“There’s nothing more to tell.”
“That’s been my spot for three years. Wouldn’t that mean they were probably after me?”
“If that’s true, why today?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why not last week? Why not tomorrow? Thursday morning would be just as good as Wednesday morning.”
“Maybe whoever gave the hit man—”
“Hit man?” He grimaced.
“They’re not—that’s not what they’re called?”
“Saycontract killerinstead.”
I rolled my eyes because it was a stupid designation. “Okay, so maybe thecontract killer”—I enunciated every syllable in the two words—“had a time limit. Maybe he had to do it today because he had to be in Rome later this week.”
“Rome?”
“I don’t know! Someplace. New Jersey, for all I care. But he’s busy because he has a mortgage to pay and so he had to kill me today.”
“You’re being quite petulant at the moment.”
I tried to stare holes through him.
“Fine.”
“Answer.”
“So in this scenario, your contract killer has a mortgage. Yes?”
“You’re trying to argue minutia with me to take my mind off what I’m saying, but it’s not going to work. I’m telling you that it had to be done today, and whoever was in the spot had to die because the killer is on a schedule.”
“Fine,” he granted. “But just so we’re clear on this, you’re saying this killer is gunning for you, Celso Harrington, but because he has to kill someone today, even though it’s Senan in your spot and not you, he decides to take the shot anyway because he’s on a timetable.”
It made no sense when he explained it like that.
“This is your premise, yes?”
“It sounds stupid now.”
“It sounded stupid when you offered it up the first time,” he assured me.
“Unless he—or she, or they, no reason to be gender specific here—was hired to make a point by killing a dancer. Specifically, a principalmaledancer at the CBC.”
“For what purpose?”
“I have no idea.”
Eli made a noise in the back of his throat. “I’m going to say that’s a weak premise, and let’s stick withhefor our nefarious killer. It’ll make it easier.”
“Fine, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong about someone wanting to make a statement.”
“And what would that be?”
“I don’t know, and I’m too tired to theorize about it.”