Who the Fuck Was That?
“Maybe she took in a lodger.”
“Maybe she has a visitor.”
“Pretty inconvenient time to have a visitor.”
“Inconvenient for us, you mean.”
Before knocking on the door, they had parked their rental car around the corner, but now Montag 5 had driven to the end of the block where they had a view of the front door.
“We’ve got to get in there and check for that radio,” said Montag 5.
“We can’t get in there,” said Nemo 7. “Not with a witness. Pilgrim 3 said—”
“Maybe we should immobilize the witness.”
“What do you mean immobilize?”
“I hold her down while you search the house. I can keep her quiet for a few minutes. We grab the radio, get the hell out of there, and by the time she calls the police we’re on the highway.”
Nemo 7 considered this. On the one hand, if they took the radio now and left, Montag 5 and Pilgrim 3 might not ask any questions about the young woman in the house.
She might be safe. But it seemed an awfully big risk.
Could there really be no evidence of her identity in the house?
And could Nemo 7 count on her to keep silent when he had no way of warning her?
“Pilgrim 3 told us to not let anyone see us,” said Nemo 7. “Robbing a house while we hold someone hostage isn’t exactly inconspicuous.”
“She’s already seen us,” said Montag 5.
“But she doesn’t know who we are or what we want. Let’s give it an hour. Maybe she’ll leave.”
“If nothing happens by nine o’clock,” said Montag 5, “I’m calling in.”
Nemo 7 felt cold sweat trickling down his back as the minutes ticked away. Why didn’t Vivian return? Why didn’t Richard or one of his allies arrive? And what could he do to save Tess with Montag 5 watching him the whole time?
At exactly nine o’clock, Montag 5 made the call. “I’m putting it on speaker,” he said.
Nemo 7’s stomach sank as Pilgrim 3’s voice crackled on the line and Montag 5 started to relate what had happened.
“Hang on,” said Pilgrim 3. “I’m just coming up from the vault. We’ll have a better connection in a couple of seconds.” After those couple of seconds, Montag 5 described their encounter with the young woman in Vivian Harbottle’s house.
“She said her name was Tess?” said Pilgrim 3.
“That’s right,” said Montag 5.
“You’re absolutely sure it was Tess?”
“Absolutely.”
“How old would you say she was?”
“Youngish. Maybe college-aged, I’d guess. But it was hard to tell. It looked like she just woke up. Hair in her face, bags under her eyes. She could have been nineteen or she could have been thirty-five.”
“Which means she could be twenty-two?”
“Yeah, I suppose,” said Montag 5.
“Dammit, we should have kept an eye on Vivian after…after the event. I heard she had a niece living with her for a while, but I never suspected…”
“Suspected what?” said Nemo 7, afraid it might look suspicious if he didn’t participate in the conversation.
“Did you know that Harry Maxwell had a daughter?” asked Pilgrim 3.
“It was common knowledge,” said Nemo 7. “He talked about her around the club until—”
“And her name was Tess,” said Pilgrim 3.
“She’d be about twenty-two years old,” said Montag 5.
“If that’s Tess Maxwell—” said Pilgrim 3.
“It can’t be,” said Nemo 7, desperate to somehow keep the attention off the young woman in Vivian Harbottle’s house. “It’s just someone getting in the way of our retrieving that radio. But Montag 5 has an idea of how we can—”
“Forget about the radio,” said Pilgrim 3. “That is, don’t forget about it. The radio is still important. But if Tess Maxwell is in that house, she’s much more important.”
“But how can we be sure that it is Tess Maxwell?” said Nemo 7. “It’s probably just a coincidence. Christ, the woman was nervous—I’m not even sure she gave us her real name.”
“It’s her,” said Pilgrim 3. “I can feel it.”
“You want us to take her?” said Montag 5, sounding almost eager.
“Listen,” said Nemo 7. “It’s great that you can feel from over a thousand miles away that some random woman is Tess Maxwell.
But now Montag 5 is talking about kidnapping.
Boosting an old radio is one thing. Probably nobody would even believe the lady if she reported it stolen. But kidnapping is a federal offense.”
“It sounds like you’re not willing to support an effort that is for the good of the club,” said Pilgrim 3.
“Is it for the good of the club or for the good of Pilgrim 3?” said Nemo 7.
“You’ve never questioned the difference before.”
Nemo 7 knew he was treading on thin ice. If Pilgrim 3 or Montag 5 suspected he was a mole for Calvin 4, he’d be sitting on the curb while Montag 5 drove off with the girl and the radio. But he had to do something.
“You’ve never asked me to commit a federal offense before. Not to mention this would be a major violation of club rules.”
“The club rules state that all artifacts should be retrieved and placed in the vault,” said Pilgrim 3 calmly.
Just as Pilgrim 3 said this, the front door of the house opened and the young woman, now dressed in leggings and a baggy sweatshirt, pulled a black rolling suitcase onto the porch.
Nemo 7 saw what she did next but hoped Montag 5 didn’t notice.
“She might be on the move,” said Montag 5. “She just put a suitcase on the front porch and went back inside.”
“If she leaves, we can divide and conquer,” said Nemo 7. “I’ll follow the girl and Montag 5 can deal with the radio.”
“She did something odd when she closed the front door,” said Montag 5, ignoring Nemo 7’s suggestion.
Nemo 7 felt hope draining out of him. He couldn’t stand up to Montag 5 in a physical confrontation. He’d just have to hope an opportunity to do the right thing without violence presented itself.
“What did she do?” asked Pilgrim 3.
“She tapped the doorknob three times with her finger.”
“That’s her!” shouted Pilgrim 3. “Take her. Take her and bring her to me.”