The Spy Is Cast (5 page)

“You’ll need a place
to stay, then. Webb can reserve a hotel room for you. And you’ll
need to buy whatever you need to get ready for the party.”

He rubbed his hands
over his face, knuckling his eyes. “Do you mind driving? I flew in
from Frankfurt this morning and drove two hours to get here in time
for nine o’clock. I don’t think I’m safe to drive another two hours
on the highway.”

No wonder he looked so
bone-weary. I stared at him in horror. “Don’t these idiots ever let
you sleep?”

He shrugged, a
half-smile tugging at his lips.

“Did you get
breakfast?” I demanded.

“I ate at the
airport.”

“Which airport?”

“Calgary.”

I consulted my watch.
“Okay. I need lunch, and you probably need to eat again, too. Then
we can head out. I have some more questions about this party, so
I’ll ask you on the way. If you can stay awake.”

He nodded. “I’m not in
desperate straits yet. I napped on the plane.”

We all stood. “Oh!” My
hand flew to the weight of the necklace around my neck. “I’d better
take this off.” Spider opened the box, and I laid the heavy chain
into it. Closing it, I handed it to Kane. “I’ll feel better if
you’re carrying it,” I told him. “That’s more responsibility than I
care to assume at the moment.”

We filed out of the
room, and I headed eagerly for the door at the end of the hallway.
Now that I was no longer focused on my network tests, the thought
of being trapped underground was an oppressive weight.

I took the stairs two
at a time and opened the door to let us into the timed exit
chamber. I went immediately to the exit door and let the scan do
its thing, counting down the time in my mind. When the latch
released after what seemed much longer than thirty seconds, I
yanked the door open and stepped quickly into the lobby, taking a
deep, thankful breath.

Kane drove directly
back to the small shared office. As we got out of the Expedition, I
frowned up at him. “Will you be comfortable riding with me?”

He grinned. “Why, are
you a bad driver?”

“Very funny. No, I
meant, will you actually fit in my car?”

He regarded the small
Saturn doubtfully. “Maybe.”

I stuck my key in the
passenger door lock. “Better try it and see.” I opened the door and
leaned in, making sure the seat was as far back as it would go.

He folded himself into
the car with his usual athleticism and turned a surprised face up
to me. “There’s a lot more room in here than I expected. This will
work fine. Are you ready to go?”

“Lunch first,” I told
him. “Spider, do you want to join us?” He nodded eagerly, and I
reached in past Kane to unlock the rear passenger door for him.

He stooped and
clambered into the back seat, his bony limbs awkwardly
uncoordinated. “Sorry, it’s not too roomy in the back,” I
apologized, but he smiled.

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t
have thought I’d be able to fit in with the front seats all the way
back, but I’m good.”

I went around to the
driver’s side, keyed open the lock, and slid into the seat,
realizing as I did that Webb was chuckling in the back.

“What?” I
demanded.

“I think you’re the
only person left in the world who doesn’t have power locks. How old
is this car, anyway?”

“It’s a ’98,” I
replied primly. “I love this car. It’s never let me down.”

He nodded
understanding, his eyes still dancing. “It’s a great car,” he
soothed.

I grinned at him in
the rearview mirror. “It’s about to haul your ungrateful ass over
to Blue Eddy’s for lunch. You better believe it’s a great car.” He
laughed as I pulled away from the curb.

The excellent blues
music made me smile when we walked into Blue Eddy’s. My usual table
was available, and I made a beeline for it and sat down with my
back to the wall so I could observe the rest of the bar. Kane slid
in beside me, and Spider sat across from us with a mischievous
grin.

“You guys never
change,” he said.

I shrugged, taking him
in good fun. “So I’m a paranoid freak. So sue me. It beats having
my back exposed.”

Eddy glanced up from
behind the bar, and I waved to him. His face split into a smile as
he came over to the table. “Aydan, hi! I thought you weren’t coming
in until Tuesday. And John. Long time, no see.”

Kane smiled and shook
Eddy’s outstretched hand. “It’s been a while.”

“I’ll be back again on
Tuesday,” I assured Eddy. “Today I’m just looking for food.”

