by P. N. Elrod
“Uh-huh.” By her tone she didn’t believe any of it. Too bad.
“All I have to do is slip out the back way and meet you anywhere you name. Bring all the muscle you want, make it public or private, let’em search me to the skin, and you call the shots. I’m telling you I just want to talk.”
“Anywhere, huh?”
I was gambling that it wouldn’t be over running water, like the lake. Had a way clear of that hitch, though. “There’s one thing: I gotta be able to get to a phone. I’m supposed to call Sullivan at midnight or he starts playing hardball with Doc. He could also get mean with Opal, but she’s too far gone to notice.”
“You mean she’s dying?”
“I don’t know. Doc didn’t look too happy. They promised to take care of her, but I don’t trust ’em much. The faster we get things resolved the better, otherwise Sullivan promised to dump her in a field.”
“Where are they?”
“I’ll tell you that when I see you.”
“You’ll tell me now.”
“So you can hit him back and get them killed? I don’t think so.”
Another long pause.
“Angela? I know this sounds fishy as hell, but this is all I’ve got to play with.”
“Then it’s not enough. For all I know, Doc and Opal are dead and you’re setting up a trap for Sullivan to get me as well.”
“Don’t be a sap, Angela. Use your instincts, you must know I’m not that kind of a player.”
“Mister, I don’t know who the hell you are. You talk a good line, but my dad taught me that those are the ones to watch out for more than any of the others.”
“And any other time he’d be right. Come on and fix a meeting, on your terms, wherever you want.”
“Over the phone or nothing at all.”
“No can do.”
“He must be paying you a bundle.”
“He’s paying me jackshit. All he’s done for me is keep me alive a few more hours, and I don’t know how much longer that’s going to last if you don’t want to listen to—”
“I can listen right here and now.”
Had to stop, take a breath and let it out slow. I knew she’d be stubborn about a meeting, but hadn’t anticipated that she’d be so irritating as well. “Look, I’ll tell you what I told Sullivan: I’m only trying to get out of this with a whole skin. He was the one who decided I should be the go-between so you two can settle your differences before things get even more out of hand than they are.”
“This after he raids my place and shoots Opal?”
“On his terms he was just flexing his muscles. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same given the chance.”
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do to that—”
“And I’m sure it involves the use of hand grenades, but they’re not the answer to everything. Just give me the chance to tell you what he has in mind.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“In person, sweetheart, in person. It’s too risky on a phone. The cops might be listening in and we’ve said much too much already.”
“Then find another phone to call from.”
“You’d have to give me a number, which could give away your location.”
“So would my giving you directions on where to find me.”
“Okay, okay. How about I just leave the hotel and start walking? You can have someone pick me up while I’m on the move. I won’t kick a fuss.”
“No thanks, you’re too anxious to deal, Fleming.”
“I’m not exactly in a real good spot not to be! I got two unconscious cops up here, two more downstairs I have to get past, Sean Sullivan ready to scrag me if I screw this up, and you’ve already told me you want me dead—you’re damn right I’m anxious!”
“Then why not leave town, disappear?”
I shut my eyes a moment. God knows walking away from this was looking better and better. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Uh-huh. You’ve got that pegged. What’s this midnight call to Sullivan about?”
“It’s so I can let him know what’s going on. He’s given me that long to find out if you wanna play ball with him or not. What I tell him is gonna affect Opal and Doc. The way things are going now, they’re both gonna end up in a field with no headstone.”
“I figured that already.” She didn’t sound like it mattered that much to her, either. “Okay, if you’re not in his pocket, why should he pick you for this job?”
“I had to do some fast talking to stay alive, so I made him think we had something between us.”
“You and me? That’s a laugh.”
“Sweetheart, you’re hurting my feelings with this talk.”
“And I’m choking up, too.”
“The idea was to help me stay alive; it worked and I’m only trying to keep it working. So come on and let’s get together and—”
“It’s not gonna happen, Fleming. If you can’t do business over the phone—”
“What about Opal and Doc?”
“You’re so worried about ’em, you tell me. Phone or nothing. It’s in your hands.”
