New York to Dallas

hard.”
    “We’re running it round-the-clock, digging out bytes, cleaning them up, piecing them together. The guy’s a fucker, but he’s no amateur.”
    “I’m looking for different bytes. If he’s got this place . . . and I know he does, Feeney. I know it.”
    “I wondered if he had one here back in the day. A grifter has to grift. He couldn’t take marks into the place on Murray. But we had him, so digging hard for that got pushed down the line.”
    “Everything points to a second location here. So he had to find it, rent, or buy it. To do that he had to communicate with some sort of real estate or rental company, right? Even if he used a go-between, he’d have to communicate. He’d have to wire funds.”
    Feeney popped a couple candied almonds, washed them down with beer. “He wouldn’t be running games yet. No time to set them up. So how’d he know he’d need the other digs?”
    Yeah, it felt good, Eve thought as she ran it through for him. If she tried hard enough she could imagine herself in his office at Central, bouncing the info, the theories back and forth.
    “Makes sense to have an alternate, a safe zone if things go south. He’s not going to want to leave Dallas, what with wanting to kill you so bad.” Feeney pursed his lips, tipped the beer back again. “Yeah, he likes having all his frogs in a line. Always meant to slice the partner. You just made that sooner than later. From what he packed up he’d likely have more wherever he was going. The thing is, he’s smart. It’s smarter to lay low, take the hike, let you come back home. Wait you out some, then come at you when your guard’s down.”
    “He needs it. Needs to clinch the division. He can’t move on and up until he’s taken me. He took the kid because he needed to get off, and because he wanted to rub it in my face. Added to it, it gave him two lures or bargaining chips. Now he’s got none.”
    “You think he’ll go after another kid?”
    The possibility had been one more thing eating at her gut all day. “I think we’ve got some time. A day, maybe two. He’s got to regroup, and he doesn’t have a partner running interference. He’s pissed, Feeney, and smart enough to know to take time to cool off. Plus, he’s got the recording. It won’t be the same for him—like watching the game on time delay—but it’ll take the edge off.”
    “Sick fuck. I’m going to program some key words—rent, lease, real estate, closing, down payment—that kind of thing. If we dig up anything that matches, it’ll pop, and we’ll focus on cleaning that com. Can’t promise you we’ll have anything in a day, but we’ll be on it.”
    “Roarke’s searching for applicable units down here. I’m going to start on the security and soundproofing he’d need done. We got lots of pieces—exclusive champagne, his vehicle, make, model, tag, nailed down multiple IDs. The feds are going to freeze his accounts, Feeney. They’re leaning that way.”
    “Piss him off good.”
    “Yeah, and maybe enough for him to screw up. Or maybe shake him enough for him to take the route you talked about before. Go under and wait.”
    She hesitated. They’d covered it so she should let him deal with the work, then get back to his game. But she didn’t want to let him go.
    “So, how’s your wife?”
    “Same as always. She’s out taking one of those pottery classes. Why?”
    “No reason.” Jesus, she was actually making small talk. She needed to get the hell back to New York. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”
    “Get some sleep, Dallas. A pair of B-and-E men could hide in the shadows under your eyes.”
    “I’ll get there.”
    Since even the idea of sleep made her twitchy, she rose, walked over to Roarke’s office. “He has to have another account.”
    “For paying the rent or the mortgage, the expenses of the unidentified second location,” Roarke finished. “I’m looking.” He sat back, studied her. “I need to deal with Hong Kong. That should give you time to start your search on the security and soundproofing.”
    “That’s next.” She left him to it, started her own work.
    High-end location, high-end services. Everything aboveboard on this one, she mused. Everything clean and shiny.
    New?
    She thought of the cranes all over the city, the new buildings popping up like glossy weeds. Custom-build maybe. He could have the amenities installed as it was constructed, designed with his needs in mind rather than rehabbing, tearing