and he could trust what he was going to say. “The delegation leader goes out at night sometimes. No one knows where.”
“The security man at your mission doesn’t keep track?”
“The security man is busy. The delegation leader found out he likes Portuguese.”
“The security man likes Portuguese girls?”
“No, he likes Portuguese boys.”
We walked up the hill and then back toward the rose garden. I saw someone duck behind a tree. “Time for you to get back,” I said. “I’ve got things to do.”
3
That night, I went out for a walk. I figured I’d go down to the lake and stroll back, but I must have taken a wrong turn. One wrong turn usually leads to another. It should be simple enough to back up to the right way again, but it’s not. You don’t know you’re lost until it’s too late. By the time I realized I was lost, that I didn’t know whether the lake was to my right or to my left, I was on a street that was dark and completely empty. The buildings were run-down, but that’s what buildings tend to be when you’re lost. The street didn’t go anywhere, except to another street that was even darker and more deserted.
I didn’t hear them at first, maybe because I wasn’t paying attention. The footsteps behind me stopped and resumed, which told me whoever was on my tail was using sound, not sight, to keep close. There were lamps at either end of the block, but their light hung around the base of the posts. I got on tiptoe and pranced into the darkest spot I could find. From there, I sidled into a dark doorway. The door opened; I backed into a dark room. A waitress appeared, blond, in a long dress that was slit where it shouldn’t have been. As soon as she said hello I knew she was Russian. “Jazz,” she said. “You have ticket?”
I wasn’t sure where this was going. “Ticket for what?”
“Jazz,” she said. “Drink, jazz, and me. All included. Pay now.”
“Thanks, I’ll sit at the bar.”
She shrugged. “Up to you.”
There was only one person at the bar, a black man, older than I would have expected at a place like this. “Shakin’ babe,” he said.
“Yeah.”
The lights went up slightly on the stage, and a group of four musicians began to play. It wasn’t music you’d want to march to on Army Day, but it was interesting.
“Shakin’ babe,” the old man said. “That’s shakin’ stuff.”
I nodded.
“You from here?” he asked.
“Nah.” I’d never used “nah” before. I’d heard tourists use it, seen it in movies. It seemed like the right time. “Nah. I’m Mexican.”
He lowered his head. “Cool.” He lifted his glass. “Got to get me some freeholays one of these days.”
“Later,” I said and took my glass of beer to an empty table. The Russian girl appeared.
“Jazz,” she said.
“That’s cool,” I said and finished my beer. The music became louder, faster, tearing apart. I reached, but it got away from me. I couldn’t follow. I was lost, completely lost. Everything was moving in its own direction, the piano this way, the saxophone somewhere else, the drummer as lost as I was. How could it work? How did it happen? When did it take me to somewhere I’d never been?
I left the club a few hours later and found the way back to my hotel without much trouble. When I got to my room, I didn’t even turn on the light. There wasn’t anything there I needed to see.
PART IV
Chapter One
“You don’t seem to be on the ambassador’s good side.” The Man with Three Fingers had come up behind me across the grass. I hadn’t heard a thing. “You don’t seem to be on anyone’s good side, actually. Not that I’m surprised.”
“I’m enjoying the view and the air at the moment.” I resisted the urge to turn to face him. Better to act nonchalant, as if I had known the whole time he was there. “If you want to sit down, feel free. Otherwise, go get yourself a cup of espresso or something.”
He walked around and stood directly in front of me. “Admit it, O, you didn’t hear me creeping up behind you. I could have taken your head off and you wouldn’t have known it was happening until you saw your eyes staring up from the ground.” He flexed what remained of his hand. “I don’t want to sit down.”
“Then don’t.” I settled back on the bench. “Excuse me if I don’t get