Last to die

“You think it’s that easy?”

“My offer still stands. In fact, I’ll make it even sweeter. Three hundred thousand dollars cash is yours, no strings attached.”

“That’s it, huh? I’m supposed to give up my shot at forty-six million dollars just because you say so?”

“No, because you’re going to land in jail if you don’t.”

Tatum wasn’t smiling anymore. He could feel his anger rising. “You’re out of your league, Colletti.”

“To the contrary. You’re out of yours. This is business as usual for me.”

“You think you’re that good, do you?”

Colletti picked up his dog, stroking its head as he cradled the ball of white, curly fur in his arms. “How do you think I ended up in this game in the first place?”

“It’s pretty obvious. Sally Fe

“You think that’s what got me on the list?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Oh, Tatum, you are stupider than I thought. Miguel told me to go easy on Sally, which left me with a ton of ammunition and no way to use it. It seemed like such a shame to dig up all that dirt on Sally and then let it go to waste. Then the brainstorm hit me. If Miguel didn’t want to use it for his own benefit, I could use it for mine.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“All it took was a simple warning to Sally: If she didn’t give in to my demands, I’d make it a matter of public record that Sally was having an affair with the man who murdered her daughter, and that she was covering up for him.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“None of your business. But again, you miss the point. I was even less sure of my accusations against her than I am about my charges against you. But I still pulled it off.”

“Pulled what off?”

He flashed a thin, satisfied grin. “Ask any divorce lawyer who’s ever had a wounded wife as a client and he’ll tell you, getting her in the sack is like shooting fish in a barrel. But getting the wife to spread her legs when she’s the client of the opposing lawyer…Well,” he said smugly, “now that’s a good day’s work.”

“You think I’m just going to spread my legs, too?”

“No,” he said, his smile fading into a more serious glare. “You look more like the type to just bend over and take it.”

Tatum went at him and grabbed his throat. With his other hand he tried to contain the dog, but it leaped from Colletti’s arms and bit Tatum on the wrist. Tatum flung the animal across the road and recoiled in pain. He was bleeding as he backed away.

Colletti massaged his throat. Tatum hadn’t held him long, but it was a hard, martial arts-style hit. He caught his breath and said, “See that, Tatum? Even Muffin gets a piece of you.” He gathered up his precious dog and walked away.

Tatum just stood there, seething, watching, and holding his wrist.

Thirty-six

They traveled halfway back to Korhogo before stopping at a hotel for the night. It would have been much easier to drive around big Lake Kossou and take the main highway north, but they opted for the scenic route through Parc National de la Marahoué, as Jack wasn’t about to leave Africa without seeing some form of wildlife besides Theo.

“They’re throwing kids,” said Theo.

“What?” said Jack.

They were having di

“I swear to God,” said Theo. “There’s kids flying through the air over there.”

“It’s the child jugglers,” said Rene.

“They juggle kids?”

“It’s an old tradition under the Guéré, Dan, and I think the Wobé peoples. Jugglers train for months. The girls are specially selected from the tribe. They have to be ski

“And they throw them through the air?” said Jack.

Theo was standing on his chair for a better view. “It’s amazing. Let’s go watch.”

Rene said, “Africa has some wonderful traditions, but this one doesn’t exactly jibe with my pediatric training.”

“I think I’ll pass, too,” said Jack.

“Suit yourself,” said Theo. He stuffed a piece of grilled chicken into his mouth and started across the street.

Jack tilted back another glass of palm wine. After half a bottle, he was begi

Jack met her toast, fully understanding that she wouldn’t want to wish “peace” on Sally’s ex, even in death. “That was some surprise, huh?”

“Not really. Daloa can be a dangerous place, even if you’re careful.”

“Obviously he wasn’t careful enough.”

“It only takes one mistake. The Red Cross chose Daloa as this year’s center of activities for World AIDS Day. What does that tell you?”

“I guess he had a weakness for the local women.”

“Or some of the boys he bought.”

There was bitterness in her tone, and Jack didn’t even want to think about how often that must have happened. Jack asked, “When did he and Sally divorce?”

“A few months ago. Why?”

“I was thinking on the car ride here. The fact that he died of AIDS may shed some light on Sally’s state of mind.”

“I was thinking about that, too.”

“Did Jean Luc give her AIDS?”

“I don’t know.”

“It would fit with some of the things I’ve been hearing about her.”

“What have you been hearing?”

Jack couldn’t tell her that Sally tried to hire Tatum to shoot her, since that was a privileged communication from his client. He had to keep it general, as he had in their first meeting in Korhogo. “She just didn’t seem to be terribly afraid of death. And I don’t say that lightly. I understand what she went through. My sense is that she had no reason to go on living after the murder of her daughter. If she had AIDS, she might have felt as though there was no point in prolonging the inevitable.”

“Are you back on that theory you mentioned to me before-that Sally might have hired someone to kill her?”

“It’s not much of a stretch to believe that she’d hire someone to kill her under these circumstances.”

She looked away, and sadness came over her. “I’d be lying if I told you that I hadn’t worried about Sally. But this idea that she would have hired someone to shoot her, I don’t really understand. Why go to all that trouble? Why wouldn’t she have just shot herself?”

“You could have been the reason.”

“You’re blaming me?”

“No, no. Quite the opposite.”

“I’m not following you.”

“Here’s something that might help you understand. A few years ago, I saw a story on television about some Academy Award-wi

“So you think Sally…”

“I think she might have found a less compassionate hit man.”

“Do you have any idea who it might have been?”

Jack looked across the street. Theo was dancing with two women, laughing, waving his arms, and having a good time. It suddenly reminded him of the talk he’d had with the detective on Sally’s case, who’d tried to warn him that Tatum was nothing like his brother Theo.

“That’s what I need to sort out,” said Jack.