“As usual, Hungry
Aydan,” he teased. “Do you want a beer, too?”

I shook my head.
“Want, yes, but I can’t have one. I’m driving. Just a glass of
water, please.”

He turned to Kane.
“John?”

Kane nodded. “I’d kill
for a beer right now. Do you still have that dark draft on
tap?”

The turn of phrase was
a little frightening coming from him, and I kept my face carefully
neutral. I’d seen him kill. It wasn’t for beer.

Eddy nodded, obviously
unfazed.

Spider shook his head
as Eddy turned a questioning gaze to him. “I still haven’t learned
to drink. Just a Coke. Thanks.”

Eddy dropped menus on
our table and went back to the bar to get our drinks. I turned to
Kane with a smile. “I finally get to return the chauffeuring
favour.”

He leaned back in his
chair, hands clasped behind his head, and I briefly regretted not
sitting across from him. I was quite sure Spider couldn’t
appreciate those bulging biceps the way I could.

Kane shot me a
devilish look. “Now you get to suffer while you watch me enjoy my
beer, instead of the other way around.”

I shrugged, returning
his grin. “Payback’s a bitch.” I picked up my menu, giving it a
cursory scan. I already knew it more or less by heart.

Eddy returned to
deliver our drinks and take our food order. Kane took a grateful
slug of his pint, and I sighed as he licked the foam off his
lips.

“You’re a cruel man,”
I said, eyeing him wistfully. Quite apart from envying his beer, I
was also having secret thoughts of licking that foam off his lips
myself. I turned to Spider for distraction. “So what movies have
you seen lately?”

He immediately
launched into an enthusiastic account of his latest viewings. I
knew it would be a lengthy exposition, and true to form, he
chattered blithely throughout the rest of the meal.

Kane finished off his
pint with obvious enjoyment, letting the conversation roll over
him. Spider showed no sign of running down while we finished our
food and paid the bill. It was good to see him back to his usual
convivial self, but I was glad he wouldn’t be riding to Calgary
with us. Two hours of constant conversation, however stimulating,
was too much for me.

We dropped Spider off
at the office, and I steered the car toward the outskirts of the
small town. We drove in companionable silence until we neared the
turnoff for my farm.

I turned to Kane. “Do
you mind if I pop in and change my clothes? It’ll only take a
minute.”

“No problem. I was
waiting with bated breath to see what befell your dress-up clothes
this time.”

I snorted. “Usually
it’s just dirt. I’m trying to quit with the blood.”

“Good choice.”

Back on the highway, I
drove in silence for a few miles before I turned to Kane again. “So
tell me more about this party. What’s the story?”

“It’s being held at
the home of a local businessman, Lawrence Harchman. He owns a
drilling company with interests locally and internationally. He
came up on our radar because he has financial ties to Fuzzy
Bunny.”

I raised a cynical
eyebrow. “Petroleum drilling and children’s toys. Seems like a
natural combination.”

Kane shrugged. “It may
be pure coincidence. Harchman has very diverse business
investments. But I just spent the last four months tracing a
complex web of connections through central Europe, and I think this
is worth following up. Webb has been monitoring the chatter, and we
don’t like what we’re hearing.”

I drove in silence for
a few minutes, watching the fields roll by outside the window.
“What’s the reason for the party?”

“Harchman’s company,
Osiris Drilling, has developed some new drilling control software.
They’ve invited all the movers and shakers in the petroleum
industry, along with various consultants, to a party to launch the
new product.”

I nodded
understanding. “Gee, and you just happen to be an energy
consultant. At least as far as they know. So you’ll be going as
yourself.”

“Right,” he agreed. “I
don’t think you should go as yourself, though.”

“You said oil and gas
industry.” I considered for a few moments. “I did business in
Calgary for quite a while, but I was never directly involved in oil
and gas. I probably won’t see anybody I know. But I do know a lot
of people in the business community generally. It would be pretty
embarrassing if I was pretending to be somebody else and got
recognized.”

Kane frowned. “I still
think this is a bad idea. I got blindsided by this whole issue. If
I’d been here, I would have steered it in a different direction
entirely.” He paused. “If you got sick tomorrow afternoon, you
wouldn’t be able to go at all,” he said slowly.

