The Triggerman Dance (25 page)

Valerie listens to her father, talks with Thurmond Messinge to her right and looks at John from across the table. He can fee her attention on him even when she's looking away, and it worries him that Vann Holt must sense the same thing. But it feels reassuring to know that he is not totally alone here. His eyes ar drawn directly to her. They are not willing to look past, through or around her. In the light of the candles above, she radiates restless, almost ungovernable energy.

You can know her only to use her.

Between his undeniable attention to Valerie, John still note the face of every guest. Beside him is Mary Randell, a talkative woman in her early fifties with a wizened complexion, the high cheekbones of an Iroquois and a long mane of gray-black hair, Mary is happy to tell John about the interesting characters sitting around the table, spicing her resume of each with at least on tidbit of the personal. "And next to Laura is Mike O'Keefe, brilliant motivator but a terrible doubles partner. He
can't
handle pace to his backhand. And Adam Sexton? He brings in piles of money to the company. Cocky kid—the only one around who doesn't worship Vann like a god." She is the wife of Rich, whom John knows is part of the Liberty Ops team trying to draw the business of Juma Titisi.

The Ugandan himself sits at the far end of the table, opposite Holt, expansive in his tux and Oxford English. John collects every nugget of information with some effort, because although his mind is keen and capacious, he's not sure what might be important to Joshua and what might be redundant. He doesn't want to miss a thing. He was told to gather so that Joshua could edit; horde so Josh could winnow. John has always been good at collecting facts—a reporter's first task—so before the evening is over he knows the name, face, occupation and at least one person; item about everyone in the room. Laura Messinger, for instance, has two children from a previous marriage, while Thurmom twenty years her senior, has none.

The food is incomparably good. Elk and venison, pheasant and chukar, garden greens, basmati rice with slivered almond
frijoles
covered with the cilantro sauce, dill-sprinkled rolls, cold asparagus spears with vinaigrette. Holt is unabashedly proud of the dinner, most of which he either grew or shot. He says he killed the elk early last fall while the forage around Jackson Hole was still sweet, and you could taste the berries in the meat. An elk shot deeper into the season would taste of the sparse feed and the stress of winter.

"Do you hunt Anza Valley a lot?" he asks John.

"The last ten seasons, anyway."

"Ever try that meadow out by Copper Saddle, where the old water tank is?"

"There's a nice little covey in there."

"So it's
you
picking over my quail! Funny we've never run into each other."

"Big desert, Mr. Holt. I usually hunt early, then get out."

"Those labradors take the heat okay?"

"Well, they're not designed for it. They go through five gallons of water on a hot morning."

"Why not hunt springers?"

"Labradors have the kind of character I get along with."

Valerie joined in then, with words of warning. "Dad, don't try to convert a dog man. It's more personal than religion or politics—you taught me that."

Holt smiles, reaches out and touches his daughter's cheek. "What were you doing with that heroic German shepherd yesterday? And don't tell me you taught him how to flush quail."

"Well, someone did, sir. He was on them all spring and summer, so I gave him a try opening day."

"I'll be damned. He looked purebred."

"I'd say."

"Who'd let a thousand-dollar dog just wander off?"

"People aren't always bright."

Holt beholds John and sips his wine. "Poor boy."

To conclude dinner Holt stands and offers a toast to the new Holt Men. It is brief and alludes to the fact that Holt considers Holt Men extensions of himself. He then offers a toast to John Menden, "a good shot and a good man and a good stroke of luck. An honorary Holt Man," he says to polite applause.

"Hey Vann," yells Sexton, "Get him a little orange and black costume to wear!"

Uncertain laughter follows.

After dinner Holt offers John a tour of the Big House. Drinks in hand, they wander the first floor rooms—living, entertainment, den, guest and gun rooms—in which Holt does not seem particularly interested. Then they climb a wide wooden stairway with rough-hewn banisters and leather-capped railings, to the second floor. Here, Holt explains, are the bedroom suites—his wife's, his daughter's, his own and an extra. He hesitates for a moment and John awaits some further elucidation, but Holt merely crosses the tiled landing and continues up the stairs to the third story. Holt shows him the library, a colossal room lined with bookshelves and furnished with very old leather sofas and rawhide chairs. Mission-era trunks serve as tables. Two large French doors open to a balcony and observation deck. Behind a heavy oak door along one wall is Holt's office. He makes them fresh drinks, very strong, from a small bar that swings up from what John thought was a steamer trunk. John looks at the fireplace, a generous cavern overhung by an adobe-and-timber mantle, with nineteenth century wrought iron tools hung from stout dowels protruding from the hearth facade. He notes the smell of leather and fire, cigar smoke and the pages of old books. He thinks that this is the best smelling room he's ever been in.

