"Yep, there he goes," he said.
"Who?"
"Nate Baxter, my man."
"Nate Baxter?"
"Yeah, I didn't think you'd forget him. The one genuine sonofabitch from the First District. I saw him watching her from under the colonnade across the street when she came in. A car just picked him up when she left."
"Why's a guy from Internal Affairs interested in Kim Dollinger?"
"He's not in Internal Affairs anymore. He's Vice. The perfect guy for it, too. A prick from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. What's going on, Dave?"
"I don't know."
"Some sting. Half the city of New Orleans seems to be in on it. Listen, get out of that gig at Cocodrie. I've got a real bad feeling on this one."
"Those are the ones you skate through. You buy it when you've got your pot off and you're reading a newspaper. You know that." I winked at him.
"Save the Little Orphan Annie routine for somebody else, Streak. When my ovaries start tingling, I listen to them. Anytime you see that buttwipe Baxter, it's bad news. You can count on it."
Back at the apartment I called the commercial dock at Cocodrie to check on my jugboat, then called Minos at his office to confirm the pickup of the half million.
"Our special-delivery man will be there with your bus locker key in about two hours," he said. "Did you know a half-million dollars in hundred-dollar bills weighs exactly eleven pounds?"
"No, I didn't know that."
"Don't drop it overboard. As I mentioned before, some of my colleagues are a little anxious about this one."
"I'm tired of hearing about your colleagues' problems."
"Your voice sounds funny."
"I've been doing push-ups. I'm still out of breath."
"Yeah?"
"Sure. I'm all right."
"When I was undercover I'd wake up with my heart racing. I'd smoke a pack of cigarettes before noon sometimes."
"My ears keep popping, like I've been on an airplane."
"Dave, you can throw it in anytime you want, and nobody will think less of you for it."
"I'm copacetic. Don't sweat it."
"Remember, we're never going to be too far away."
Then I told him about Nate Baxter's surveillance of Kim Dollinger.
"They're interested in Cardo, too," he said. "They're probably keeping some strings on his entourage."
"Why her? She's no dealer."
"I'll check. They're supposed to coordinate with us, anyway. Have you got some kind of personal involvement with this guy Baxter?"
"He tried to get me fired from the department when he was in Internal Affairs."