I told Kassian to stay where he was as I went through the house to make sure everything was okay. Room-by-room, I searched for any sign of an intruder. Nothing else seemed touched, let alone missing. Whoever had done this had broken in through the window, left their message, and departed. How many times would my house be broken into? As soon as I had a free minute, my first call would be to a security outfit to get an alarm system installed.

My shoes crunched on the broken glass as I boarded up the window. Kassian rocked in his chair and watched. It didn’t take a genius to come up with a list of suspects—and it was a mighty short list. After the tongue-lashing Lev gave Kassian last night—not to mention the not-so-veiled threat—his name was number one with a bullet. Peter had said Lev was planning to run errands before he headed to his conference. Go to the bank, drop off some dry cleaning, break in and terrorize an old man. Just crossing a few items off the to-do list.

I pulled out my phone and called Lev’s cell phone. After a few rings, it rolled into voice mail. I left a message asking Lev to call me as soon as he could, but I knew if he’d been the one to do this, he wouldn’t bother.

I put the phone down and mumbled something about reporting the break-in to the cops, and Kassian erupted. He pleaded with me not to involve them. Of course, calling them was the right thing to do, but I knew nothing would come of it, just like my plea to Detective Morris had fallen on jaded ears. The police spent their resources on serious crimes. I’m sure they would have been interested in the breaking and entering, but photograph defacing wasn’t high on their list. Whatever was going on was connected to Kassian. And with Kassian so spooked, he wouldn’t hold up well under police questioning, even if I could persuade him to cooperate. Maybe when he calmed down, we’d report it. For now, it would have to wait.

I’d planned on talking with Goose about Flannery’s desire to buy into his company, and I’d planned on talking to him alone. But in light of what had transpired, I decided to take Kassian with me. When I suggested it to Kassian, he hadn’t needed any convincing.

We arrived at VidGamZZZ, and I was about to ask Kassian to stay in the car, but one look at his face told me that wouldn’t fly. Today was going to be a long day, just me and my Russian shadow. We entered the warehouse and a gangly guy who couldn’t have been older than fifteen asked if he could help us. We told him we were there to see Goose, and he announced it over the intercom, then went back to his computer screen, not giving another thought to me or Kassian. Live bodies with physical constraints paled next to untethered pixels.

At least we were entertained while we waited. Instead of basketball, this time two guys faced off in some kind of duel involving slingshots, Velcro-covered ping-pong balls, and fuzzy sweaters. Kassian seemed enthralled by their American ingenuity and creative spirit.

Finally, Goose called to us from down the hall and we made our way back, slowly. I had to stop every couple steps to nudge Kassian along as he paused to peer at all the crazy games being developed on the monitors we passed.

“So, this must be Kassian,” Goose said, as we took seats around a small Formica-topped table. The sign on the door read Conference Room, but there was only room for about five people. Maybe six, if they were all as skinny as Goose and the gangly fifteen-year-old. “Heard a lot about you. You can call me Goose.”

“Hello, Mr. Goose,” Kassian said. He folded his hands together and placed them on the table.

Goose smiled and looked at me. Probably wasn’t used to Russian manners. “I need to talk to you about something, and Kassian here is just along for the ride. I’m sure we won’t even know he’s here,” I said.

“Okie dokie, gents. What’s on your mind, Josh?”

“Brandon Flannery, that’s what.”

As soon as I said the name, Goose leaned back in his chair and slapped himself on the forehead. “This about your dust-up at the poker game? He’s a dipshit, all right, but sometimes we need him to have enough for a game. Don’t mind taking his money, though.”

“It’s not about that. This is serious. I—”

“You seemed pretty serious at the game, pardner. I haven’t seen you that mad for a long time.” Goose gave Kassian a sidelong glance then looked back at me.

I glared at him. “Would you please listen? What’s the deal with him trying to buy into your company?”

Goose blew out some air. “Fat fucking chance.” He glanced again at Kassian, whose eyelids had started to droop. He seemed to be entering another zone. “Brandon came to us a few months ago, wanting a piece of the pie. Said he had some ideas that would really help us. Can you believe that? We hardly even know this guy, just through Erik and even then, we’ve just played poker with him a handful of times. Why he thinks we want him in our business is beyond me.”

