unmarred and perfect. Her skin looked like it belonged to a dewy fourteen-year-old. Her eyes were huge, enhanced without looking overdone. Her lips were fuller, her cheekbones more pronounced. She had shoulder-length, medium brown hair with reddish highlights. It fell in flattering layers around those suddenly high cheekbones.
"Voila, your new face," Val said. "That was fun. Next time, I'm trying you as a blonde. You have a good skin tone--it will look natural with a lot of shades."
"This is amazing. I can't believe it. Where did you learn how to do this?"
"I play a lot of different roles." Val shrugged. "But it's fun having a model. I always wanted one of those big Barbie styling heads when I was a kid." She reached out and patted the top of Alex's wig. "Or a little sister. But the plastic head was my preference."
"I'm probably ten years older than you," Alex protested.
"What a nice compliment. But whatever my age might actually be, you're still not older when it comes to the things that count."
"If you say so." Alex wasn't about to argue; Val had just handed her an unexpected get-out-of-jail-free card. "My own mother wouldn't know me."
"I can go sexier," Val promised. "But you wanted inconspicuous..."
"This is probably the sexiest I've looked in my whole life. I'd be scared to see what sexier looks like."
"I bet Danny would like it," Val purred.
"By the way... where did I screw that up? What tipped you off there?"
Val smiled. "Please. When two people are that into each other, it radiates off them. You didn't do anything."
Alex sighed. "Thanks for passing your observations on to Kevin."
"You're being sarcastic, but you should thank me. Aren't things easier now, without the secrecy?"
"I guess so... but he nearly shot me in the head, so there's that."
"Little ventured, little gained."
Alex approached the mirror wall and leaned in close to examine the disguise. There was some kind of prosthetic skin covering the wound on her jaw. She moved her mouth carefully, watching for expressions that might pull too far, make the fraud obvious. She could see a slight ripple when she smiled, but the layers of the wig mostly obscured that part of her face anyway. She wouldn't have to worry about someone noticing something wrong with her, even close up. Sure, people would be able to tell she was wearing makeup, but most normal women did. Hardly something that would draw attention.
She could accelerate her plans now. She didn't need to wait for dark. She grinned, then smoothed the expression to ease the tension in her fake skin. The new freedom was a heady thing.
Alex skipped quickly down the stairs, computer tucked under her arm. She already had a pretty workable plan--low risk, minimal exposure--so she was listening to the calls only in the vain hope that Carston would screw up and say something meaningful. It was unlikely, but she'd finish it out. Later. Right now she could get started on the specific preparation.
"Huh," Kevin grunted. Alex saw him look past her to where Val followed. "Hey, Val, how many virgins did you have to sacrifice to make her look like that?"
"I don't need any satanic help to do what I do," Val responded. "And virgins aren't useful for anything."
Daniel got up from the couch where he was watching the news--taking it seriously as his assignment--and came around the stairs to see what Kevin and Val were talking about.
Alex hesitated on the bottom stair, feeling oddly vulnerable. She wasn't used to caring if she looked pretty or not.
Daniel did a small double take, then his face relaxed into a smile.
"I'd gotten so used to seeing you with the bruises, I'd almost forgotten what you looked like without them," he said, and then his grin got wider. "It's nice to see you again."
Alex knew she hadn't looked like this on the train, but she let it go.
"I'm headed out to place the tracker," Alex told them. "Shouldn't take me long."
"Do you want me to come?" Daniel asked.
"Better to keep your face hidden in the daytime," she told him. He didn't look happy about it, but his expression was resigned. She imagined how she would feel if he ran out to do some surveillance, and she could understand his reluctance.
"It won't be anything," she promised.
"Take the sedan," Kevin said, gesturing to a set of keys on the counter.
"Wilco," Alex said, imitating his soldier tone. He didn't seem to notice.
Carston's housekeeper would probably be home by now, unless she had errands to run. She only worked mornings there. Of course, she could have other clients, but Alex imagined that Carston would pay well so he wouldn't have to share--he would want her free if he needed something. Alex drove the black sedan across town, not all that far, really, from Daniel's empty apartment. She was glad he was safely tucked away at Val's. She was sure they'd have some kind of surveillance on his place, just hoping he'd be stupid enough to come back for his toothbrush or favorite T-shirt.
