Ross watched them both, and waited. He was very patient. A full minute went by, but he didn’t seem perturbed.
‘No,’ said Louis, eventually. ‘Or not directly.’
‘Were you planning on bringing him in?’ said Angel.
‘We’ve got nothing but stories. We do hear there’s money for whoever pushes the button on him, though.’ His gaze flicked back to Louis. ‘I thought you might be looking to cash in.’
‘You got the wrong guy,’ said Louis.
‘Clearly.’
‘Were you listening?’
‘I wish. He hasn’t left that old store since he took up residence. There’s no landline. If he’s using cell phones, they’re throwaways. He conducts all of his business away from the windows, which means we can’t pick up vibrations, especially with all those drapes.’
‘So?’ said Louis.
‘My understanding is that he’s been making informal approaches, looking to have the contract lifted. Is it true?’
Again Louis waited for a while before answering. Angel remained silent. If this was to be an exchange, then it was for Louis to decide how much to give, and what he wanted in return.
‘That’s true,’ said Louis. ‘You considering offering him a deal?’
‘Our understanding is that he holds a lot of secrets.’
‘He’ll bleed you for every one he reveals, and you’ll never get him to testify.’
‘Maybe we don’t want testimony,’ said Ross. ‘Maybe we just want details. It’s not just about putting people behind bars. It’s about knowledge.’
Angel thought of the list of names now in Louis’s possession. It might be worth something. Then again, it might be worth nothing at all. The truth, in all likelihood, lay somewhere in between.
Ross finished his first beer and held up the bottle, signaling the waitress for another round, even though Louis had barely touched his first drink.
‘I heard he tried to bring you into his fold,’ Ross said to Louis. ‘Way back in the day.’
‘Not so far back,’ said Louis.
‘You didn’t bite?’
‘Like you, he seemed to be confused about what I did for a living.’
‘And you didn’t like him.’
‘There wasn’t a great deal to like. Even less now, seeing as so much of him has rotted away.’
The second beers arrived, but no one reached for them. Angel sensed that they had reached a crucial point in whatever negotiation was unfolding, although, as far as Angel could tell, there didn’t seem to have been much obvious progress of any kind. Angel wasn’t built for negotiation. That UN job just got further out of reach every day.
‘I’ll ask you again,’ said Louis. ‘What is it you want from me, Agent Ross?’
He fixed Ross with his gaze, like a snake mesmerizing an animal before striking. Ross didn’t blink. He’d taken the ‘three guys having a beer’ approach, and that hadn’t worked. He must have known that it wouldn’t, but it never hurt to try. As Angel watched, he transformed himself, sitting up straighter in his seat, his face tightening, the years seeming to fall away from him. In that moment, Angel understood why Parker had always been so careful around Ross. Like Cambion, he was a creature of concealment, a repository of secrets.
‘I came to warn you that I won’t tolerate a campaign of vengeance, even for your friend. I won’t tolerate it because I’m concerned that it might interfere with my own work, with the bigger picture. For every man or woman you kill, a potential avenue of inquiry closes. That’s not how this thing works.’
‘And what is the “bigger picture”, Agent Ross?’ asked Angel. ‘What is “this thing”?’
‘The hunt for something that’s been hidden away since before the appearance of life on earth,’ said Ross. ‘An entity, long buried. Is that big enough for you?’
Angel picked up his beer.
‘You know,’ he said, ‘maybe I will have this second one after all.’
He drained half the bottle.
‘And you believe in the existence of this “entity”?’ said Louis.
‘It doesn’t matter what I believe. What matters are the beliefs of those who are looking for it, and the havoc they’ve created, and will continue to create, until they’re stopped.’
‘So you want us to step back and do nothing?’ said Louis.
‘I’m not a fool,’ said Ross. ‘Doing nothing isn’t an option where you’re concerned. I want cooperation. You share what you find.’
‘And then you tell us if we can act on it?’ said Louis. ‘That sounds like the worst fucking deal since the Indians got screwed for Manhattan.’
‘It also sounds like a good way to end up in jail,’ said Angel. ‘We might as well just sign a confession in advance. We tell you what we’d like to do, you say, “Hey, that sounds like a fucking great idea. Be my guest!”, and next thing we’re all staring awkwardly at one another in front of a judge.’
‘He has a point,’ said Louis. ‘No deal.’
To his credit, Ross didn’t appear particularly surprised or disappointed. Instead he reached into his pocket and removed a manila envelope. From it he slid a single photograph and placed it on the table before them. It showed the symbol of a pitchfork, crudely carved into a piece of wood. Louis and Angel knew it immediately for what it was: the sign of the Believers. Parker had crossed paths with them in the past, Angel and Louis too. The Believers hadn’t enjoyed the encounters.
‘Where was it taken?’ said Angel.
‘At Parker’s house, immediately after the attack. Now do you understand why I’m asking you to tread carefully?’
Louis used the edge of his bottle to turn the photograph so that he could see it more clearly.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I understand.’
It was Louis’s turn to produce an envelope from his pocket. He handed it to Ross without comment. Ross opened it, and glanced at a typewritten list of names, places and dates. He didn’t need Louis to tell him what it meant.
‘From Cambion?’ said Ross.
‘Yes.’
‘Why did he give them to you?’
‘He thought I could act as the go-between in his contract difficulties.’
‘What did you get in return?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Ross folded the list and returned it to the envelope.
‘Why are you giving this to me?’
‘It’s what you wanted, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Now you don’t need to cut a deal with him, and you can call off your surveillance.’
‘Leaving him at your mercy.’
‘I don’t have any mercy for him.’
‘Should that concern me?’
‘I don’t see why.’
Ross balanced the envelope on the palm of his right hand, as though judging its weight against the cost to his soul.
‘You went to Cambion because you thought he knew something about the hit on Parker,’ said Ross. ‘I’ll bet a shiny new quarter that he gave you a taste of what he had, but you believe that there may be more. Negotiating on his behalf was part of the deal. Don’t bother telling me if I’m warm. I wouldn’t want you to feel compromised.’
‘I’m a long way from feeling compromised, Agent Ross,’ said Louis.
‘But now you’ve got nothing,’ said Ross.
‘Except a clear run at Cambion, if I need it, right?’
The envelope stayed on Ross’s palm for a few seconds longer, then vanished into his pocket.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘And Parker?’
‘If it leads us to the Believers, I’ll let you know through the rabbi, Epstein. Otherwise, you stay out of our affairs.’
‘You’re an arrogant sonofabitch, you know that?’
‘At least you didn’t call me uppity. That might have caused serious friction.’
Ross stood and dropped a fifty on the table.
‘It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen,’ he said.
‘Likewise,’ said Louis.
‘You’re sure you can’t help with parking violations?’ said Angel.
‘Fuck you,’ said Ross.
‘I’ll hold on to your number anyway,’ said Angel. ‘Just in case.’