A Stolen Season by Steve Hamilton Page A

work done.”
    “I’ll be there,” I said. I started to get out. “Please don’t do anything.”
    “I’ll see you at the Glasgow.”
    I closed the door and watched him drive off. I could only wonder when I’d see him again, and if he’d be in one piece.
     
     
    When I got back to Paradise, I thought about stopping in at the Glasgow. I would have killed for one of Jackie’s omelets just then. But I went up to my cabin first and I was glad that I did. There was a message on my machine. It was from Natalie.
    “Alex…You’re not there…I just wanted to see how you’re doing. You asked me to call you tonight. I guess you’re out. Anyway, things are getting hot here. We might be making a move soon. Finally. I’ll try to call you tomorrow. Have a good night. Bye.”
    She sounded a little lost. Maybe a little pissed-off that I wasn’t there, after I bugged her to call me so much the last time I talked to her. I couldn’t blame her. She probably thought I was down at the Glasgow, drinking beer while my phone rang off the hook. Little did she know.
    I got some ice out, wrapped it up in a towel, and put the whole thing over the knuckles on my right hand. I lay down on the bed. I could hear the wind blowing. I thought I heard it start to rain again, but couldn’t be sure. I was content to stay inside for now and wonder.
    You don’t sleep well in jail. That’s one thing I had learned. I felt like I could stay right here on the bed for a week.
    But no…
    I should do something…
    What? What should I do? What…
    When I woke up, the ice had melted. I was holding a wet towel. My hand was still sore, and now I was hungry as all hell. I looked at the clock. I had slept for more than three hours.
    I took a shower, put clean clothes on, and looked for anything edible I might have in my refrigerator.
    You’re stalling, I thought. You’re looking for an excuse to stay here in case Natalie calls.
    My choices were a can of baked beans or spaghetti with no sauce. I’ll go to the Glasgow, I thought. Check on Vinnie on my way down there, see if he’s home yet. Eat something, then come back. She probably won’t call until tonight, anyway.
    As I was on my way out the door, the phone rang.
    It was her.
    “Alex,” she said, “you’re there.”
    “Yes. Sorry I missed you last night. Things got a little crazy…”
    “I wish you had a better cell phone. It would make things a lot easier.”
    “I told you, cell phones work like crap around here.”
    “Bad cell phones do. I’m telling you, next time I see you, we’re getting you a new one.”
    “Next time you see me? I like the sound of that…”
    “I don’t have much time to talk today,” she said. “I was thinking I’d just leave a message again, tell you that we’re finally moving. We’re pretty close to taking them down, and I’m not sure when you’ll hear from me again.”
    “How long have you guys been setting this up? I never worked any undercover, but from what I remember hearing, the longer the setup, the more chance of getting compromised.”
    “You’re sounding like my CO again.”
    “Natalie…”
    “I know, I know. It wasn’t the plan. But we’ve gotten this close. We can’t back out now after all this work.”
    “Is something going to happen today?”
    “Maybe. I don’t know. I have to hook up with Rhapsody. She’ll know what the next move is.”
    I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to tell her I thought the whole thing was crazy. I didn’t want to plant any doubts in her mind when she was this close to the payoff.
    “Just be careful,” I said. “If anything looks off…”
    “I know, Alex. I’ll pull the plug.”
    “But nothing will go wrong. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.”
    There was a long silence. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. I waited for her to say something else.
    “So what did you do last night?” she finally asked. “Were you hanging out with Vinnie and Jackie?”
    “Well…Vinnie.”
    “I bet you