Cross Country

it here, you understand?”
    “I understand. And I’m sorry.”
    “No need for that, Alex. I’m working on a story that’s larger and more important than any particular killer. It’s about the people who hire them, the ones who want to control our country. Honestly, the story scares even me.”
    For a few seconds, neither of us said anything, which was unusual for us. We looked at each other, and there was a sudden but undeniable charge in the silence.
    Like most of the men she met, no doubt, I wanted to kiss Adanne, but I held myself back. I didn’t want to insult her or dishonor her parents, or, more important,
Bree
.
    She smiled at me. “You are a good man, Alex. I wasn’t expecting that — in an American.”

Chapter 96
    I EXCUSED MYSELF for a few minutes and borrowed Adanne’s mobile to make a call. I didn’t think Ian Flaherty would pick up, but I wanted to at least try and reestablish contact with the CIA.
    So I was surprised when Flaherty answered on the second ring, and then shocked when he knew it was me calling.
    “Cross?”
    “Flaherty? How did you do that?”
    “Caller ID, ever heard of it?”
    “But —”
    “Tansi. Your girlfriend’s name is on the AU flight record along with yours. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Both of you — she’s a celebrity too. Writes controversial articles, one after the other. She’s a big deal down here. We need to talk. Seriously. You finally have my interest. And so does your killer, the Tiger.”
    “Hang on a second. Slow down.” I’d forgotten how quickly Flaherty could piss me off. “You’ve been looking for me? Since when? I only tried you about sixteen times.”
    “Since I learned something you want to know.”
    “What do you mean?”
    He didn’t answer right away. “I mean,
I found out something you want to know
.”
    It was suddenly obvious to me that he didn’t trust the phone line. I stopped to regroup for a second and picked up a pen from the desk.
    “Where can I meet you?”
    “Let’s say tomorrow, same time as before, at the place on that card I gave you. You know what I’m talking about,
Detective
Cross?”
    He meant the bank on Broad Street but didn’t want to name it, obviously. It was a Victoria Island location, so it was perfect for me.
    “Got it. I’ll see you then.”
    “And dress nice, Detective. Wear a tie or something.”
    “A tie?” I said. “What are you talking about?”
    But he’d already hung up on me.
    The prick.

Chapter 97
    EVERYONE WAS WAITING for me on the patio after my call — with palm wine and kola nuts untouched until I got there.
    First though, Adanne’s father, Uchenna, blessed the nuts in the Yoruban custom, and the boys, James and Calvin, passed them around.
    Adanne seemed to be finding my visit either very joyful or amusing, and she was smiling all the time. I could tell she was happy to be home.
    Then the boys got me into a little backyard soccer. The twins were either polite or genuinely impressed that I could juggle the ball a little, even as they schooled me up and down the yard. But it felt good to be running around with the kids. Nice boys. Not killers.
    Dinner was a chicken stew called
egusi
— and
fufu,
which is pounded yam for dipping in the broth. There were also fried plaintains, served with a spiced tomato sauce that could have taken the paint off a car. The family setting seemed familiar to me, yet different at the same time, and I ate easily the best meal I’d had in Africa.
    Uchenna’s favorite topic clearly seemed to be his daughter, Adanne. I learned more about her in those few hours than in all the time she and I had spent together before coming back to Lagos. Adanne jumped in to tell her own version of a few of her father’s stories, but when Somadina dragged out the baby pictures, she surrendered and went off to the kitchen to clean up.
    While she was gone, the conversation got more serious, and her father spoke of the tragic murders of Christians in northern Nigeria, and then of the reprisals by Christians in the east. He told me the story of a Christian schoolteacher who was recently beaten to death by her Muslim students.
    Finally, Uchenna talked about the provocative newspaper articles his daughter wrote on a weekly basis and said how dangerous they were.
    But mainly there was laughter in the house that night. Already I felt at home. This was a good family, like so many families here in Lagos.
    After Nkiru took the boys to bed and Adanne rejoined the