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because all of a sudden I’m a natural-born undercover agent.”
    “I’m not surprised, Natalie. I’m sure you were great at it.”
    “I don’t know about that. But next thing I know, they turn on the projector and there’s this woman’s face on the screen. She’s really attractive. Just killer. They say her name is Rhapsody. Which is such a perfect name, isn’t it? Doesn’t that make her sound like somebody who should be answering the phone at a beauty salon?”
    “Sounds more like a stripper to me.”
    “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Appearing in the lounge tonight, ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’”
    “I take it that’s not what she did for a living?”
    “Apparently not. According to Keller, she’s hooked up with a man named Antoine Laraque. And Laraque is the reason why everybody’s in that room.”
    “Drugs again? Like the biker guy?”
    “No, not drugs. Guns.”
    “In Canada?”
    “I’m telling you, Alex. You wouldn’t believe it here. This whole city is going crazy with guns right now. All these gang members, especially in Rexdale, Scarborough…It’s like they’re catching up with the American cities all of a sudden. It’s like they picked up Detroit and dropped it in Ontario.”
    “Hey, that’s my old hometown you’re talking about.”
    “I’m sorry, but you know what I mean.”
    “Sad to say…But yes, I do.”
    “In fact, as it turned out, half the people in that room were from the States. There’s this big joint operation between the ATF and Royal Mounted. Because, of course, you know where all the guns are coming from.”
    “Of course,” I said. “But this sounds like big-league stuff. What exactly do they want you to do? You’re not telling me this whole group got together just because you—”
    “No, no. The operation’s been active for a good two months now. They’ve got this one Mountie, a guy named Don Resnik. He’s a real undercover pro. They were thinking they’d try to use him to make some kind of contact.”
    “But then what? You came along? All of a sudden they’re changing the plan?”
    “They think I’ll have a better shot at it. I’m a new face in town. Nobody will recognize me, and they said if I have this ability to make a connection with another woman…Maybe if I have the right kind of backstory to work with…Like maybe I’m here in town trying to set up some kind of deal.”
    “Natalie, doesn’t this sound kind of far-fetched to you? Do you think these people are going to fall for this?”
    “We haven’t gotten that far yet. Right now, it’s just a little test, to see if I can make the contact. But if you think about it…I’m the perfect cover, aren’t I?”
    “How’s that?”
    “A woman gun dealer…Who’s going to suspect she’s really a cop? It’s the ultimate double fake-out.”
    “Women cops work undercover all the time. Everybody knows that.”
    “Yeah, and it’s usually what? A hooker working the corner, right?”
    I thought it over for about two seconds. I hadn’t seen many solicitation stings back in my own day, but hell, prostitution was usually the least of our problems in Detroit. In any case, I knew she was right. I couldn’t think of one single time a female officer had posed as anything else.
    “So when does this happen?” I said. “When do you try to connect with Rhapsody?”
    “Tomorrow.” I could hear the excitement in her voice. And the nerves.
    “Just like that? What are you going to do, start talking to her at the supermarket?”
    “Actually, it’s a coffee shop. She stops in there every morning. I’ve got this whole script made up. I better go over it again before I go to bed.”
    I had a mixture of feelings that night. I was proud of her. I knew how important the operation must have been to everyone involved. If so many guns were really flooding the city, I knew what the effects would be. I knew that all too well. Beyond that, I was envious. She was getting into the kind of police work I would have