“What did you tell him?”

Goose looked at me as if I believed video games were for geeks. “Told him to fuck off. Whaddya think? Course we phrased it a little nicer. Didn’t want to lose a poker player.”

“So he tried to buy my father’s stake?”

“He tried. Two seconds after Brandon asked your father about it, Abe called us. Let us know what the jerk was trying to do. And he told us we could relax, he wasn’t planning to sell it to him. I guess your father didn’t like him either.” Goose pulled out a chair next to him, turned sideways, and rested his foot on it. “Maybe Flannery hatred is on the Handleman gene.”

“Or maybe nobody likes him because he’s an ass,” I said. Next to me, Kassian’s eyes had closed. Guess that’s what happens when you don’t sleep at night. A nap sounded good to me, too. “Why does he want to get in so badly?”

Goose was taken aback. “Because we’re a great company with a tremendous upside, that’s why. Your father knew a good investment when he saw one.”

“No offense.” I held up my hands. “How did Flannery even know my father invested in you?”

“Yeah, Matt and I wondered that. Coulda been through Erik, although Matt thinks we might have said something about it during one of our poker games. Can’t remember for sure. Doesn’t matter. He’s not getting a part of me. No way, no how.” Goose nodded toward Kassian and whispered to me, “What’s with the sidekick?”

“Long story. Where’s yours?”

“Carla? At work, I think. Why?” Goose seemed alarmed.

“I meant Matt.”

Goose exhaled. “Oh, right. He’s around someplace. Probably kicking someone’s ass. He’s the bad cop around here and I’m the good one. At least this month. We switch it up every so often or people will get wise.” Another glance at Kassian. “Want me to get a pillow for your friend?”

Kassian’s head tipped back slightly and his lips parted, but he stayed asleep. I nodded toward the door and got up. Goose followed me into the hallway.

I kept my voice low, just in case Kassian woke up and was listening at the door. “You remember Suzanne Miller?”

“Sure. Why?”

“Know anything about her recent activities?”

“Her ‘recent activities’? You’ve been watching too many detective movies.” Goose smiled, but I didn’t return it. He wiped it off his face. “I saw her a couple of years ago, I think, at a party or something. Talked to her for a couple of minutes. Can’t say I remember a whole lot.” He stopped and looked at me. “Why?”

“Anything else?”

Goose, tapped his head with a pen he’d taken out of his pocket. “Let’s see. She was married. Kids.” Then he jabbed his pen into the air. “I remember. I saw her at an Elite party. Her husband is a telecom guy. Successful, too.”

“You’re in the Elite.” A statement.

“Yeah. So what?” More tapping, this time his chin.

“Nothing,” I said, shaking it off. Of course he was in the Elite. Everyone in Northern Virginia was, myself included. I felt somehow remiss in not signing up Kassian, although I guess it wouldn’t surprise me if he were already a member too. “Did you know if my father had any business dealings with her?”

Goose’s eyebrows came together. “Hmm. Don’t know, but it would make sense. She’s in the county’s planning office. You know, parks and trails and things. Abe might have worked with her on some of his development projects.”

“Did you know she was one of his ‘angels,’ too?”

He shook his head. “No. We didn’t have any club meetings. Besides, Abe’s interest in our company was more of a straight investment, not so much an ‘angel’ thing.”

“Why do you think that was?”

Goose twirled the pen in his hand. “I told you. Because we’re a great company with a tremendous upside. Why else?”

I rolled my eyes. “Know anything else about Suzanne?”

“Nope. Why don’t you look up Tammy and ask her about Suzanne? They were pretty tight, weren’t they?” he said, then he snapped his fingers. “Hey, did you know Tammy was—”

I held up my hand. “Yes. I know.”

Goose shook his head. “And you didn’t have a clue back then, did you?” He tried to hold back a snicker but didn’t have much success. “Tammy was always a great practical joker.” His snicker transformed into a full-blown belly-buster.

“Yeah, well, I got the last laugh. I’m dating her sister Rachel.” I grinned. “In fact, I’m going out with her tonight.”

His mouth opened. “No shit? Wasn’t she a little scrawny?”

“Not anymore, my friend. Not anymore.”