Fuck.It’s the second time I’ve done it. First with Magnolia and now with Ariel.
“Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”
She crosses her arms. “I’m a hell of a lot more effective when I understand the big picture.”
“I can’t tell you.”
She studies me. “You don’t need to. I can read between the lines. But what does Magnolia have to do with it?”
I swallow. “I don’t know. But I need to know.”
“Isn’t she besties with Mount’s wife?”
“Yeah.”
“So ... maybe we don’t touch her.”
“But if she’s human trafficking ...”
Ariel releases a sigh. “You’re right. There’s a chance he might not kill us.”
“Wait, there’s one other name, or sort of a name we can look into.”
“I’m listening.”
“Lagarto. It means—”
“Lizard in Portuguese. Of course a human trafficker would have a slimy nickname.”
Then her fingers are off and moving again, and she’s digging in the dark web for the man Rafe and Kane are hunting.
Ariel is quiet for nearly twenty minutes. For a girl that I’m pretty sure wasn’t joking about disabling North Korean nukes, that seems like an awfully long time to have her digging for a piece of information.
“Anything?”
She shakes her head. “This guy’s a motherfucking ghost. Chameleon would’ve been a better choice than Lizard. His name comes up plenty of places where other people are talking about him, but I need a real name before I can find him.”
“Fuck.”
“Right ... wait ...” Then Ariel pauses, turning the screen toward me. There’s a black-and-white photo on the screen of a man wearing a big floppy hat.
“What?”
“Have you ever met a man who would wear a hat like that?”
“It’s stupid-looking but not unbelievable.”
“I know this is going to sound crazy, but what if ... what if the Lizard isn’t ahe?”
“You think he could be ...”
Ariel and I lock eyes.
No fucking way.That would explain way too much. Why Kane and Rafe haven’t been able to track down the guy ... because he’s not a guy.
Her expression turns grim. “I’ve had crazier theories.”
“Where is Magnolia right now?” I ask.