Nocturne in Black and Gold

Chapter 8: Hypotheticals

Seattle. Monday, July 11, 2005.

Neal and Peter barely had enough time to make their flight to San Francisco by the time the afternoon workshop was a wrap. Who does three cities in three days? Neal was beginning to suspect this was Kramer's new technique to force him to quit the FBI.

When he mentioned his theory to Peter, he took it surprisingly seriously. Neal was all for a discussion but not while standing in line at the airport. The saving grace in their West Coast adventure was that each day their presentations were scheduled to begin at ten in the morning and conclude at three in the afternoon, allowing them to use the evenings to travel to the next destination. Since there was no news about Henry, the tight timing might have been for the best. Perhaps Kramer was doing him a favor after all.

But that raised the question: why would Kramer help him? The most popular theory was that Ydrus was using Azathoth to recruit him. If Kramer was the informant, wouldn't he try to drive Neal away?

When not stressing about Henry, Neal directed his thoughts to the other puzzles currently floating to the top of the stack: the informant and Marta.

If Travis was correct that Richard had been targeted, would family members be next? Aside from alerting everyone to be vigilant, there wasn't much they could do. Up to now, the only Caffrey relative who knew about Azathoth was Henry. Should Neal now inform Angela? Her last name was Caffrey. If Rolf knew about Richard, he could have easily found out about Angela as well. The other relatives didn't live in New York. Did that make them safer?

It was nearly nine o'clock by the time they checked in at their hotel. The travel office had booked them into the Union Square Hilton, close to the FBI field office. He and Peter had grabbed a sandwich at the Seattle airport to eat on the plane, and neither one was feeling particularly hungry. It was the middle of the night in Argentina. Was Noelle able to sleep? Neal didn't think he could.

Everyone was being forced to pin their hopes on the delegation arriving at the estate tomorrow. Neal could already hear in his head how that would go. I'm sorry, but we have not found any intruders. Señor Cardenas is much too busy to be disturbed. Perhaps in a few days, he'll have more time.

Neal needed to brace himself for minimal results. The delegation would leave, report back that their hands were tied, and Henry would still be missing.

Neal felt a hand tug at his arm.

"The lounge looks inviting," Peter said. "I could use a nightcap. Judging by the way you've been staring into space for the past five minutes, you could too."

Neal winced an acknowledgment.

"I know what my nerves are like," Peter added. "Yours have to be a thousand times worse."

Peter was right about the lounge. It was quiet and comfortable. They picked a couple of club chairs in a corner. Late on a Monday night, there were only a few other customers. A waiter quickly supplied them with their drinks.

Neal took a sip of his Chardonnay. "Noelle left me a message. She's breathing fire that the officials refused to allow her to accompany the delegation."

"I'm glad Joe's with her." Peter set his beer glass down on the table. "I can't be any help with what's going on in Argentina but I may be able to provide some insights on D.C. Art Crimes. Is there anything you'd like to ask me about the group?"

Neal appreciated the offer. He'd been spinning his wheels in the Argentina rut for far too long. "Kramer hasn't let us assist on cases with them, so I don't have much of a feel for his team. The extent of my interactions with them has been limited to a few emails. What's your take?"