The Amateurs

What could that mean, Mitch was hurt? It couldn’t be too bad, or they would have taken him to a hospital. It was kind of odd, him asking for her. They’d only just started, and it seemed like already she was getting the girlfriend treatment.

Unless… Did it have something to do with the robbery? Or with the call from last night?

The thought hit cold, and she bit her lip. If Joh

It was a long ride.

Finally, the cab pulled up in front of the hotel. A man wearing the uniform she’d come to associate with Mitch hurried over to get her door. She paid the cabbie, tipping him an extra ten bucks, and hurried out of the car. “The Atlantic conference room?”

“On the second floor, ma’am. The elevator is-”

She didn’t hear the rest. The hotel was gorgeous, the kind of place people had honeymoons and affairs in. She saw a staircase and hurried up it. There was a sign with room names etched in it and arrows in either direction. Atlantic was to the left. Something about the place made the idea of ru

To see Mitch and Ian beside a long mahogany table, Ian with his hands up like he was describing the size of a fish he’d once caught. They both turned. Ian’s mouth fell open, and Mitch’s eyebrows scrunched in.

“Je

“Are you OK?”

“What are you doing here?”

They had all spoken at the same time, and froze, then started again in unison, and stopped again. She jumped into the silence.

“Are you OK?”

Mitch looked at her, then at Ian. “What? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I.” She stopped. “I got a call from your friend. He said you’d been hurt.”

“Hurt? What? Who said?”

“Someone named… Paul?”

Mitch shook his head. “I don’t know any Pauls.”

“So-what…” The adrenaline was fading, leaving Je

“I’m meeting someone.”

“Who?”

“A guy I know.” Ian looked at them, saw that they weren’t going to let it go. Sighed. “Katz. The man I got the you-know-whats from. He called and told me to get over here right away.”

There was a knock on the door, and then it pushed open enough for Alex to stick his head in. “Detective Bradley-” He froze when he saw them. His eyes darted from one to the other, and his face underwent a weird series of emotions, finally settling on a stony mask. “What are you all doing here?”

“We’re trying to figure that out,” she said. “I got a call saying Mitch was hurt. Ian was supposed to meet some guy named Katz. What about you, Mitch?”

“One of the bellmen told me a manager wanted to see me.” He looked at Alex, jerked his chin. The tension crackled between them like electric current. “You?”

Alex stepped into the room, let the door whisper closed behind him. “What the fuck is going on?”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“What does it matter? The point is that someone brought us all here.”

“It matters, Alex, because we need to figure out who.”

“Guys.” Je

Alex said, “A cop called and asked me to meet that detective here.”

“The one from the other night.”

“No, the one who was go

“I think you’re an asshole.” Mitch paused. “No, I’m pretty sure of it.”

She shook her head. “Enough. We did this the other night.”

“Gentlemen.” The voice came from behind, and she spun to look. A stranger stood in the doorway. He wore a charcoal suit and an open-collared shirt of subtly textured white cotton, and had the breezy good looks of a cologne model. He nodded to Je

“Who the fuck are you?” Alex said in his best bouncer voice.

The man smiled, strolled into the room. Behind him, face hard and red, walked Joh

Spiders crawled through her chest. Nobody spoke, and she could hear the faint honking of a car horn outside, the hum of the air conditioner. The smiling man strode to the head of the table. Joh

“My name is Victor. And I believe you all know Mr. Loverin?”

“Motherfucking right they do.” The fat man glared from one to the other. “Kern, you ungrateful prick. After all I’ve done for you, you pull this on me? And you,” his eyes narrowing at Ian. “Still got the shiner, huh? Wait till I get done with you. That’s going to seem like a day at Wrigley.”

“Be quiet, Joh

Which made her throat go dry. Who was this guy?

“Alex, Ian, Mitch, Je

Mitch said, “You’re the guy Joh

Victor practically beamed. “Got it in one. Good. I’m glad that you aren’t going to play around. That will make this easier.”

Ian said, “How did you-”

“How did I find you?” Victor stood behind a leather conference chair, his hands resting lightly on the back. “A piece of advice. When you rob someone, you should be careful who you tell about it in advance.”

Ian’s jaw fell, and his face went pale.

“Wait.” Alex turned to him. “What is he-who did you tell?”

Mitch said, “He told his bookie. The man who got him the guns in the first place.”

“Oh, you stupid-”

“Also, showing up to pay your thirty-thousand-dollar debt the day after you steal a quarter-million is something of a dead giveaway.”

“Katz.” Ian had a hand to his forehead. He turned to look at them. “I had to, you understand? I didn’t have a choice.”

“So,” Victor continued. “Mitch, you seem to be on a roll. Why don’t you guess what I want?”

“The money back?”

“As a matter of fact,” Victor said, “no. The money you stole from Joh

“What”-Alex paused, looked around-“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What do you want us to do about that?”

“I want you to get it for me.”

“How? I don’t even know what we’re talking about.”

“How old is your daughter, Alex?”

Alex’s shoulders clenched into iron ripples under his T-shirt. “My daughter is none of your business.”

“Cassandra? Sure she is.” He jerked his head toward Mitch. “As is Mitch’s brother, Michael, and Ian’s dad in Te

This couldn’t be happening. None of it. Her parents? This total stranger, a guy she’d never seen before, was threatening her parents?

She looked at the others, saw them thinking the same thing. Her leg started to shake, and she leaned on it.

Alex stepped forward. “I don’t know who you think you are-”

Moving with unca

Je

“Be careful, Mr. Kern.” Victor’s voice was level. “You should all be very careful. Last week you may have been normal people, but now you’re in my day pla

Leaning against the wall, Joh