7

I did know what to do, but I was curious about a couple of things. I asked Monica if she knew Victor.

“I know of him,” she said.

“How’s that?”

“Through my husband.”

I nodded. So Victor was killing her to punish the husband. At least that made some sense. I didn’t want to ask too many questions, though. Questions lead to answers, and answers lead to doubt, and doubt will ruin a good contract killer. I looked at Callie. She was about to explode, she wanted to know so badly.

“Tell me about Victor,” I said.

“I can’t. If I tell you, you’ll kill me.”

Callie and I exchanged a look. Callie couldn’t hold it back any longer; she had to speak. “This Victor guy, you’re saying he told you we’d let you go if you kept quiet about your conversation with him?”

Monica looked confused. “Is this a trick question?”

Callie looked at me in disbelief. “What a twisted fuck.”

“Hey, watch it,” I said. “You’re talking about our employer.”

We all sat there looking at each other for a minute. I could have forced it out of her, but I didn’t want to torture her. I could have threatened her into telling me, but that would require giving her false hope, and that didn’t feel right to me somehow. I decided to let the motive slide.

“Okay, Monica,” I said. “You didn’t tell us anything about your conversation with Victor or about your connection to him, so you did well. I won’t ask you again. But tell me this: why is his voice so weird?”

“He’s a quadriplegic.”

I nodded. “Still,” I said, “it’s eerier than that. There’s more to it.”

Monica was loosening up now, convinced she was about to be released. She had stopped crying, and her voice was steadier. She seemed encouraged. “It’s probably because he’s so young,” she said, “and a midget.”

Callie and I looked at each other. I said, “Midget?”

Monica gasped. “Little person,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

Callie asked, “Young? How young?”

Monica looked at me before speaking. “I don’t know,” she said. “Early twenties?”

“Your husband must have done something terrible to make Victor this angry,” I said.

She nodded. “He saved Victor’s life,” she said.