Page 47 of Thin Ice

"It's the best view in the city and half the people don't know it's here," he said. "The fountains run all night. I like being here before anybody's up."

"It's something," I said. That was all I had, and it was enough.

We stood there as bright streaks of yellow and orange signaled the sunrise. "All right," Nolan said. "Come on. The walk's down behind the hill in the trees." He turned back toward the SUV, and for the first few steps he moved like a man twice his age, short, shuffling steps, and he let me see it.

The air was cooler in the woods. "How often do you do this?"

"I usually come on the mornings the hip needs a little more coaxing." He ducked a low branch without breaking stride. "It's the one place I get to walk without a reporter filing a story."

The hip eased up a bit, and he walked faster. My long legs carried me in an easy lope at his side.

"I take about the same amount of time I do on the floor at home, except here it's prettier."

We circled around to return to the SUV on the opposite side of the road. "Game Five tomorrow," I said.

"Yep." He rolled his shoulders once. "It's a best-of-three for everything now." We walked a few more steps. "Do you like gardens?"

"Yes, I grew up with my mom fussing over roses."

"The botanical gardens here are great. We'll go when things calm down after the Cup."

***

Michael called at ten. Nolan had gone down to the building's gym to spin his legs out, and I stood outside the room with my phone in hand. Doyle's man stood near the elevator at the end of the hall.

"I've got three ways to put someone on Tierney," Michael said, "and none of them survive contact with him."

"Give me the first."

"I can fly an operative out from Seattle and have him knock on the door with a story. The problem is Tierney's the kind of guy who doesn't answer strange calls on his landline after six. Unfamiliar knuckles on his door, and he'll be out the back."

"And number two?"

"The second would be a local contractor. Only problem is he's still a stranger, and this time we have to trust somebody we don't know."

"There's one more."

"Yes." He took a breath. "Kate Halloran. She's motivated to help, and Tierney would likely feel sympathetic with her."

"No," I said.

"I agree with you. He might feel for her, but that doesn't mean he'll spill what we need to her. For him, she's mostly a stranger with a sad story."

"I pulled up flights though I knew they were impossible for me. There was a 4:10 pm out of Lambert and a red-eye back. If Doyle doubled the coverage on Nolan for game night—"

I closed the tab.

"So the best asset we have is you," Michael said, "but you're contractually welded to a hockey player. That means you on the phone is all we have, and he hung up on you."

"He'll answer a second call."

"You base that on—"

"He didn't refuse to talk," I said. "He refused to talk on a phone he didn't dial. Tierney was setting the terms, not closing a door. I'll call and let him pick the time and the line to talk."

"That's not wishful thinking?"

"No, it's holding a man to his word."