Dance Of Death

"Well, that gives you three clues to work, at least."

"That's right. The fibers, the rope, and the structure of the knots. And so far, we've come up blank on all three. That's what kept me away all night: that, and the usual paperwork. The fibers are of some kind of exotic wool that forensics hasn't seen before. It's in none of the local or federal databases. We've got a textile expert working on it. Same with the ropes. The material is nothing manufactured in America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East."

"And the knots?"

"They're even more bizarre. The ligature specialist-who we dragged out of bed at three, by the way-was fascinated. At first glance, they look random, massive, like some bondage fetishist gone crazy. But they're not that at all. Turns out they're expertly fashioned. Very intricate. The specialist was staggered: he said he'd never seen the knot before, that it seemed to be of a new type entirely. He went into a whole riff on mathematics and knot theory that I couldn't even begin to follow."

"I'd like to see a photograph of the knots, if I could."

She flashed him another questioning gaze.

"Hey, I was in the Boy Scouts," he said with a levity he didn't feel.

She nodded slowly. "I had this instructor at the Academy, Rider-back. Remember him?"

"Nope."

"He was fascinated by knots. He used to say they were a three-dimensional manifestation of a fourth-dimensional problem. Whatever that means." She took another sip of coffee. "Sooner or later, those knots are going to help us crack this case."

The waitress came back, placing D'Agosta's eggs before him with a look of triumph. Now they were wizened-looking, almost desiccated, crisp around the edges.

Hayward glanced at the plate, a smile returning to her lips. "Enjoy," she said with a giggle.

Suddenly, his coat began to vibrate. For a moment, D'Agosta went rigid in surprise. Then, remembering the cell phone Pendergast had given him, he dug a hand into his pocket and pulled it out.

"New phone?" Hayward asked. "When'd you pick that up?"

D'Agosta hesitated. Then, rather abruptly, he decided that he just couldn't tell her one more lie.

"Sorry," he said, standing up. "Gotta go. I'll explain later."

Hayward half rose as well, a look of surprise on her face. "But, Vin-"

"Will you get breakfast?" he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders and kissing her. "I'll get the next."

"But-"

"See you tonight, sweetheart. Good luck with the case." And- holding her questioning stare with his own for a brief moment-he gave her shoulders a parting squeeze, turned, and hurriedly left the restaurant.

He glanced once more at the message displayed on the tiny cell screen:

SW Corner 77 and York. NOW.

FIFTEEN

The big black limo, tearing southward on York Avenue, appeared seconds after D'Agosta reached the corner. It slewed to a stop; the door flew open. Even before D'Agosta shut the door, the limo was accelerating from the curb, driver leaning on the horn, cars behind them screeching to a halt to let the big car pass.

D'Agosta turned in astonishment. A stranger sat in the seat beside him: tall, slender, well ta

"Don't be alarmed, Vincent," said the familiar voice of Pendergast. "An emergency has forced me to change my spots again. Today I am an investment banker."

"Emergency?"

Pendergast handed D'Agosta a sheet of paper, carefully sealed within layers of glassine. It read:

Nine of Swords: Torrance Hamilton

Ten of Swords: Charles Duchamp

King of Swords, Reversed: Michael Decker

The Five of Swords-?

"Diogenes is telegraphing his move in advance. Baiting me." Disguise or no disguise, Pendergast's face was as grim as D'Agosta had ever seen it.

"What are those-tarot cards?"

"Diogenes always had an interest in tarot. As you may have guessed, those cards involve death and betrayal."

"Who's Michael Decker?"

"He was my mentor when I first moved to the FBI. Before, I'd been in more, ah, exotic forms of government service, and he helped me make a rather difficult transition. Mike's highly placed in Quantico these days, and he's been invaluable in clearing the way for my somewhat unorthodox methods. It was thanks to Mike that I was able to get the FBI involved so quickly on the Jeremy Grove murder last fall, and he helped smooth some ruffled feathers after a small case I handled in the Midwest prior to that."

"So Diogenes is threatening another one of your friends."

"Yes. I can't raise Mike on his cell or at home. His secretary tells me he's on elevated assignment, which means they won't release any details about it-even if I were to reveal myself as a colleague. I must warn him in person, if I can find him."

"As an FBI agent, though, he must be pretty hard to get the jump on."

"He's one of the best field agents in the Bureau. I fear that would deter Diogenes not at all."

D'Agosta glanced back at the letter. "Your brother wrote this?"

"Yes. Curious: it doesn't look like his handwriting-more like a crude attempt to disguise his handwriting, rather. Far too crude, in fact, for him. And yet there's something strangely familiar about it…" Pendergast's voice trailed off.

"How'd you get it?"

"It arrived at my Dakota apartment early this morning. I employ a doorman there, Martyn, to take care of special things for me. He got it to Proctor, and Proctor got it to me through a prior arrangement."

"Proctor knows you're alive?"

"Yes. Constance Greene does, too, as of last night."

"What about her? Does she still think you're dead?"

D'Agosta didn't say the name-he didn't need to. Pendergast would know he was referring to Viola Maskelene.

"I haven't communicated with her. It would put her in grave danger. Ignorance, as painful as it is, will keep her safe."

There was a brief, awkward silence.

D'Agosta changed direction. "So your brother took this letter to the Dakota? Aren't you having the place watched?"

"Of course. Very carefully. It was delivered by a derelict. When we caught him and questioned him, he said he was paid to deliver it by a man on Broadway. His description was too vague to be of use."

The limo sheared toward the on-ramp for the FDR Drive, leaning into the turn, wheels smoking.

"You think your FBI friend will listen?"

"Mike Decker knows me."

"It seems to me that you rushing down to warn Decker is exactly what Diogenes expects."

"Correct. It is like a forced move in chess: I'm falling into a trap and there's not a thing I can do about it." Pendergast looked at D'Agosta, eyes bright even behind brown contact lenses. "We must find some way to reverse the pattern, get on the offensive. Have you learned anything more from Captain Hayward?"

"They recovered some fibers from the site. That and the ropes are the only hard evidence they've got so far. There are some other weird things about the murder, too. For example, it seems Diogenes stu

Pendergast shook his head. "Vincent, I must know more. I must. Even the smallest, least significant detail could be critical. I have, shall we say, a co

D'Agosta nodded. "Understood."

"There's another thing. Diogenes seems to be working forward, choosing his victims chronologically. That means you might soon be at risk. We worked together on my first really large-scale case on the FBI-the museum murders."