Pretenses (14 page)

The man who had taken Coco's bags to her suite promised to return when his shift was over. She needed a little sexual healing. She hadn't ravaged anyone last night at the Warren house—not sexually, anyway. In a little while, her chosen playmate would arrive, and she would give him the ride of his life. Unlike so many before him, he would get to brag about it. But until that time, she was going to have a talk with her nemesis, woman to woman. Phoenix was getting out of the tub. She was singing an old Rose Royce tune, “I Wanna Get Next to You.”

Coco could see Phoenix at the huge picture window, about to close the curtains. She was wearing a white terry-cloth robe. When the curtains
were closed, Phoenix turned off the light and went into the bedroom. Coco sat on the sofa, opened an electronically locked suitcase and took out a special telephone that gave false locations when a trace on it was activated. She put on a headset and called Phoenix's room.

“Hello.”

“Cheers, Phoenix!” Coco said, using the British accent she'd used earlier. “We had fun today, didn't we?”

Phoenix's heart pounded. She sat up, unable to believe the gall of this woman. She wasn't prepared to talk to her. How did she know where I was staying? Phoenix wondered.

“Well, say something,” Coco said in Cantonese, snapping Phoenix out of the fog she was in. The Assassin was speaking Cantonese to see if she could really speak the language as her dossier purported. That way, when she kidnapped Keyth and Savannah, she could be sure no one was listening. If Phoenix could speak Cantonese fluently, she could probably speak Mandarin as well. Phoenix was hers to do with as she pleased. When she was ready, when Phoenix had been taught a lesson, they would meet face to face.

Answering in Cantonese, Phoenix said, “So you've been to the Orient.” The martial arts were practiced all over the world, which meant having the skill of a ninja didn't necessarily make the Assassin Japanese.

“Many times. So many people to kill, so little time to kill them,” Coco joked.

“What's your name?”

“Let's just stick with Susan for a while, shall we, Phoenix?”

“You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name and apparently a lot more than I gave you credit for.”

“It is true. I do have the advantage. But, somebody has to have it. Might as well be me.” She laughed.

“Can you hold on for a second? I put some popcorn in the microwave.”

“Sure, take your time,” Coco said and went to the window. She watched Phoenix run next door to McPherson's room. She could hear every word they were saying.

“I've got her on the phone,” Phoenix was telling McPherson. “Get a trace on the line.”

Coco laughed. This was so funny. It was going to be even funnier when they found out where she was. Phoenix ran back to the telephone. “Hello,” she said, a little winded.

“You sound like you're out of breath,” Coco said, still speaking Cantonese. “I told you to take your time. How's the popcorn?”

“It burned. Had to throw it away.”

“That's too bad. Now, where were we?”

“Why are you killing people?”

“You'll find out soon enough. Shall we discuss the death of your father or your students first?” Phoenix kept her composure. Coco had struck a nerve by mentioning the murders of her father and students so casually. “Don't you want to kill me for that?”

Ignoring the question, Phoenix asked, “Why did you kill them?”

Kelly burst into the room and whispered, “She's everywhere. We have her in San Francisco, London, Rome, New York, and fifty other places, all at the same time.”

“Your dad's death was contractual. That's all I can tell you now. Your students, well, that was personal.”

“Well, why not come after me? Why the students?” Phoenix yelled into the telephone.

“Temper, temper. You must be frustrated about the trace, huh? You've got to know by now that I am not stupid.”

“Well, what the hell do you want?”

“Ever go to the movies?

“Yes. And?”

“Ever see
Heat
with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino?”

“Sure, I've seen it.”

“Remember the scene when Pacino wanted to have a face-to-face with De Niro?”

“So that's what you want, a face-to-face?”

“Eventually. But right now, let's talk to each other.”

“You never answered why you killed my students. You said it was personal. But why would a professional like you let it get personal?”

