CHAPTER 4

Thirty minutes later, Mal and Simon left Tarelli’s house by the back door, each carrying two densely packed bags of money. Mal was completely baffled and kept looking from Simon to the house, and asking himself how he’d managed to walk away from this with (a) no weapons drawn and (b) more money than previously agreed upon. He kept remembering the blubbering Simon on Canton and wondered who this stranger was now in front of him.

“When did you get so good at negotiating?” Mal asked as they ducked around a corner, taking a back ally between the backyard fences.

“What do you mean?”

“Last time you played the boss man—”

“You put my on the spot,” Simon finished. “This time, I had a full three days to prepare.”

“Well you did good,” Mal said.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Simon said warily. “I can feel them watching us.”

“Yep,” Mal agreed, shifting both money bags to one arm in order to free his gun hand. “We’re being followed.”

Simon nodded, taking a few more turns before heading back to the main street. Some of the streets had changed since he’d been here last. His intended avenue of escape now dead-ended straight into a theater.

“We don’t have time to take in the culture, Doc.”

“Trust me,” Simon said, making a decision. If there was one place in the world he knew how to lose people, it was the theater. The matinee show would begin soon and the theater lobby buzzed with people trying to find their seats. Walking quickly, Simon turned left, heading for a pair of doors that said “authorized access only.” A bored looking usher sat in front of the doors, polishing his fingernails ineffectively with his thumb. With a quick flash of what Mal could only assume to be Simon’s inside pocket, the two brushed past the usher into the backstage area. Going down two flights of stairs, they encountered a new crowd—the actors—all bustling about the green room excited about having a full house. Once within sight of two exits, Simon put his back to the wall, set down the money bags, and turned to f