I sighed. “You know I
can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t. You
wouldn’t bail out of an investigation just because you were afraid
for your own skin, would you?”

“No. But I’m a trained
agent. It’s my job. You’re a civilian. It’s not your job.” I felt
his eyes bore into me. “Right?”

“Yes, I’m a civilian.
But apparently nobody else can use the key to access the network.
That leaves me. Whether I want to or not.”

I gave him a cheerful
grin. “Besides, I’m getting paid this time. The extra cash will be
nice.”

He let me change the
subject. “How is your bookkeeping business going, anyway?” he
inquired.

“Fine. I’m working for
the seamy underbelly of Silverside.”

Kane raised an amused
eyebrow. “How so?”

“I lucked into a
perfect setup when I moved in March. There were originally two
bookkeepers in town, and one had moved away in January. The
remaining bookkeeper is quite religious, so she won’t touch any
business that has any overtones of booze, sex, or gambling. That
leaves all the good stuff for me.”

He laughed. “So that’s
what Blue Eddy meant about seeing you Tuesday.”

I nodded. “I love
having Eddy for a client. He’s such a nice guy. And it’s a great
excuse to go to the bar and listen to blues once a week.”

I returned to the
point. “I still need to figure out how to introduce myself at the
party. God, I hate small talk.”

“Could you use your
maiden name?” Kane asked.

“I never changed my
name when I got married. I’ve always been Aydan Kelly.”

We lapsed into silence
again, thinking. He scrubbed his knuckles through his hair. “How
about Aydan Kane?” he suggested hesitantly. “We could go as husband
and wife. I hate to use that as a cover, but it’s the only way you
can introduce yourself using another name and still be plausible if
somebody recognizes you.”

I grimaced. “It’s a
lousy cover. It’d just never happen.”

There was a short
silence. “What are you trying to say?” Kane asked in mock
indignation.

I laughed. “Nothing
personal. Anybody who knows me would know I’d never change my name.
And I wouldn’t get married again, either. I had one shitty marriage
and one good one, and I’m not looking for a tie-breaker.”

“Really?” Something in
Kane’s voice made me glance over, trying to read him.

I trod carefully.
“Have you ever been married?”

“Once.”

I eyed his
expressionless profile. “I guess it’d be pretty hard to maintain
any kind of relationship when you have a job that could take you
away for months at a time without even telephone contact.”

“No, I was still in
the army then,” he replied slowly. “I was away on training a lot,
and then I saw combat in Yugoslavia and came back pretty messed up.
Alicia was devastated when she found out she couldn’t have
children, and I wasn’t there for her. In the end, we just fell
apart.”

“I’m sorry,” I
murmured.

“But you had a good
marriage, and you still wouldn’t do it again?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

I drove in silence,
thinking. “In a good marriage, you give away part of yourself. I’m
not willing to do that again,” I said finally.

“Mm.”

I couldn’t interpret
that, so I didn’t bother to try. “Anyway,” I said, “I don’t think
it really matters. I likely won’t meet anybody there who knows me
well enough to know this stuff. So we might as well go with the
marriage cover. I’d rather do that than give my real name.”

“Okay,” he agreed.
“We’ll need rings.”

“Shit.”

“I’ll take care of
it,” Kane assured me. “What size do you wear?”

“Seven, but don’t
bother. I brought my diamonds with me since it’s a black-tie. I’ll
just wear one on my left hand instead of my right.”

He glanced over at my
naked hands. “I didn’t figure you for the diamond type.”

“I’m not. But Robert
loved to buy me jewellery. I kept trying to get him to buy me
tools, but he only listened part of the time.”

Kane laughed. “He got
you some good tools. I’ll never forget you swinging around on me
with that air nailer. I thought I was going get a spike through my
forehead.”

I laughed, too.
“That’s what you get for charging into my bathroom with a
sub-machine gun.”

We drove for a few
more minutes in silence, occupied with our own memories.

“But getting back to
the party,” I said. “How black-tie is this black-tie? What’s the
age range you expect to be there? Are we talking long gowns, or
just your typical cocktail dress type of thing?”