The Pieces of My Self

15 - Tracking Henri

LILLIAN

The Knightly Estate, 5 June 2174, Sunday

We crossed the pond, sat on the gazebo benches, and waited until Usher delivered iced tea and cookies. Another robot cicada watched from its perch on a rock.

Debra asked Usher to play Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie, starting with the screeching glissando. The AS positioned itself to block the view of the artificial insect. Once the aria began, Debra activated the cone of silence.

"That's better," she said. "Now, I have urgent news. The first is that William Nkumbra from LESA wants to visit day after tomorrow. I'd like you to be here with me."

"I'll have to—"

"Do whatever you need to do. But be here." It was a command, followed by a brief wave of the hand. "You'll get a bonus for your troubles."

I almost said something but thought better of it and held my tongue. I simply nodded.

"We need to be evasive. We'll try to get information from William, but we don't want to give away too much. They're hot on the trail. I know this will be hard for you, but try to act stupid. If they think I'm being helped by an idiot, they might leave us alone."

"When he asks me a question, I'll cross my eyes and do buck teeth."

Her gaze turned to the artificial cicada lifting off the stone. As it flew closer to the gazebo, Usher adjusted its position to block the drone's view, swinging its arms like it was swatting a bug. The scene seemed surrealistic. I imagined what it must be like outside the gazebo, watching the robot appear to conduct a symphony while playing Das Valkyrie.

I turned back to Debra, a smile still on my face. "What was the second thing?"

"Oh, I think they could just march in here and take over the estate—tear it up, looking for clues. That's how desperate they're becoming, according to Tony. If that happens, I don't know what they'll do with me. Maybe stick me in an oubliette somewhere. Make me disappear."

"If I show up at your meeting, will I be in danger? I have two kids who depend on me. They're all I have."

"You'll be okay as long as you act ignorant. You're just my misguided attempt to find some fantasy treasure. Tony may back us up on that crazy-lady story, but we shouldn't count on it."

I watched Usher play hide-and-seek with the cicada. "You know, code-breaking isn't like digging a trench or building a wall. You can't just put more people on it or work faster. It's just me doing this."

"So, what have you done, my dear?"

"Yesterday, I visited the memorial in Baton Rouge. I decoded the initial text string. I know what LESA knows, and how they got it. It was a poem—pretty arcane."

"That's it?"

"I have a few more ideas. I need to do more research."

"Well, I have something for you—a couple of contacts to check out. Those last few weeks, he seemed desperate and disconnected from reality. He never confided in me. I didn't know why he was upset. But in the middle of this stressful time, he made a dental appointment and was away most of the day."

"Can I contact his dentist?"

"That's one of several oddities. The dentist disappeared—just like Zeke. They think she left the country and maybe went back home to Texas, but that's just a rumor. If you can find Zeke or the dentist, they might have something to tell us."

I watched the increasingly vigorous duel between the AS and the cicada. "Your husband was quite the magician if he could make things disappear like that—the CFO, the dentist, the money."

She let out a sigh, removed her glasses, and pressed fingers against the tear ducts near the bridge of her nose. "Yes, very extraordinary." After a moment of deep breathing, she continued. "The Wild seemed to draw him more than usual. Twice in one week, he went on all-day fishing trips. Left in the early morning. Came back after sundown. Very peculiar for Henri. Maybe that was his smuggling connection."

Debra turned her head to see what was happening with the cicada. When Usher completely blocked the line of sight, she reached into her bra, pulled out a card, and handed it to me. "Hide this."

I quickly dropped it into my pocket.

"The card I gave you has the number for a charter fishing service. See if you can find out where Henri went."

"Anything else?"

"Tuesday. Don't be late and act dumb."

"Got it. But tomorrow's a holiday, and I'm on vacation. I want you to transfer a few hundred into my account—to charter a fishing trip with the kids."