“Have you let it get personal, Phoenix?” She paused and waited for an answer, but Phoenix remained silent. “In our business, these things happen from time to time. But to answer your question, I killed them to get you back into the game. You were having such a pity party about your father's death. You were falling into the black hole of self-doubt. I want the woman who chased me through the streets of Washington. I want that relentless woman who never gives up.”

“Why do I interest you so much?”

“Because you scared me that day, and I liked it. I've never felt so alive. I wasn't sure I was going to get away. I had become lazy—a cop, if you will.” She laughed, then continued. “I was arrogant, too comfortable. You have awakened my spirit of adventure. I want you to do something for me.”

“Yeah? What's that?”

“All in good time, Phoenix. All in good time.”

“I assume you're a movie buff, considering the De Matteo disguise you wore that day. Must have cost a fortune.”

“Yes. My disguises are quite expensive. But they are absolutely flawless.”

“Who makes them for you?”

“A guy I fuck from time to time. Works for Paramount Studios.”

Phoenix shook her head. “You mentioned Pacino and De Niro, and you used Susan Lucci's name.”

“What does that tell you about me, Phoenix?”

“It tells me you want to be known, yet you won't tell me your name. A vast contradiction. Are you conflicted? Do you want to be famous, yet stay hidden behind your ninja uniform and your superior ability to become whomever you want?”

“You are so good at this. What would you say if I told you that you looked good enough to eat when I told you which way the blonde had run in Union Station? I had to restrain myself from grabbing the back of your head and tasting your sweet tongue.”

“So you're bisexual as well?”

“Isn't every woman? Don't you ever wonder why it's so easy to judge the
appearance of another woman, her shape, her manner of dress, etcetera?”

“No. I call it confidence in one's own sexuality.”

“Exactly! Now you understand me. I take what I want. I live as I please. If a man pleases me, I will have him. If a woman like you attracts me, I will have her. No contradiction. Confidence only.”

“Why did you shoot some agents and chop the heads off of others? Was there some significance to that?”

“Depends on the situation. Flynn and Ford disrespected my art. I listened to them talk about what you had told them. You had warned them about my skill, did you not?”

“Yes.”

“Not only didn't they take what you said seriously, they didn't take me seriously. All those agents were sitting ducks, waiting to be killed. But Flynn and Ford really pissed me off. So I took their heads.”

“What about my father? Why him?”

“You bore me with your questions, Phoenix. I have given you an opportunity to talk to the most lethal weapon you'll ever encounter and this is what you ask me?”

“How about you tell me what you want me to know. That way you won't be bored. Obviously, you want to talk about yourself. Yet you still refuse to give me your name.”

“I guess it really doesn't matter now. This is my last contract. I will tell you everything I can to help you find and kill me. I'll even tell you why. My name is Coco Nimburu of the Nimburu clan, one of only a few families who survived the slaughter of ninja clans more than five centuries ago. I have AIDS.

“The protease inhibitors seemed to work for a while, but several physicians have told me they don't understand why the inhibitors don't work in my system. I can feel myself starting to decay. I refuse to go through the horror of disintegration. I have chosen you as my executioner. You are the only one of two people I respect enough for the job. The other woman was at your father's funeral. You may have seen her. She was Asian, but her husband is black. Do you recall seeing her?”

“Yes. Who is she? What's her name? What do they have to do with this?”

“Plenty, Phoenix. Plenty. As for knowing who they are, well, you don't need to know that at this point. You'll find out soon enough. Anyway, I probably would have gone on killing for a price, but now is a good time to die. And along the way, I will enjoy everything that life has to offer.”

“What makes you think I'll kill you?” Phoenix asked, startled that the Assassin was revealing so much.

“I will kill you if you don't. You will die, knowing that you could have stopped me. And I will go on killing until my last breath if the woman I just told about doesn't. Or until I find another adversary worthy of killing me.”

“So that's why you killed my father and my students? You killed innocent people to get me to kill you?”

“Nobody's innocent, Phoenix. Not you, not me, not your students, and certainly not your precious father. We are all guilty before God. Your father told me that he knew one day someone would come to kill him. I gave him a great sendoff. I rode him like a thoroughbred. Then I snapped his neck clean. He didn't feel a thing. I was merciful.”

