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pure logic, and I still get the shivers. 'The
ghost in the machine', I guess. We engineer all these programs,
then half the time can't figure out what the computers are doing.
So...if you're one house away, what could be so awful between you
and Rebecca?"
    "Do you live in this neighborhood?" Ari
inquired.
    "Uh...no. But I live on the river."
    There was a hint of denigration in his tone,
as if this neighborhood was too lowly for the likes of a
millionaire. Or multimillionaire. Or the like.
    "Yes?"
    "I fired her husband. Which is even worse
than it sounds, because he's gone and disappeared. I hope she
doesn't think I had anything to do with that."
    Firing somebody was a shade better than
shooting someone from half a mile away. Ari saw no reason why
Bristol should give a retrospective flinch.
    "Can you tell me why you did this?" Ari asked
tentatively.
    "Not really. Confidentiality and all."
Bristol took a sip at his mimosa. Ari sensed the man thought he
might be suspected of uncalled-for brutality. In so many other
places in the world, being dismissed might be considered a mild
form of punishment. A lucky miss. But in America being fired was
catastrophic. "He deserved it, believe me. Ethan was a bit facile
when it came to IT security. You know 'facile'?"
    "I believe so."
    Bristol must have found Ari's face (or
general demeanor) unsettling, which forced him into a defensive
stutter. "He was doing stuff…really doing stuff. He had to go."
    "And since then, he has gone missing?"
    "I only know what Tracy has told me," said
Bristol, apparently feeling the weight of culpability shifting off
his shoulders. "Rebecca told her Ethan ran off with another woman.
She got hold of his business phone bill and dialed a number he'd
called a couple of times. Some girl with an Oriental voice
answered. Probably some Asian gold-digger. Ethan made good money,
at least while he was working."
    Ari tsked emphatically, as though asserting
the untrustworthiness of foreigners. This relieved Bristol, who
gave Ari an appreciative flick of his brow.
    "You were unaware of all of this?" Ari asked.
"There was no indication while he was employed by you of trouble at
home?"
    "I didn't have a clue, and I used to be
friends with him, before the blowup at STS."
    "STS?"
    "Our business: Sayed Technical Solutions. He
seemed pretty happy family-wise. But I didn't know he was
phishing—" Bristol caught himself.
    "Ah, Ethan was taking illicit holidays at the
lake?"
    "Not 'fishing'." Bristol waggled an imaginary
fishing pole. "'Phishing'." He tried to come up with a physical
analogy and ended up with a shrug. "But I've said too much already.
Anyway, he found another job right away. I got a call from an
insurance company asking for a reference for him. I gave a thumbs
down, but it looks like that didn't matter. I guess if there's
friction between you and Rebecca, you have to take all that into
account. She must be on edge."
    "Actually, it has to do with a cat..."
    "A cat!" Bristol laughed. "Has that stupid
yellow tabby of hers been dumping in your garden? I know just the
man to take care of it." He scanned the room.
    'Stupid'? Sphinx had many foibles (a lack of
courage and indecorous indoor hygiene being prominent among them),
but to Ari's thinking he was far from stupid. He tucked away the
fact that Bristol knew about Sphinx, and had probably visited the
Wareness home.
    Bristol caught the attention of a man
scarfing down spiced mini-sausages.
    "That's Bruce Turner, my sysadmin. He can
take care of your pest."
    Bruce licked grease off his fingers as he
sauntered over.
    "Bruce, this is Matt's neighbor, Ari."
    Ari had shaken many dirty hands in his time,
and was not averse to clasping Bruce's gleaming palm.
    "You're the circus guy.'' He made it sound as
if Ari was the star clown.
    "Ari has a feline infestation, Bruce. How
would you handle something like that?"
    "I breed pit bulls," Bruce boasted, as though
endowed with an extra set of testicles.
    "Breeding bulls must take away