Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

shame, and more—a veritable orgy of
     feelings that had him snatching the phone up quickly, then hesitating. He didn’t recognize
     the number, but Adam’s kidnapper never called from the same number twice. “Yes?”
    “You did well, Jasper.” It was a warm voice, friendly, with just the right touch of
     sympathy, the kind of voice that could coax a smile from a sullen child.
    Fresh diarrhea was warm, too. And just about as welcome. This wasn’t the voice Jasper
     longed for. “I’ll speak with Adam now.”
    “Will you?” The amusement was light, not without that tracery of sympathy.
    “That’s our deal. You want me to remain confident that you’ll honor your end, don’t
     you? You want me to go on believing that Adam is alive and that I’ll get him back.”
    “I do enjoy dealing with an intelligent man,” his nemesis said in an approving way.
     “And yet I suspect that hope would work as well as certainty. Maybe better. It might
     be helpful for me to find out.”
    Fear broke out the razor blades and sawed at Jasper’s gut. “I’m not a very optimistic
     person. I need certainty to keep me motivated. I’ll speak with Adam now, or I’ll speak
     to Lily Yu.”
    “The laborer is worthy of his hire, I suppose. The Bible is wrong about a great deal,”
     he added, “but there are nuggets of wisdom among the debris. You’ve done as you were
     told, and you will receive your agreed-upon pay…since Adam is in fact quite well,
     though not particularly happy at the moment. First, however, I have instructions about
     tonight.”
    “Wait while I get a pen.” He did that, collecting his notebook at the same time, then
     listened, jotting the pertinent facts down in his personal shorthand. Jasper had long
     since established the habit of putting any notes about a job down in a form no one
     could use against him in court.
    “I’m surprised by your concern,” the warm voice said when Jasper questioned one point.
     “Have you changed yourmind about Rule Turner now that you two have met? You told me you didn’t know much
     about him, but what you did know, you didn’t like.”
    “Oh,” he breathed, “but I dislike you so much more.”
    “Do you not think it impolitic to say so?”
    “Who can we be truly frank with, if not our enemies?”
    A chuckle, rich with amusement. “Oh, Jasper, don’t fool yourself. You’re bought and
     paid for. You’ll do as you’re told, and that’s hardly the behavior of an enemy, is
     it?”

TWENTY

    R ULE headed down the outdoor stairs, so baffled by emotion he barely noticed the closed-in
     feeling piling on top of the rest. He was only too aware of how poorly he’d handled
     himself in there, but at least he’d realized that and let Lily take the lead.
    She’d done that efficiently, asking plenty of questions. Not the ones he’d wanted
     answered, such as:
How did your mother die?
Or
Did she look like you? Like me?
Or
Did you ever think about contacting me?
No, she’d asked the ones that should have mattered…and would, once he pulled himself
     together.
    Time to make a start on that. At the base of the stairs, Rule began, “If Friar—”
    “Let’s talk about it when we get to the car,” Lily said.
    He grimaced. If Friar was involved, he’d been about to say, it changed the possibilities
     considerably…including the chance that someone was pointing a directional microphone
     their way right now. That was unlikely but possible, and he should have thought of
     it. “Point taken.” Then, to Scott: “Keep Chris and Alan here to keep an eye on Jasper.
     The others will follow us to the hotel. Send Barnaby andJoe ahead to check the car.” As he started down the sidewalk he asked Lily, “Is Drummond
     around?”
    “Not visibly.”
    Which was supposed to mean he couldn’t listen in, but…“Would you mind putting on your
     necklace?”
    For answer she reached in her purse and pulled it out, closing her hand around the
     stones. “It works when it’s in contact with my skin. Or it’s supposed to.”
    She didn’t tell him it was understandable that he was shaken. She didn’t ask what
     he thought of Jasper Machek or how he felt. She held the ghost-repelling necklace
     in one hand and took his hand with the other one, then walked beside him in silence.
     Bless her for that, as for so much else. He didn’t know what he felt or what he thought,
     and he couldn’t afford to be shaken. Not if Friar had his finger in this pot.
    They moved