Silent Night: A Spenser Holiday Novel by Robert B. Parker Page B

home?”
    “Got a ride from one of the men at the farm,” Slide said. “They come in most days to run errands. Now I’ll go over to Street Business. Either Joe or Frankie will give me a ride back.”
    I watched him melt into the crowd and disappear down the street. I wasn’t sure how I felt about an eleven-year-old boy negotiating the city streets on his own. I know I had done it myself, once upon a time. I could almost hear Hawk chiding me for being so soft. But that was different. It was Christmas in Boston. A boy should be able to travel these streets, as he had before. It was a time of peace and goodwill and all that. In a perfect world, the boy was heading for home, and parents watched for him at the window. Different times, indeed.

M Y RED MESSAGE LIGHT was blinking when I returned to my office. I looked at it for a moment and wondered if I could get a matching green light in the spirit of the holidays. Then I pushed the button. It was Healy. I called him back.
    “Any news?” he said after answering.
    “Happy holidays to you as well,” I said.
    “Right,” he said. “Anything happening with Alvarez?”
    “Well, Rita Fiore’s got a mean serve.”
    “Very funny.”
    I told him about the tennis event at the farm.
    “So what did you learn about Alvarez?”
    “He’s got twenty-four-hour security and a small but well-equipped arsenal out there. Carmen tells me he’s got a safe room under the stable, which is probably where he keeps the kind of paperwork that can earn him the horizontal stripes. She doesn’t think he’s getting ready to bolt, but she also says she hasn’t been close to him lately and wouldn’t know.”
    “He wouldn’t take her with him?”
    “No. She thinks he’d kill her instead because she knows too much.”
    “Well, I’ve got word the Feds are sure Alvarez is about to blow town. Definitely by New Year’s, if not by Christmas.”
    “Christmas? That’s two days away.”
    “There’s a lot of chatter, lots of money moving around. People in motion,” Healy said. “All circumstantial at the moment. But if we’re going to nab him, it’s going to have to be soon. Which means that if Alvarez thinks he has some loose ends to tie, he’s going to act soon. You might want to let your friend Carmen know.”
    I hung up, then dialed Carmen.
    “Spenser,” she said. “I was just about to call you.”
    “Are you okay?”
    “Yes,” she said. “But something is happening here. Do you remember the dinner party I told you about? It’s still on, tonight instead of tomorrow. Juan just came by the stable to inform me. He was charming, but it was clear I was being instructed to attend, not invited.”
    “What time is this all transpiring?”
    “Cocktails at six-thirty. Dinner at seven-thirty.”
    “Listen carefully, Carmen. The Feds believe Alvarez is about to disappear. If he means to do you harm, it will probably happen tonight. Right now you have two choices—run or stay. If you want to leave before the dinner, I’ll drive out now and pick you up. If you want to stay, I’ll bring some reinforcements with me and we’ll watch what happens. Maybe we can catch Juan in something that justifies an arrest. But if you stay, you’ll be putting yourself in danger.”
    “I’m not afraid.” There was a pause. “Well, not much, anyway. I want to bring Juan to justice. My only concern right now is Slide. He’s in Boston, at Street Business. I’ll call Jackie and have him stay there tonight. If Slide’s safe, I will stay.”
    I heard a low moan from the corridor. I looked up and saw a shadow pass in front of the frosted window on my office door. There was a loud thud against the door, and the shadow disappeared.
    “Carmen,” I said, “I’ve got to go. I’ll be out to Weston in about an hour. Call me if anything happens before then.”
    I put down the phone, slid open the desk drawer, and pulled out my gun. Then I walked over to the door, stood to the side, and listened. I heard