apartment? I decided to have a drink with him and he kind of stood me up again. I’m now two for two.”
She started off for home, walking at a clip, checking behind her every few moments. It had stopped drizzling, but the air was still misty, almost cottony.
And then, as she passed in front of a row of shops closed for the night, a hand grabbed her arm, like an attack dog rocketing from the darkness, and yanked her into a doorway. She started to scream but the other hand clamped down on her mouth. She struggled, thrusting an elbow toward her assailant and trying desperately to free herself.
“Kit, shhh, it’s me,” a male voice whispered hoarsely. She twisted her head around. It was Kelman. He lowered his hand from her mouth and brought a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice low.
“While you were in the restroom, I noticed someone suspicious come into the restaurant. I didn’t want him to see me with you.”
“Someone from Ithaka?”
“No. It was a guy I could have sworn I’d seen on the subway when I came down earlier from the Upper West Side. I slipped into a doorway and watched, and he ended up leaving the restaurant right after me.”
Was it the truth? she wondered. That was the question she had to ask herself constantly when she spoke to Kelman.
He slumped his shoulders wearily. “I don’t know, maybe I’m just so edgy from this whole thing, I overreacted. Why don’t we head someplace else? We need to talk more.”
“Where?” She hoped he wasn’t going to say back to her apartment because that was the last place she would ever go with him.
“Let’s find another bar.”
For a moment she hesitated, wondering if it was a trap. But the street was still busy with people and as long as she stayed in public with him, she wouldn’t feel vulnerable. Besides, there were more answers she needed. And most of all, she had to convince him to go to the authorities without further delay.
After shooting glances up and down the street, he took her arm, stepped from the doorway, and began to lead her west, in the opposite direction from both Jacques and her apartment. At Mott they turned left. She didn’t like the way he still had his hand on her arm, as if he’d taken temporary ownership, and she was about to tug it away. But as if sensing her thoughts, he dropped it.
They headed south in silence, the only sound their footfalls on the slick, glistening pavement. Two or three times Kelman checked behind them. Once, she looked back, too. No furtive strangers. Just neighborhood types and a few obvious tourists.
“Why don’t we duck in here?” he said when a small dive bar appeared on the right. She nodded, seeing that there were at least a dozen people inside. He swung open the door for her and took one last look down the street as they entered. After sliding into a booth, he flagged down a waiter. Kelman ordered another beer, and this time she asked for a club soda.
“Kit, I have to know more about that night you met Healy,” Kelman said after the waiter moved away. “The things he told you. Clearly something isn’t right.”
She looked off, thinking. What if, as she’d surmised earlier, he wanted to know about Healy because they’d been involved in a crime together and he was now facing the ugly truth that Healy had betrayed him? And even if Kelman was being honest about everything, where was all this talk really getting her?
“What is it?” he asked.
“When you were at my apartment, you said you had information that could help me. But so far all I’ve learned is that you’ve dragged me into even more trouble than I imagined. And you don’t even have plans to go to the authorities yet.”
“I didn’t say that. I said I was working out a strategy. In fact, that’s the reason I was late tonight. I met with a lawyer, and the plan is for me to come forward by the end of the week.”
She stayed silent, still deciding. Her tidbits of information were bargaining chips, and it seemed stupid to cash them all in now.
Kelman leaned toward her across the table. “Please, Kit. I need your help. If Matt was on the wrong side, I have to share that with the authorities. And in the end that will help you.”