Covenant A Novel

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

SEPTEMBER 12


Ethan sat on a bar stool at a tall table outside a restaurant, watching nearby choppy, white-crested waves whipped up by a cool breeze sweeping in off Lake Michigan to take the edge off the late-summer sunshine. His first beer in over a week tasted better than he ever remembered, not least since he no longer had to worry about money.

“Mind if I join you?”

Ethan turned, looking straight into the eyes of Nicola Lopez.

“Sure,” he said, gesturing to the stool next to him. “Your call sounded urgent.”

Lopez sat down, looking entirely different in a summer dress and with her hair long and flowing like black velvet.

“I quit the force,” she said simply.

Ethan’s jaw dropped. “You did what? You were up for promotion after what happened.”

Lopez shrugged, ordering a drink from a passing waitress before replying.

“Never was one for rank. Besides, after what happened to Lucas Tyrell and all the interagency bullshit, I thought I could do better on my own.”

Ethan found himself smiling.

“You’re going freelance, like a gumshoe? You going to wear a trilby and a trench coat?”

“Maybe not,” Lopez said tartly, “but right now I need the money, both for myself and for my family down over the border. I’m pretty damned sure I can do better financially this way.”

Ethan took a sip of beer, looking out over the lake.

“So where’d you think of setting up this grand new empire?”

Lopez shrugged.

“Anywhere there’s business, but somewhere I can live without having to worry about going out late at night.”

Ethan took a chance, gesturing out over the water. “Maybe the lakes?” he suggested. “Indiana’s good in the summer.”

Lopez smiled. “Maybe. What about you?”

Ethan shrugged.

“I’ve bought an apartment. Chicago’s my home, and I’ve still got some money left.”

Lopez raised an eyebrow as she studied her drink.

“So you’re at a loose end then,” she suggested.

“Kind of.”

“Feel like killing some time until you’ve decided what you want to do?”

“Doing what?”

“Whatever comes up,” Lopez said, smiling at him over the rim of her glass.

“Didn’t think innuendo was your thing.”

“It’s not.”

Ethan looked at her for a moment, then chuckled and glanced out over the lakes as Lopez leaned forward on the table.

“We’re both at a crossroads in our lives,” she said. “We both know what we’re good at, so why not join forces and see what comes up. People don’t always want the police on their doorstep; they want things done discreetly. Besides, I’ve had enough of uncovering corpses in Prince George’s and Anacostia. I want to look for cases that are a bit more interesting.” She sat back. “We could make a good team.”

“I’m not sure how I fit into this great design of yours.”

Lopez smiled brightly.

“You can be the brains, I’ll be the hard ass.”

Ethan laughed out loud for the first time in what felt like years.

“Why not?” he said finally. “Trouble is, we need a case first.”

Lopez’s dark eyes sparkled as she gave a little shrug and looked away from him to study the opposite shore of the lake.

“Hello, Ethan.”

The voice came from behind, and Ethan turned to see Doug Jarvis standing behind him. Ethan stood impulsively from his seat as a stab of anger lanced through him.

“You knew,” he said. “You knew about MACE and Joanna.”

“We suspected,” Jarvis said, raising a placatory hand. “The DIA couldn’t investigate without Congress finding out about it, and that would have put pressure on the administration to prevent the media from sniffing the story out. The incumbent president authorized MACE’s contracts when he took office—it doesn’t matter that he didn’t know what they were up to, if word had gotten out, his reelection campaign would have been over.”

“Two birds, one stone,” Ethan said bitterly. “They ever really have any interest in finding Joanna?”

“No,” Jarvis said flatly. “They wanted the remains Lucy found, and they wanted MACE investigated. Both needed a discreet operation, one that wouldn’t be traced back to the DIA.”

Ethan sat down, shaking his head.

“You did a great job,” he said, and looked at Lopez. “You sure you want to work for these guys?”

“They’ve got work for us, Ethan,” she said seriously.

Doug Jarvis gestured to a man waiting nearby. Adrian Selby walked over and extended his hand to Ethan, who took it cautiously.

“You did a fantastic job, Mr. Warner, no doubt about it,” Selby said enthusiastically. “So good, in fact, that I brought you and Ms. Lopez this.”

Selby handed Ethan a thick blue file.

“What is it?” Ethan asked.

Doug Jarvis spoke for his colleague.

“All of our investigations with the agency have to be justified, if not to Congress then to our own superiors. We have a budget and it has its limits. Nobody at the DIA would back the operation in the Negev; that’s why I came to you. But your success has generated new interest. The agency has given us a limited budget to investigate cases where we’d find it hard to justify committing resources, where the subject matter in hand is considered … unusual.”

Ethan frowned.

“Unusual? As in weird?”

“As in unique,” Selby said promptly. “There’s a situation developing, in New Mexico. It’s a bit of a tricky one and we’re not sure how to deal with it as we don’t have enough information on the ground. The agency would appreciate it if you could take a look at things for us …”