The Night Café

She flipped on the front porch light and glanced through the peephole, then paused, taken aback. It wasn’t Russo on the other side of the door. Two clean-cut men in almost identical dark gray suits stood on her front porch. It was a little late for Mormon missionaries or Jehovah’s Witnesses, so her money was on cops. And not just any cops. Feds.

“Who is it?” she asked through the door.

“Federal agents, Mrs. Nicks,” one of them said.

Bingo. Through the peephole’s convex lens, Hannah saw both men raise black leather folders with gold-colored shields on the top half and ID badges boldly emblazoned with the letters FBI on the bottom.

She frowned and opened the door a few inches, keeping herself and her Garfield pajamas mostly hidden. “Can I help you?”

They lowered their badges in unison and put them away. One was Asian-American, the other Anglo, but they were otherwise so alike as to be almost indistinguishable, with haircuts that were neither long enough nor short enough to be fashionable.

“I’m Special Agent Bruce Ito, ma’am, and this is Special Agent Joseph Towle,” the Asian-looking man said.

“We’d like to have a word, if that’s all right,” Towle added.

“What’s this about?”

“Can we come in?”

“Depends. Can you tell me what this is about?” Hannah asked again.

Ito and Towle glanced at each other, then back at her. “It’s about your trip to Mexico, Mrs. Nicks,” Towle said.

“How do you know about that?”

“Maybe we should discuss this inside?”

Hannah sighed, then opened the door wide and stood back to let them in. They seemed a little taken aback when they saw what she was wearing, but came in. She closed the door behind them.

“We’re sorry to come by so late,” Ito said, “but we wanted to be sure to catch you before you left.”

“I’ll ask again, how do you know about that?”

“We understand you’re doing some work for Moises Gladding,” Towle said.

Hannah studied them for a minute, then extended her arm toward the sofa. “I guess you’d better sit down and tell me what exactly it is you want.”

The two agents nodded. “After you,” Towle said.

Hannah led the way into the living room, took the rocker and left them the couch. She grabbed the remote and flipped off the television as they settled in. Ito was carrying a briefcase and he set that on the floor beside his feet. The two agents leaned forward, elbows on knees, and looked at her expectantly.

“What?” Hannah asked.

“You were going to tell us about this work you’re doing for Moises Gladding,” Ito said.

“You were going to tell me how you know about that.”

Towle shrugged. “Information came our way. So, about the work…?”

“I don’t know what ‘information’ has come your way, but I’m not working for Gladding.”

“We know you’re transporting some merchandise for him. What’s your relationship to Gladding?”

“Relationship? There is no relationship. I repeat, I am not working for him. What I’m transporting is a painting, if you must know. I was hired by a gallery owner who purchased the painting on Gladding’s behalf. Gladding wants the painting at his vacation home in Mexico. End of story.”

“This is the first we’ve heard of Gladding’s international dealings having anything to do with art,” Ito said. “And from what we know of you, Mrs. Nicks, art’s not your usual line, either.”

Hannah shifted back in her chair. “In the first place, please don’t call me Mrs. Nicks. I’m nobody’s missus. And in the second, if you know about my work, you know that I’m a freelance security specialist. I usually do personal security or private ops—”

Towle grimaced. “You’ve had some interesting press.”

She waved a hand. “A couple of jobs ended up high-profile because of the players involved. Most of what I do is pretty routine. Getting a painting safely to its destination is not that different from getting a politician or movie star to theirs. The point is, if you’ve checked me out, you know I’m one of the good guys, so I’m not sure why I should suddenly be deemed suspicious.”

“But since you do have international experience, Mrs.—excuse me—Ms. Nicks, then you must know the kind of client you’re dealing with here.”

“I do. I don’t take on a job until I have a line on all the parties involved. I’ve never dealt with Gladding before, but I’ve checked him out and I know his rep for playing all sides of the street when it comes to his arms deals—including acting as a cutout for you guys,” Hannah added. When Towle began to demur, she waved away his objection. “Or the CIA or whoever. The point is, our government has made use of him in the past, from what I gather. I also know that high-end art is sometimes used as collateral in Gladding’s business, but the piece I’m transporting is hardly in that league. He’s paying more for it than I would, even if I had his money, but it’s not the kind of high-prestige art your criminal class usually goes for.”

“Do you have the painting here?” Towle asked.

She nodded. “Do you want to see it?”

“If you don’t mind.”

She went into the bedroom, withdrew the portfolio from behind her bureau and took it back into the other room, trying not to think too much about the figure she cut in bare feet and cartoon PJs. So much for her professional reputation. She unzipped the case and pulled out the two-by-three painting. The agents seem taken aback.

“Looks like one of my dad’s old ties—after he spilled chili on it,” Towle said.

Ito nodded. “That is one butt-ugly painting.”

The feds moved up a notch in Hannah’s estimation. Towle made a cursory search of the painting and frame, much as she herself had done, while Ito examined the leather portfolio, not failing to miss the spot where she’d slit the lining to take a closer look at the padding.

“As you can see, just a painting,” she said. “Since you guys are obviously way ahead of me here, want to tell me what this is really about?”

They glanced at each other, then Towle answered. “We’d like you to do a small favor for us while you’re down in Mexico.”

“I didn’t realize we were on such intimate terms.”

“We’re talking about performing a service for your country. A contribution to national security.”

Always the war-on-terror angle, Hannah thought.

“We imagine you’re going to find yourself inside Gladding’s home in Puerto Vallarta,” Ito said. “While you’re there, we’d like you to see if you can leave a couple of calling cards behind.”

“Calling cards?” And then it dawned on her. “Oh, man, you want me to plant bugs in his house?”

“Surveillance devices, yes,” Ito said. He picked up the briefcase by his feet, set it on the coffee table and rolled the tumblers. He snapped the locks but left the lid shut, looking up expectantly.

“Why do you want his house bugged?” Hannah asked.