Four Blind Mice

line. “I’m sorry if I was rude in our living room the other night.”
    “What makes you think you were rude? You were a little frightened is all. I don’t think ‘rude’ is part of your makeup. Anyway, let me tell you about your grandmother. She
is
suffering from atrial fibrillation, but given the options, that’s not such bad news.”
    “Tell me why I should be happy about it,” I said.
    “Not happy. But the treatment is noninvasive and has a good success rate. I think we can treat her with a catheter ablation. We’ll start there. She’ll be able to go home the next day, and hopefully be her old self in a week.”
    “When should she go in for the procedure?” I asked.
    “That’s up to her. I wouldn’t wait more than a couple of weeks. She sounded a little stubborn when I brought up a hospital stay. Says she’s too busy.”
    “I’ll talk to her. See if it helps. What do we do until then?”
    “Just baby aspirin, believe it or not. One eighty-one-milligram tablet a day. She also has to limit her caffeine — coffee and tea. And Nana should avoid stress-related situations. Good luck on that one.”
    “That’s it?” I asked.
    “For now, yes. Please watch the stress on her. I’ll stay involved if she wants me too.”
    “I know she does.”
    Kayla Coles laughed. “Good. She’s a smart woman, isn’t she? We’re going to make sure she sees a hundred.”
    I laughed. “I hope
I
get to see her reach a hundred. So, no special precautions until we go in for the procedure?”
    “No, not really. Just try not to bring too much excitement into her life.”
    “I’ll do my best,” I said.
    “You do your best and try not to get
shot,
” said Kayla Coles before she hung up.

Chapter 89
    NO WAY I was going to get shot staying at home — or so I believed. A couple of mornings after my conversation with Dr. Kayla Coles, I came downstairs to make breakfast for the kids. Nana was sitting at her spot at the kitchen table, a large brown mug steaming in front of her.
    “Unh-uh.” I wagged a finger at her.
    “Decaffeinated,” she said. “Don’t start in on me, Alex.”
    “Nope. I won’t even say that you’re a little touchy this morning. Sleep okay?”
    “Nobody my age sleeps okay. I did set up an appointment for the catheter ablation. I go in a week from today. Happy?” she asked.
    “Very happy,” I said, then gave her a hug, which Nana returned in kind. Dr. Kayla was right — she was strong for her age.
    Later that morning, I had a pretty good talk with FBI Director Burns. He told me he had someone trying to track the e-mail from Foot Soldier, but so far no luck. He asked if I’d given serious consideration about his offer to work at the Bureau. I’d been expecting the question.
    “I’ve thought about it some. My life is suddenly a little complicated. For one thing, I need to get some kind of closure on this case with the army.”
    “They helping, or getting in the way? The army?” Burns asked.
    “A little of both. I’ve met some good people. Army’s like everybody else, though. They want to solve their own problems. There’s something incredibly nasty going on with this murder case. They know it, and so do I. I feel it in my bones. There will be more murders. That’s my fear.”
    “If I can help,” Burns said. “No strings attached, Alex. This is a big case. I think it’s important too.”
    “I appreciate that.”
    After I got off the phone, I went in search of Nana. She was futzing around in the kitchen, as usual.
Her
kitchen.
Her
house.
    “I need a rest. So do you,” I said to her. “Where do you want to go after your procedure?”
    “Paris,” Nana said without blinking an eye. “Then maybe Rome. Venice, of course. Florence would be real nice. Then come home through London. Stop in and see the queen. What do you think? Sound too rich for your blood? Maybe you were thinking of a train ride to Baltimore?” she asked, and laughed at her own joke. She was a funny lady, always had been.
    “I have some money put away,” I told her.
    “Me too,” she said. “Mad money. What about Jamilla? What about your job?”
    “If Jamilla could take some time off, that would be great. She likes her job, though.”
    “That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? How’s
your
marble collection? Maybe you should buy a couple of jars for her.”
    I laughed. Then I went over and put my arms around Nana again. Couldn’t help myself lately. “I love you, old woman,” I said. “I don’t