Sensing that she had finally learned something about the Assassin, Phoenix seized the opportunity.

“So the victims you killed by snapping their necks, you killed for mercy's sake?”

“Yes.”

“Then Judge Taylor, Clayton Pockets, Scott Gordon, my father were all mercy killings?”

“Yes. Otherwise, it would have been brutal like it was for your colleagues who disrespected my art.”

Phoenix had the answer now. All she had to do was find out why Jennifer Taylor's murder was merciful and why Martha Blevins' murder wasn't. Both were women. But Martha was beaten to a pulp before being shot to death.

“Hmmmm,” Phoenix muttered.

“I see you're getting the picture now. I like you, Phoenix, so I'm going to do you a favor when I go back to Washington. Don't worry. I won't be going back for a while. You know by now you can take my word for that. But when I get back, I'm going to kill the Rapist you can't seem to find.
Every clue you need is right in front of you. Who knows, Keyth may be next on his list.”

“You know about that?”

“I know about everything, Phoenix. Well, I must go. I have an appointment with a young man. I'm going to fuck his brains out. No, it isn't Sterling. Not tonight, anyway. Better hope you get to him before I do. Dead men tell no tales.”

And with that, she disconnected.

I
SMILED
when I looked at Kelly, who had sat quietly throughout, no doubt wondering what was being said. Kelly had seen that look on my face many times before and knew that I had figured out something important to the case. Eager to hear what I had learned, she leaned forward and smiled, too.

“What is it? What did she tell you, Phoenix?”

“Kelly, we gotta find out more about Judge Taylor and Senator Blevins. That's going to lead us to who's behind all of this.”

“She told you that?”

“Not in so many words. We were on the right track all along. I believe that what we saw on the tapes at the Four Seasons was exactly what it looked like.”

“What do you mean?” Kelly looked puzzled.

“Think about it, Kelly. What did we see? It was complicated, yet so simple. Everything we need to solve this thing is staring us right in the face, but we've been so busy following the Assassin around that we didn't have time to do the simple stuff, like watching all the security tapes. Every time we tried, someone else was killed and we'd go to investigate. The murders were unintentional diversions. If there had been only the one murder, we would probably be closer to catching Coco Nimburu.”

“So she told you her name?”

“Yeah, and that she's got AIDS. She's got nothing to lose. We won't find her in the computer, but we'll run her name anyway.”

“I'm confused. What did we see on the tapes that was so obvious?”

“We saw a chauffeur going into an expensive suite at the Four Seasons. Moments later, a rich-looking woman, hiding her identity, goes to the chauffeur's room. They're in the room for six hours, and then Judge Taylor arrives. The two women argue loudly enough to be heard in the next suite. The video shows them pointing their fingers in each other's faces. A few hours later, Judge Taylor is dead. And Winston Keyes' last call was to the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency. Now, I ask you, who can afford to pay someone of the Assassin's caliber?”

“The rich woman. But why?”

“That I haven't figured out yet. But we need to review those tapes as soon as we can.”

“Why not call headquarters and tell them to watch the tapes. That way we can get a head start.”

“No way, Kelly. I think she has someone inside the bureau working for her. She practically told me as much. She knows too much about me, the operations, and where our people are. How did she know we were here? I don't trust anyone except you. We gotta keep this to ourselves. We're going to check outta here now and get to Denver.”

“But we don't know where to find Sterling Wise there.”

“I know. But we do know why he's there. We'll just go to the franchise and find out from them. We're not waiting for our killer to lead us anymore. We're going to be aggressive from here on out.”

T
WO HOURS LATER
, Kelly and I were in the lobby checking out. I called headquarters and had them run a check on Coco Nimburu. As I had predicted, we didn't have anything on her. I charged the hotel bill to my FBI expense account and was about to leave when I stopped in my tracks. I had had an epiphany.