shook his head. “I had no idea he was in the city. Haven’t seen Owl in years, not since he retired. You still haven’t told me what he came to you for—”
“ He asked if I worked on the Law Addison job.”
“ What about it?”
“ Just did I work on it, because he knew Metro had. I told him no, you hadn’t called me.”
“ Damn straight, I didn’t. I wanted that case closed, not fucked up.”
“ But it isn’t closed, is it?” I said. “I was just reading up on it, and there was nothing about Addison’s capture. He’s still a fugitive.”
“ Yeh, so?”
I didn’t push the point. “How did Metro get in on it?”
“ Addison was arrested in May. The fucking judge set his bail at two million.”
“ How come so high?”
“ You think that’s high? For a guy like that? Made millions every year and probably had bank accounts in ten different countries? He was the biggest goddamn flight risk since Charles Fucking Lindbergh.”
“ Evidently. So how come he was granted bail at all?”
“ Because judges are fucking morons. This one said Addison’s passport had been seized, his assets had been frozen, so if he wanted to flee, he’d have to do it on a fucking bus. What a bonehead. You know how much money Addison was playing with at his peak? Two billion . With a B. Of which $66 million is still unaccounted for. You can bet he had a nice chunk of that stored away in cash for just such a rainy day.”
“ Sixty-six million dollars,” I repeated. “Shit, that’s like eleven bionic men.”
Matt didn’t even crack a smile.
“ After he pulled his breeze, the cops broke into his Soho loft and found open-ended tickets purchased on eight different airlines for flights to Vegas, L.A., Hawaii, Tokyo, and Thailand, as well as two false passports under an alias. And that’s just the shit he left behind. Who the fuck knows what he took with him.”
“ And what was Metro’s role in it?”
“ The bailsbond agency was nervous, they hired us to keep tabs on him. Turns out with good cause. Addison put up some property in the Hamptons as collateral for the bond, but it wasn’t until he got away that the paperwork finally went through. All the titles were faked, none of it was his. So the bailsbond agency is going to have to eat that loss.”
“ Unless he’s found.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “What did Owl say to you about it? I mean, exactly, what did he say?”
“ Said that Addison had some East Village connection. He took it for granted you’d called me in on it.”
Matt made a fart noise. With his mouth, praise be; he was still sitting on my pillow.
“ We’ll manage without you,” Matt said. “He’ll pop up. Hell, it’s only been four months. Guy like that, he won’t stay hidden long, he can’t. Likes living large. Only a matter of time before he’s spotted.”
“ I kinda got the impression from Owl…” But I stopped myself, because that’s all I really had, an impression.
“ What?”
“ Nothing. Only…he mentioned it in passing, that he’d stumbled on something.”
Matt stared me straight in the eye for three beats, then slapped his knee hard.
“ Damn! It would just be like that old bastard to pull one last rabbit outta his hat. He found Addison.”
“ Wait a second, I didn’t say he—”
Matt stood up, headed for the door.
“ I gotta get back to the office and check into this. Holy fuck, if—”
“ Wait, I didn’t say—”
“ Yeh, I heard you. You didn’t fucking say much at all. As usual. But Owl, he wouldn’t have brought it up if it didn’t mean something. He had a nose on him, I’ll—”
Matt stopped short of the door, looked down at his feet, at Owl’s briefcase where I’d left it when I came in.
He said, “I gave him that. For his seventieth birthday.”
He reached down and picked it up. “I’m
“ He asked if I worked on the Law Addison job.”
“ What about it?”
“ Just did I work on it, because he knew Metro had. I told him no, you hadn’t called me.”
“ Damn straight, I didn’t. I wanted that case closed, not fucked up.”
“ But it isn’t closed, is it?” I said. “I was just reading up on it, and there was nothing about Addison’s capture. He’s still a fugitive.”
“ Yeh, so?”
I didn’t push the point. “How did Metro get in on it?”
“ Addison was arrested in May. The fucking judge set his bail at two million.”
“ How come so high?”
“ You think that’s high? For a guy like that? Made millions every year and probably had bank accounts in ten different countries? He was the biggest goddamn flight risk since Charles Fucking Lindbergh.”
“ Evidently. So how come he was granted bail at all?”
“ Because judges are fucking morons. This one said Addison’s passport had been seized, his assets had been frozen, so if he wanted to flee, he’d have to do it on a fucking bus. What a bonehead. You know how much money Addison was playing with at his peak? Two billion . With a B. Of which $66 million is still unaccounted for. You can bet he had a nice chunk of that stored away in cash for just such a rainy day.”
“ Sixty-six million dollars,” I repeated. “Shit, that’s like eleven bionic men.”
Matt didn’t even crack a smile.
“ After he pulled his breeze, the cops broke into his Soho loft and found open-ended tickets purchased on eight different airlines for flights to Vegas, L.A., Hawaii, Tokyo, and Thailand, as well as two false passports under an alias. And that’s just the shit he left behind. Who the fuck knows what he took with him.”
“ And what was Metro’s role in it?”
“ The bailsbond agency was nervous, they hired us to keep tabs on him. Turns out with good cause. Addison put up some property in the Hamptons as collateral for the bond, but it wasn’t until he got away that the paperwork finally went through. All the titles were faked, none of it was his. So the bailsbond agency is going to have to eat that loss.”
“ Unless he’s found.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “What did Owl say to you about it? I mean, exactly, what did he say?”
“ Said that Addison had some East Village connection. He took it for granted you’d called me in on it.”
Matt made a fart noise. With his mouth, praise be; he was still sitting on my pillow.
“ We’ll manage without you,” Matt said. “He’ll pop up. Hell, it’s only been four months. Guy like that, he won’t stay hidden long, he can’t. Likes living large. Only a matter of time before he’s spotted.”
“ I kinda got the impression from Owl…” But I stopped myself, because that’s all I really had, an impression.
“ What?”
“ Nothing. Only…he mentioned it in passing, that he’d stumbled on something.”
Matt stared me straight in the eye for three beats, then slapped his knee hard.
“ Damn! It would just be like that old bastard to pull one last rabbit outta his hat. He found Addison.”
“ Wait a second, I didn’t say he—”
Matt stood up, headed for the door.
“ I gotta get back to the office and check into this. Holy fuck, if—”
“ Wait, I didn’t say—”
“ Yeh, I heard you. You didn’t fucking say much at all. As usual. But Owl, he wouldn’t have brought it up if it didn’t mean something. He had a nose on him, I’ll—”
Matt stopped short of the door, looked down at his feet, at Owl’s briefcase where I’d left it when I came in.
He said, “I gave him that. For his seventieth birthday.”
He reached down and picked it up. “I’m
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