There was a lot going on at that very moment, not very far away from the shop. Bags were being packed, there were kisses goodbye. Andrew deleted the temporary files on his computer with a utility that filled the emptied space with zeros multiple times, just in case there was a copy of the encrypted chat he had just had with Scotty. He could remember every word of it, with the strange acuity of youth: unmitigated memory, untroubled by the suspiciousness that would lead you to look behind the words to what was not said. But it was a shocking enough message that he knew this went well beyond his ability and desire to understand. Most of it was directed to his mother, anyway, with the express admonition that Reggie, if he was there, should not be allowed to see the conversation.

Scotty had a lot to fill Alice in on, in just a few short sentences. Walton’s return. Reggie’s involvement. Gary made sure that Scotty would explain: someone needs to be there to meet with Walton. But he did not elaborate to Scotty what he suspected and knew to be the outcome of that presence. If Scotty embellished, so be it; if he stuck to the script, well, Alice was certainly well versed enough to draw her own conclusions. Or so Gary told himself. Then on to the tickets. Waiting in her name at the airport. Tickets you could cash in at any airport for another set of tickets or for cash. Or you could just leave them if you had reason to believe that the deal had gone south — oh, say, if Gary found himself unable to meet her at the airport. But, and this was the crux of the issue, Gary or Reggie had to be there to meet Walton, or she and Andrew were at risk. Gary or Reggie. Reggie’s involvement, his greed, his indifference to the risks to her — Gary went on at some length while Scotty listened.