Eddie decided that it was a good time to pretend he hadn't been paying attention.  She didn't trust him yet, and it was too soon for him to know too much about her.  "Anyway, whenever you're done," he said with a bored air, "this is for you."  He tossed the phone onto the bed next to her.

Relieved as she was that Eddie hadn't made the connection, she was somewhat annoyed that he wasn't listening to her, either.  "What's this for?" she asked, looking at the phone like she might a boiled cow's tongue.

"So we can stay in contact easier.  I'll give you my cell number, too."

"How sweet," she said sarcastically.  "I could have used this--"

"I know, I know," he said, holding up his hands.  "I made a mistake, it happens once per century.  Won't happen again."

"So can we leave Denver yet?"  Not that she was particularly eager to get to Michigan, but she didn't want to have to drive past that bank any more.  Besides, Taiisha was in town.  She had no illusions that moving on would get rid of the woman, but the need to be moving gnawed at her nonetheless.

"In the morning," Eddie said.  "And we have another stop to make along the way, too."

"Why, another job?"

"For starters."

Nikki sighed again.  What next?

"Your enthusiasm is infectious," he said.  Nikki muttered something, lay down and rolled over on her side, facing away from him.  "You want dinner?" he asked.  She ignored him, pretending to sleep.  She did that sometimes.  He knew she wasn't really sleeping, because if he spoke while she was really out she came awake with a little jump.  Nikki was the lightest sleeper he'd ever known.  He wondered if she ever got any rest.

But, if she was going to feign unconsciousness, then she either wanted to be left alone, or she intended to spy on him.  Eddie didn't have anything to hide; let her eavesdrop, if she wanted to.  He picked up the phone and called his answering service.  There were three messages, but only one worth returning, from Ian Warnock.  It wasn't too late to call him in Michigan, so Eddie did.

When Ian's wife answered, Eddie said, with a chuckle, "Hey, bitch, put Ian on the phone."

Sara laughed at the old shared joke.  "I'll get him, Mister President."

Ian was on the phone in a moment.  "What's up?"

"Not much, just getting close to your corner of the country.  Wanted to touch base with you, as they say.  How's it going?"  Eddie knew Ian would rather bitch about his own problems than listen to anyone else's.  He wasn't even in the habit of telling Ian about his personal life, and Ian rarely asked apart from a perfunctory question or two about Eddie's sister.  This was not a problem; Eddie and Ian had been friends long enough that he was used to it.

"It's a nightmare, that's how it is," Ian said with a sigh.  "We had the auction just the day before yesterday."

"What auction?"

"The collection.  The cars, mostly."

"And?"

"Went well," Ian said a little proudly.  "I think it took just four of those cars to offset the cost of the whole deal.  Amazing stuff."

"How many total?"

"Two hundred eighty-nine."

Eddie whistled.  "And you saved one for me, right?"

Ian was instantly frantic, talking so fast Eddie couldn't get a word in edgewise.  "I thought you said you were going to buy a new car?   God, Eddie, those cars were so much trouble to deal with, I just wanted them all out of here.  If you could have told me which one, I might have been able to--"

"Back up the truck, Ian, I'm just kidding.  I did get the new car, by the way.  I take it you enjoyed yourself, then."

"Oh.  Well.  It was completely chaotic.  It's still completely chaotic.  Warren's records are the most cryptic things I've ever seen.  I've been checking the estate inventory against the auction sales list, and there are cars missing.  How the hell do you lose a whole car?  Not to mention all of the furniture, and the leftovers from the sports cars they were building.  Half the inventory is missing.  It's supposed to be warehoused in Detroit, and the place is empty.  So all of this automotive tooling equipment is just...somewhere.  It's a nightmare, and I've got to get through it all before I can even think about selling that house in Arcadia.  And I haven't even gotten to the cherry on top."

"Which is?"

Ian hesitated, and Eddie instantly knew it was something under the table.  The guy was always uncomfortable discussing shady stuff over the phone, as if somehow every line was tapped.  "Maybe it should wait until you get here."

"Maybe I'll be more help if you tell me now."

A sigh, then another long hesitation.  "I'm in over my head, Eddie.  I just…the auction, the cars and things I'm fine with.  But the warehouse…Frederick suggested that I lease it out rather than selling, to keep some cash flow, and that was a good idea, but there's something going on there.  I don't know what.  Something's moving through that warehouse.  I don't know if its guns, or drugs, or what.  But I'm tied too closely to it--my name is on everything, Eddie.  If they go down, I go down.  I don't know how to put a stop to it before this blows up in my face.  And her friends are breathing down my neck now, too."

"There, now, don't you feel better, now that you've confessed?" Eddie said.  "Don't get your panties in a bunch, I can take care of it.  You still need me to babysit, too, right?"

"That's the--yes, yes I do."

"Then I'll take care of both problems at once."

"You can do that?"

"Are you kidding?  It's what I was born to do--fix other people's problems."  Eddie glanced up at Nikki, who hadn't moved or made any sign that she was listening.  "So how is the patient?"

It took a moment for Ian to figure out what he was talking about.  "Oh.  Lexi's doing fine."

"She still in La-la-land?"

"That she is.  So when are you getting here?  Right now Charlie Zheng's up there with Lexi, but I don't like leaving her with him.  She hates his guts.  And, as brilliant as the guy is, he's got all the warmth and charm of Jack Kervorkian.  She's not much more than an experiment in damaged psychology to him."

"Sounds like that bothers you."

"It does, a little.  I feel like I'm putting her in a zoo when I leave her with him.  I just want her to be happy.  I'm thinking I'll find a place for her closer to Sara and I, maybe out in Grass Lake.  I can set her up there with a live-in, and she should be okay."

"Of course she will.  We're on our way.  If you had told me about the auction, I could've handled that for you, too, you know.  Are there any other loose ends you need me for?"

"No, just replace Charlie, and keep her occupied.  And if you can help me with this warehouse thing, that would be great.  That way I can figure out what to do next."

"Take your time," Eddie said, grinning.  So what are you doing with the rest of the money?"

"What money?" Ian replied, a little cagily.

"You know what money I'm talking about."

"Well, that's still TBD," Ian said.  "I need to discuss your fee."

"How much extra you'll pay me to kick back to yourself, you mean?"

He could practically hear Ian's tight smile.  Eddie liked needling him.  "Maybe we should talk about it when you get here."

"I can do that.  Just tell me one thing:  how many digits are we talking about?"

"We've been friends how long, Eddie?"

"Shit, I don't know.  Ten years?  Fifteen?"

"Can you stay at least six months?"

"If the pay's good enough," he joked.

"Then it's at least six figures."

Eddie couldn't help but grin.  "I like the way you think, sir.  I really, really like the way you think."