Hollis had stashed the Francesca in a friend’s empty moorage slip in Tacoma, along with Shaw’s speedboat, which Hollis and his lady friend, Dr. Paula Claybeck, had towed from Shilshole. When the Cadillac returned from its long road trip, the doctor told Hollis that he’d received three calls from Ephraim Ganz that day. The criminal defense attorney had refused to specify what he wanted, just that he’d call again.
Hollis had looked at Shaw. His pink face had unfamiliar bags under the eyes. He’d been in one seat of his Cadillac or another for nearly twenty-four hours. “Trying to reach you, I’ll wager,” he’d said.
And being cautious about it. Shaw was still a fugitive and a murder suspect.
He had bid Karla and Hollis and Paula farewell and driven his speedboat north of Seattle, to dock in a little-used boatyard. The yard smelled faintly of rancid seaweed that had been stranded in the barnacles and splinters of the older, shorter dock, which had been left to rot when the new one was built above it. Tiger stripes of rust streaked the corrugated-steel walls of the boathouse, two decades of gutter wash.
Home and hiding place for a few days, while he made preparations.
He called Ganz’s office. It was after business hours, but that rarely meant much for the energetic attorney.
“Ephraim Ganz,” the receptionist said.
“Hey, this is Mr. Ganz’s plumber. We’re looking at the house now, and we’ll have to tear out most of the second-floor bath to get to the problem. If Mr. Ganz can call me back quick, we might be able to save the Jungle Room.”
“Oh, my. Yes. What is your number?”
Shaw gave it. His phone rang within five minutes.
“How is it you announce yourself without ever leaving your name?” Ganz said.
“I figured it was supposed to be a secret, you talking to me.”
“It is. Just like I’m supposed to tell you to turn yourself over to the authorities. But before you rush out and do that, Sofia Rohner has been calling me every day. Trying to reach you. She insists she knows something that can help your case. Given it might encourage you to do the right thing, legally, I felt bound to pass the news along.” He read off a phone number to Shaw.
“Thanks. And, Ephraim. I didn’t get the chance to say before, I’m sorry about Linda.”
“Not your doing. You’re a maniac of the first order, but you aren’t that kind of crazy. I should never have gotten you involved in this, kid.”
“I walked in eyes open. Ignoring every red flag. Next time we’ll know better.”
“Sure we will,” Ganz said.
Shaw stepped away from the boat to call Sofia Rohner. Restless. He needed to move. To engage with the enemy.
“This is Sofia,” she answered.
“You wanted to talk to me,” he said.
“Yes,” she said without pause. Maybe she had reserved this number solely for his call. “Thank you. Can we meet?”
“You said you had information that could help me.”
“I do. But I would prefer to speak with you in person.”
Shaw was about to tell her how much her preference was worth when he realized that an in-person meeting might have another advantage.
“Have Rangi drive you south of downtown tomorrow at ten,” he said. “I’ll call this number and tell you where to meet me. And I want you to give me something for my risk and trouble.”
“I see. How much did you want?”
“Not money.” He told Sofia what he wanted her to bring. After a moment’s surprised hesitation, she said she would see him in the morning.
Shaw sat on the railroad ties that edged the high dock, looking out at the water. The wooden pilings that had once served as tie-ups for ships awaiting dock space had rotted and splintered, their jagged tops poking above the water like the spiny hide of some gigantic submerged crocodile.
A sliver of Shaw’s heart yearned to talk to Wren, to hear her voice and her laughter. But the colder part of him prevented it. He knew why. He’d had the same inclination before deployments. Not going out on the town, not visiting the fighting gyms that were his usual hangouts off base. Limiting human contact. Removing himself, bit by bit, from the comforts and distractions of the civilian world.
Narrowing his focus to what was to come. And how best to survive it.