Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford 3)

I answered.

"Nadia?" Koss said.

I said it was me, and we exchanged pleasantries. It seemed civil enough, but after having spent some time with the man, I could pick up strain in his voice. Maybe it was getting harder, pretending to be nice to someone you were trying to kill. Or maybe finding those sunglasses had him stressed.

Finally, Koss said, "There's a reason I'm calling." He paused. "Are you in any kind of trouble?"

It was hard to answer that straight. It really was. I managed a surprised, "No. Why?"

"Because someone called about you. Last night and again this morning."

"What?"

"Well, I'm presuming it's the same person, though the number came up blocked. He called my home office last night. I wasn't here, and he didn't leave a message. Another call came this morning, and I answered. It was a man asking how I was acquainted with you. The question threw me. I could only presume it was someone who knew you and perhaps got my number from you. I said simply that you had an interest in an old case of mine and why was he asking. He hung up."

Was this some trick? Koss lying about a call as an excuse to contact me? It was a very odd excuse.

Quinn mouthed, "Play along."

"I . . . don't understand," I said. "I didn't give your number to anyone. I didn't even tell anyone I was going to see you."

"Then it makes even less sense. I'll ask again. Are you in any kind of trouble, Nadia?"

"Not that I know of. But I guess . . . I guess I should be careful."

He agreed that I should. He promised to notify me if he heard from the mysterious caller again, and we signed off.

"That was . . ." I began.

"Weird?" Quinn said. "Oh, yeah."

"No," Jack said. "Not weird at all. Guy's covering his ass. Diverting attention. Setting up a story."

Quinn looked doubtful, but I had to agree it was the only thing that made sense, though it still seemed strange.

"All right then," I said. "Back to what I was saying before Koss called. Where are we otherwise? ID'ing the hitman and tracking his middleman?"

"Not sure they're using one," Jack said. "Probably going direct. Got lots of contacts."

"You mean Contrapasso," Quinn said. "You still think they're behind this."

I cut in. "I know you're impressed by them, Quinn, and you don't want to think they'd do this. I don't, either, but it seems clear that I was targeted last night because I met with Sebastian Koss."

"I completely agree. I'm just not as sure that the logical connections fall where you're putting them. Would Contrapasso kill a bystander to protect themselves? I have no idea. Would they hire an outside hitman to do it when they have their own? That's even less clear. If you or I felt we absolutely had to kill a bystander, would we hire someone else to do it? Or would we see that as moral cowardice?" Quinn eased back. "Hell, even you, Jack. Would you hire another pro to clean up your mess?"

I bristled at Quinn's tone, but Jack only shrugged. "Wouldn't hire anyone. I wouldn't trust it'd be done right."

"I'm not saying it's impossible," Quinn said. "I'm going by impressions after a few meetings, which could be wrong. But I think it's more likely that Koss hired these guys himself. Aldrich was his hit and something made him think you were on to him. He screwed up; he's protecting his own ass. There's also a third possibility. That someone else followed you from that meeting with Koss. Someone who was tailing him because both of you are targets after Aldrich's death."

"You mean whoever is targeting me is also targeting him? I meet with Koss. The killer switches his focus to me."

"Right."

"But if Koss is a target, why's he still walking around? There would have been plenty of opportunities to kill him since Aldrich. He's right where he should be--at home. Unlike me."

"But he's a public figure who's particularly popular with law enforcement. And his tough-on-crime rep means he's bound to have enemies. If he dies, it stirs up a shitload of attention. The hit has to be done with extreme caution."

I glanced at Jack.