RainStorm

for a way to throw her off. "Maybe I
    didn't want to harm a naked woman," I said.
    She shook her head. "I've known some hard men, men who can
    act without compunction. I recognize the type."
    "I wasn't expecting you. You startled me."
    She smiled, and I knew I wasn't changing her diagnosis. "Maybe.
    Or maybe your 'business' with Belghazi has to be carried out in
    a ... circumspect way. So that no one would know that any business
    was done. And you couldn't pull that off with someone else in
    the room."
    I hadn't expected her to follow this line of reasoning. I'm usually
    good at putting myself in the other person's shoes, anticipating
    his next move. But she had outplayed me on this one. Time to try
    to regain some initiative, give myself a second to think.
    "It's funny, I'm asking myself some of the same things about
    you," I said. "For example, 'Why hasn't she or her people just taken
    the computer and run?'"
    She smiled just a little, maybe conceding the point.
    "Let me guess," I went on. "If Belghazi realized that the information
    on the computer had been compromised, he would implement
    countermeasures. No, let me amend that. Because if Belghazi
    were the only one you were worried about, you'd just put him to
    sleep yourself and take the briefcase at your leisure. So he's not the
    only one who might take countermeasures if it's discovered that
    the computer has been compromised. There are others, people or
    organizations who would be affected by the information you're
    trying to acquire. And when you acquire it, it's critical that they not
    know. Is that about it? Maybe I'm not the only one whose moves
    might have to be 'circumspect.'"
    She cocked her head slightly as though I'd finally started to say
    something interesting. "Yes," she said. "Yes, stealing is easy. Stealing without the victim knowing he's been robbed, this takes some doing."
    The waitress brought our caipirinhas in frosted glasses and moved
    away. Delilah tipped hers back and took a long sip. "Like you," she
    went on. "Killing is easy. Killing and making it look like something
    else? That would require some . . . artistry."
    She used "this" and "that" slightly mechanically, as I would
    expect from someone who had acquired English later in life. "Steal-
    ing" was "this." "Killing" was "that." The first was hers, the other,
    mine. I didn't think these verbal cues were deliberate. I took them
    as small, additional signs that my conclusions about what she was
    after were correct.
    We were silent for several moments, each digesting what the
    other had said, reassessing the situation.
    She said, "It seems that we're in mirror-image positions. Maybe
    we can help each other."
    "I'm not sure I follow you," I told her, although I thought I did.
    She shrugged. "Your presence makes it difficult for me to do my
    job. My presence makes it hard for you to do yours. Mirror images."
    "Your mirrors might be a little distorted," I said, taking a swallow
    of the caipirinha. "If something happens to you, Belghazi
    would be alarmed. Or his demise might not look 'circumspect.' But
    if something happens to me . . ."
    Her smile broadened in a way that reminded me of Tatsu, the
    way he would be pleased when I made a connection he was expecting
    would be beyond me, and I knew that she was well aware
    of this flaw in her "mirror image" theory.
    "Yes," she said, "that's true. My people made the same point
    when we discussed the situation. Some of them wanted to send a
    team in to remove you."
    "Did you tell them they'd have to get in line?"
    She laughed. "I told them I thought that kind of hostile action
    would be a mistake. I saw the way you assessed the room when you
    came into the casino. I see the way you subtly check your back all
    the time. Even this table, you chose it because it was in the corner.
    So you could sit with your back to the wall."
    "And you, too."
    "You knew I wouldn't let you put my back to the stairs, especially
    after you chose the place. This was a compromise."
    "That's true."
    "Anyway, you've got that weight about you, the feel of experience
    and competence, even though I think you're adept at concealing it. I
    told my people that removing you wouldn't be easy and would probably
    involve a mess. The kind of mess that could alert Belghazi that
    something was wrong. He has very keen instincts, as I think you
    know. I doubt that anyone has gotten as close to him as you did."
    "Only you."
    She smiled, and I saw the bedroom eyes again. "I have