The housekeeper's neighborhood had street parking only. She found the decade-old white minivan a block over from the apartments where the woman lived. There was plenty of traffic, both cars and pedestrians. She found a spot near the minimart on the corner and set off for a walk.
The early-summer heat had her sweating almost immediately. Unlike Kevin, she didn't have a myriad of costumes to choose from, so she was in her blazer again today, and it felt twice as thick as usual. Oh, well, she needed the pockets. Hopefully the makeup wouldn't sweat off.
There were enough people around her that she felt invisible, just one of the herd. The numbers dwindled as she crossed over to the next block, but she still didn't stand out.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit Redial.
Kevin answered on the first ring. "What's the problem, Oleander?"
"Just calling to say hi," she told him.
"Ah. Blending?"
"Of course."
"Talk to Danny. I don't have time to blend with you."
"I'd prefer it anyway," she said, but he was already gone.
She heard a thud as the phone hit something, and then Daniel said, "Ouch."
Alex took a deep, calming breath. Kevin always made her want to stab things.
"Alex, are you all right?"
"Absolutely."
Kevin shouted something in the background.
"Kevin says you're trying to look natural," Daniel said.
"That's part of it," she agreed.
She was only two cars from the minivan now. There was a man ahead of her but walking in the same direction so his back was to her. She couldn't hear anyone close behind her, but there could be someone who had her in his sight line. She didn't turn to look.
"So I guess we should talk about something normal people talk about," Daniel was saying.
"Right."
"Um, what would you like for dinner? Do you want to stay in again?"
Alex smiled. "Staying in sounds great. I'll eat anything you feel like cooking."
"You make things too easy for me."
"There are enough difficulties in the world without adding my own." She flipped a few locks of the wig out of her eyes, her fingers knocking into the phone. It skittered across the sidewalk and teetered on the edge of the curb. "Hold on," she called toward it. "I dropped the phone."
She knelt and swiped the phone up, holding on to the edge of the minivan's wheel well for support. She jumped back to her feet, brushing at the knees of her leggings.
"Sorry about that," she said.
"Did you just plant the tracking device?"
She started walking again, heading for the end of the block, where she could begin circling back to the car. "Yes."
>
"Very smooth."
"I told you it was nothing. I'll see you soon."
"Drive safe. I love you."
Kevin shouted something in the background, and there was another thud close beside the phone.
"Are you kidding?" Daniel shouted back. "A knife?"
Alex ended the call and picked up the pace a little. She couldn't leave them alone for twenty minutes.
Things had returned to normal--or her new version of it--by the time she got back to the apartment. Daniel was still studiously watching the news. Val had just brought Einstein back from a walk and was filling the lovely crystal bowl with water for him. Kevin was watching the feed from his cameras and sharpening a machete. Home sweet home.
"Anything?" she asked Daniel.
"Nothing about me. Apparently the vice president is bowing out before the election after all. I guess those recent scandal rumors aren't entirely unfounded. So of course, everyone is speculating about who President Howland will select for his running mate."
"Fascinating," Alex murmured in a tone that implied the opposite. She dumped her bag onto one of the white bar stools, sat on the next one over, and opened her computer. All seemed quiet at Casa Carston, so she started scrubbing backward to see if she'd missed anything while she was out. So far she hadn't discovered any regular visitors besides the housekeeper and the security service that drove by once daily in the afternoon.
Daniel flipped to a different news network, where another version of the same story was running. "You don't care who the president runs with?" he asked. "Howland's pretty popular. Whoever he chooses will probably be the vice president, and possibly the president four years from now."
"Ventriloquist dummies," Kevin grumbled, setting down the machete and starting to work on a long boning knife.
Alex nodded in agreement as she slowed the feed to watch two teenagers amble past Carston's house and up the block.
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.
"I don't worry about the puppet," Kevin said. "I worry about the guy pulling the strings."
"That's a pretty cynical attitude about the democratic nation you used to work for."
Kevin shrugged. "Yup."