Page 86 of Lion & Lamb

His daughter was right. He should have waited to squeeze Glenn Sable until after the game was over. Maybe that would have revealed another piece of the puzzle, because one thing was clear: Glenn Sable had not been happy about the prospect of an Eagles victory.

Did he have Archie murdered to ensure the team’s loss? And if so, why? A winning team was far more profitable than a runner-up. None of this made sense.

“Well,” Cooper said, “at least there’s the Super Bowl to look forward to.”

“Where are we going to watch that?” Cooper Jr. asked. “In a dumpster behind the stadium?”

“Keep joking, kid,” Cooper replied. “Wiseasses don’t go to Chickie’s and Pete’s for a celebratory dinner.”

“We’ll never get a table there. Not on a day like this.”

“You’re lucky to have a father who knows a guy who knows a guy. There’s a table waiting for us.”

“Don’t drink too much beer when we’re there,” Ariel said. “Mom doesn’t like it when you drink too much beer, then drive us home.”

“I promise I will drink an entirely appropriate amount of beer,” Cooper assured his daughter. “Now, let’s beat the crowd and feast on some Crabfries.”

Chapter90

REPORT TO C. LAMB BY V. SUAREZ

Sunday, January 30

(Sent with encryption and red-flagged, with delivery confirmation)

Here’s what I’ve been able to learn about this hired killer.

He has no real name (or aliases) that I can pin to a driver’s license or passport. But he has two nicknames: “the Quiet One” and “Tesla.” The names are a nod to this hit man’s silence and speed. If you want a hit done fast and clean with zero traces, you pay extra for the Quiet One.

No law enforcement agency, domestic or foreign, has been able to gather more than scraps about the Quiet One. (I know; I looked.) The FBI won’t even acknowledge he exists, attributing his work to various other people. As if it would be bad form to admit total defeat.

But for the Archie Hughes and Roz Cline killings, the Quiet One seems to fit. There was zero forensic evidence left behind; no cameras caught the murder; and the killer eluded the authorities despite police officers being on the scene almost immediately.

The missing Super Bowl ring is the only part of this that feels off. The Quiet One would not bother with such a souvenir—unless his client had insisted on it. That said, it still feels out of character.

Under my own alias, I tried to reach out to arrange some kind of meeting with the Quiet One or one of his associates. I was pretty much laughed out of the dark web. The kind of people who can afford to hire the Quiet One are way above my pay grade…or even one that I can reasonably fake. Every overture I made was quickly shut down.

And I’ll be honest: I’m worried about trying again, because I’d rather not catch the Quiet One’s attention. You treat me fair, boss, but I don’t want to die for this job.

This should tell you a lot about who might have hired the Quiet One to kill Archie Hughes. These are not ordinary wealthy people. They look down on new-money types like the Sables. We’re talking about the highest echelon of the wealthy, individuals who reshape the world as they like. You have to ask yourself, why would these people want Archie dead?

Hope you and the kids had fun at the game. I’ll admit to being incredibly jealous that you were able to witness firsthand the Hail Mary pass they’ll be talking about for decades to come.

I’ll send more as I learn it.

Oh, one more thing—this just came in. It’s about Maya Rain. See the document attached to this message.

Chapter91

9:48 p.m.

COOPER DRANKmore than an appropriate amount of beer.

Not with the children, of course. He had his two standard bottles of Yuengling Lager and enough crab fries to soak up every last ounce of that beer. The mood at Chickie’s and Pete’s was festive, and of course Cooper loved celebrating with his kids. But he was very distracted.

One distraction was Victor’s most recent report, which was even more alarming than the first. The Quiet One, huh? Why were they working so hard to find a killer who could disappear without a trace, eluding the FBI, Interpol, you name it? How could two private eyes from Philly possibly hope to find him?

But that was academic for now. The second, and bigger, distraction was Maya Rain. Cooper couldn’t help but think he’d missed an opportunity back at the Linc. Maybe there was something he could have said to unlock her mental vault. Cooper liked her a lot but didn’t trust her; maybe she felt the same way about him. Behind the flirtation, they were both cautious, professional people.

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