“You’re a sweetheart.” He leaned over and kissed me. “Thanks, babe.”
I cleared my throat and squeezed his hand. “I love you so much, Wills.”
A flush stained his cheekbones, and he brought my hand to his mouth. “Let’s get this finished and…” The door chimes sounded. “Who the fuck…? I’ll get it.”
“I’ll come with you. I could use a break.”
He went into the bedroom and got his gun. “Just stay behind me.”
“Wills?”
“No one has the key to the front door, and the ladies downstairs would call first.” He squinted through the peephole, then placed his gun on the console table. “It’s Mr. Vincent.” He opened the door.
“Vince. I wasn’t expecting to see you. Would you like a cup of coffee and some baklava?”
“Thanks. You make good coffee, Theo.”
“I’ll get another cup.”
“His baklava is good too.”
“You’ll try it, yes, Vince? I’ll get a dessert plate too,” I called over my shoulder as I hurried into the kitchen. I took a cup, saucer, and plate from the cupboard and a teaspoon from the silverware drawer. I studied the contents of the drawer for a moment, then reached for a dessert fork. Wills and I might eat the baklava with our fingers on occasion, but I’d offer Vince a fork in case he preferred it that way. Miss Su was lapping delicately at her water bowl. “We have company, puss. I don’t think you’ve ever met Mark Vincent. Would you like to?”
“Mrrow.” She trotted along at my heels.
“Make sure you behave, all right? Don’t go dipping your paw in the honey.”
“Mrrow.”
We entered the dining room just as Wills said, “You won’t mind if I check.” He took a black plastic case from Vince, gripped my upper arm in passing, and left the room.
“What’s Wills going to check?”
Vince turned to face me. “The video. I thought you might want it.”
“The…” The cup rattled in its saucer, and I put it down on the table. “…the video?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would I want it? To remind Wills of the kind of life I’d lived?”
Vince had never been a touchy/feely kind of guy, so I was surprised when he rested a hand on my shoulder. “It’s better you have the tape than that it’s out there for anyone to make copies of it.”
“I…I guess you’re right. But the thought that he’s looking at it….”
“You both need to be sure.”
I fisted my hands to hide the tremors in them. “You never told me how someone in your company got hold of that, Vince. I mean, it’s hardly a threat to national security.”
He poured the coffee himself and took a sip. “There’s nothing like coffee from freshly ground beans.”
“Vince…”
Miss Su stood on her hind legs and rested her front paws on his thigh. He gazed down at her, stooped, and smoothed a hand over her ears. “Hello, cat.”
“This is Tiramisu. We call her Miss Su. Wills gave her to me for Christmas.” I was rambling, but anything to take my mind off what Wills was watching.
Her muscles bunched, and he just had time to put down his cup before she launched herself into Vince’s arms. He cradled her and continued stroking her head.
Wills returned, the tape in his hand and his mouth grim. “It’s the tape.”
Vince observed him coolly for a moment, then nodded. “You’ll do.” He sat, settling Miss Su on his lap. “Do you know a rent boy named Connor?” he asked me.
“Yeah. He was with us for a little while a few years back, but then he moved on.”
“Did you ever mention my name to him?”
“No. Paul and I may have talked about you in his hearing, that’s possible, but truthfully, it’s so long ago…”
“Did you run into him recently?”
“Just before Valentine’s Day.”
“He was with an older man?”
“Yeah. Vince, why the third degree about Connor?”
“The man he was with had the tape.”
I sat heavily, feeling cold. “Was that why he thought he recognized me? Of course, that had to be.”
“Connor said he was going to give you the tape.”
“When?”
Vince shrugged. “He said he tried to set up a meeting with you, but you kept putting him off.”
“He told me he wanted to get together with me, but he didn’t say why. It was the middle of tax season, and I was busy. When I did try to get in touch with him, he’d checked out of his hotel.”
“When was that?”
I thought about it. “It wasn’t the end of February. I remember being surprised that he was gone because he’d told me he was staying until the end of the month.”
Vince nodded. “That’s what he said. He freaked and ran.”
“Why didn’t he just fucking tell me he had that tape?”
“He didn’t, actually. It belonged to Alfred Honeycutt.”
“Who?”