Page 51 of The Furies

“He had no choice,” she said. “It was self-defense.”

“Witnesses differed on that.”

“Then to hell with them. But—”

She hesitated.

“Go on,” I said.

“What if Egon and Raum are convinced the myth is true,” she said, “and the only way to get rid of Kepler is to keep that coin from him.”

“Are you offering that as a hypothesis, or telling me it’s what they believe?”

“Okay, I’m telling you. If they can avoid Kepler, they believe fate will take care of him, and fast. There, are you happy? You got your story, for what it’s worth. You can accept or dismiss it, I don’t care.”

We were at the end. I wasn’t going to get much more from her. I took out my cell phone and showed her the symbol I’d photographed in Raum’s unit at the Braycott Arms.

“Have you ever seen anything like this before?” I asked.

She looked at the picture and visibly recoiled.

“Egon showed it to me, when he was drunk. That’s a rune—Kepler’s rune. It’s a signature, or a calling card. Where did you find it?”

“In Raum Buker’s motel room, and on the door of one of the women he was seeing up in Maine. Has Kepler been here, Ms. Towle?”

“No.”

That made no sense. If Kepler was stalking Raum Buker, he also had to know about Egon Towle.

“When was the last time you heard from your brother?” I said.

“Six days ago.”

“Before or after Reuben Hapgood went up in flames?”

“After,” she conceded. “But not long after.”

“So he went underground when Hapgood was killed.”

“If you want to put it that way.”

“Aren’t you concerned for his safety?”

“Of course, but he was planning to lie low before Hapgood died. I’m not surprised that Egon hasn’t been in touch. He told Raum to keep his head down as well, but I don’t think Raum is the head-down type.”

She was right about that much, given Raum’s performance at the Great Lost Bear. If the Fulcis had managed to lay hands on him, he might not have had a head to keep down. But this part of Eleanor Towle’s narrative was missing a link. If Kepler couldn’t lay hands on Raum or Egon, and had already placed his mark on Ambar Strange’s door, then why not put pressure on Egon’s sister to find out what she knew? Unless—

“Do you have a number for your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Have you used it lately?”

“No, because calls can be traced. Everybody knows that.”

“Indulge me,” I said. “Contact him.”

“Not with you here. I’ll call him later, when you’re gone. I’ll let you know how it goes. I give you my word.”

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