"I like this room a lot," he says.

"My favorite. Here, let's get an overview."

From the balcony they climb a flight of outdoor stairs to the platform of the observation deck. John can see the northern shore of the lake, the hillsides of Liberty Ridge, the ocean, the chaparral and a distant section of luminous freeway to the east, and the dark carpet of orange trees spreading north toward the heart of the county.

"Try the telescope."

John trains the instrument first on the lake, then on the back of the cottage in which he spent the night, then swings it west to reveal a silver Pacific.

"Do you have strong eyes?" Holt asks.

"I'm lucky that way. Why?"

"Curious. Envious, maybe."

"You've got a lot here to be envious of, Mr. Holt. I've never seen a place like this."

"Have you seen the grounds, the groves?"

"Just from a distance."

"Maybe you'll get a closer look sometime."

"What are all the buildings for?"

"Executives. Staff for the house and grounds. Citrus workers live in the cottages down where the groves start, but you can't see those from here."

"I didn't know you owned Liberty Operations."

Holt nods.

"Are you an investigator, then, a private policeman?"

Holt chuckles. "Of sorts. What I really do is just make people feel safe."

Ever make Rebecca Harris feel safe?

"...
I kind of fell into it. Everyone's afraid these days and they pay me to make it go away. I fell into a bucket of money, too. To be truthful, though, there was already plenty of that in the family."

"Well, you've certainly prospered."

"Liberty Ridge is a pearl of great price. Most things in life come with a price."

John nods and lets the heavy telescope rest on its brass fulcrum.

"How can I reward you for what you did?"

"You already have."

"I'd be grateful if you would let me buy you a new trailer."

"Well, trailers aren't real expensive, you know. What I mean is, with a few weeks pay I'd have enough for a down payment, so it's not going to be
a—"

"—What did your last one cost?"

"Just twenty-five hundred. It was almost twenty-years old, but they made them better back then. Some of them."

"Consider it done, then, that your next trailer will be a gift from the Holt family. You will choose it and all the options, of course."

"No, really . . . that doesn't seem right, sir."

"What doesn't seem right? I don't understand you."

John turns to face Holt now, an act of self-confidence and of self-revelation. Holt's eyes, behind the thick glasses, have an unfiltered, unrestrained voraciousness in them. They look insatiable and incapable of pity, simple organs of procurement. John believes that now is the time to—as Joshua put it—bait the hook.
You'll sense the moment to show him what you keep inside, John.

You'll sense the time to let him glimpse something in you that he possesses, too. When you do, give him a clear whiff of himself.

"Mr. Holt, I just did what I thought was right. To be honest with you, it gave me a chance to be a little hero, which fulfills a nice daydream I've had since I was a boy. Every man's fantasy, to rescue a king and his princess. I got to have a nice dinner and meet some good people. On a less noble note, it gave me a chance to put the fear of God into a bunch of bastards. Felt good. I've wondered a couple of times how it would have felt to just gut-shoot that turd and let him bleed to death beside my dog. Truth is, I'm afraid it would have felt a little too good. And I didn't want to face the paperwork."

Holt is silent for a long moment. Then he laughs. "My, oh my, what lurks in the heart of Menden. I understand."

"Do you?"

"Of course. What thinking man wouldn't?"

"I can think of quite a few."

"So let me ask you—these thinking men you know—would you call them friends, hunt with them, spend time with them, want to know them and their families?"

"I never have."

"Can you respect a man who has no concept of conviction and follow-through?"

Follow-through,
thinks John: one of Josh's pet phrases. Did Josh imagine it coming from his secret hero?

"No. I actually can't. And that's why, Mr. Holt, for you to buy me a trailer or make some big gesture would make me feel small. I think I'll just say thank you, no, and leave here tomorrow. I'll take a sense of having done something decent along with me. It's a good feeling to have. I hope I don't seem ungrateful, either. I mean, Valerie must have spent two grand today, just for clothes."