Tell them shes under full twenty-four-seven protection. We sat there in silence for a moment, eyeing each other, waiting to see who would be the first to say something inane about the twists of fate. When neither of us did I said,Who hired you to look into Arch Mix? I see his point, Dino said, but maybe its not a bad thing: angry people make mistakes. You know what you just named, dont you? I said. Exactly, Mason said. So, in case someone had fired a shot at him and had missed, the natural reaction for George Lutts would have been to turn and charge his assailant. I was standing at the window watching dusk turn the sky and the world below into a dolefully beautiful evening. In Chicago I might be in a bar having drinks with a woman who interested me, hoping that I interested her as well. The old Mick maudlin side always wrenched me in its self-pitying grip at this time. During the next ten minutes, Mason looked at his watch at least ten times. Then Della heard the tapping of quick steps in the corridor and impatient knuckles on the door of Masons private office. And there she was. Now he knew her name at least. Unless what? I said. Chapter Eighteen Devine grew rigid.What can I do for you? And I have no fault to find with it, Gloster said, which is the reason I was so careful to interrupt the witness every time he started to talk about that conversation. I didnt want him to testify to it because I think it has no bearing on the case. He lifted his gaze from his laptop, as he did every morning when passing by this area. Every time he looked out, another structure was going up, or an existing one was being made even more lavish. The cement trucks drove in with wet loads for larger and more elaborate pools, the houses went higher or wider, or a guesthouse was being built or a putting green added. It kept the working class employed, so there was some good in the greed and pretentiousness, he supposed. That all? he asked. Theres always an opportunist out there, Dino said. She asked me to go with her. Nothing. I was listening to the radio down in the car. I didnt even hear the shots. Thats the truth, Mr. Mason. The first thing I knew was that I went in there and he was dead. Of course, the murderer must have been in there at the time, and if Id gone up the stairs far enough, he’d either have shot me or knocked me out and dashed out of the house. Apparently, Lutts was the only one he was after. When he heard me coming, instead of coming toward me, he must have retreated. He didn’t want me to see him. I had enough presence of mind to realize that. If I’d seen his face, thenhe’d have had to kill me, too. So I ran. I decided against upsetting him even more.Im just checking in to see how Jess is doing..