“You’d let ’em die?”
“If I have to. Sullivan wants to play tough, then that’s the way it is.”
Jeez. I wasn’t talking to a human being, but to a block of ice.
“Fleming, I’m not saying I want them to die, but I’m not risking myself for anyone. You want to take chances, go right ahead.”
“But they’re the ones who—” But I cut the rest off. No point talking in circles. She’d made up her mind and was willing to throw away two lives to keep from changing it. Apparently she didn’t mind noisy fun and games like the raid or tossing grenades around her backyard, but to stick her neck out in the cold on purpose was something else again. Too bad for Doc and Opal. I’d have to stop pushing the personal-interview stuff and try a different angle.
“Okay, Angela, there’s gotta be a way we can work something out here. You at least want to get Opal back, without her the books are useless.”
“The books. I wondered when you’d get around to them. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it?”
“Sullivan mentioned them, yes.”
“Well, he’s out of luck. He’s not getting them.”
“He’s willing to buy them from you.”
“What’s his offer? I can use another laugh.”
“Enough to put you and your father up in style. Enough to allow you to afford the best head doctors in Europe to treat him, get him better again.”
Long silence for that one. I let her think it over.
“Europe?”
“Maybe take him to Switzerland. They got more shrinks than mountains there. You could get your father help—real help—for what’s happened to him.”
“And when he’s better he’ll have nothing to come back to. The business he spent his life building gone, sold for a song by me? I’m not gonna do that to him.”
“It’s got more going for it than the road you’re on now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s stuff I heard at Sullivan’s. The New York bosses think you’re too flashy and dangerous. Even if you dump Sullivan down a drain, they’ll just send out someone else to take his place and another one after that and another, until you end up on a slab and your father is wrapped tight in a straitjacket in some state institution for what’s left of his life.”
“No! You shut the hell up!”
“That’s how the world works, you can’t change it, but if you’re smart you can fix things so you’re sitting pretty, play it dumb and everyone loses, especially your father.”
“No!”
“If something happens to you, who’s gonna take care of him? He’ll be in a white room somewhere with some guy spoon-feeding him oatmeal three times a day in between basket-weaving sessions—”
“No!” A real shriek. She didn’t hang up, but did slam the phone down hard on something. Several times.
As Escott
could have said, I’d touched a nerve. A mighty sensitive one to judge by the crashing sounds and her language. It was a few long minutes before she came back. At least she had a chance to rant and blow off steam. I had to sit still and hang on to the line, feeling like a dog on a short leash tied to a bomb.
“Fleming.” She sounded breathless.
“Yeah?”
“God damn you to hell.” Now she sounded tired. Very tired.
“No doubt.”
“Fleming?”
“Right here.”
“What’s . . . what’s that bastard’s offer?”
Bowed my head. Tried not to get too hopeful. “I don’t know, but the two of you can negotiate it, set up a delivery.”
“Why should he even bother paying me off?”
“Because it’s not as noisy as a war and a lot less expensive. The boys in New York don’t like that kind of noise.”
Pause on her end. A long one. I tried not to fidget.
“Fleming.”
“Yeah?”
“You said you could get Doc and Opal out?”
“Maybe I could.”
“Then you do that. I’ll deal with Sullivan on condition I get them back.”
“He won’t give you Opal. Not willingly. He needs her to decode the books.”
“Doc, then. I’ll trade Doc for the books and the payoff. As a sign of good faith.”
I didn’t want to trust her. That little double back she’d pulled on the stairway tonight left a bad taste in my mouth.
“You’ll stick to any deal you strike?”
“Not just any deal, this is only if I get enough cash.”
Words were easy to say, and neither of us had mentioned that seven hundred grand sitting in the roadhouse basement, either. She probably didn’t want to remind me of it, and I sure as hell didn’t want her going there, though it was a surety that she’d run out and try to pick it up before the dust settled.
“Get Doc released, and I’ll hand over the books for the money,” she said.
“It’ll take time for me to work this.” I wanted plenty of maneuvering room as far as the ticking clock went.
“I’m in no hurry.”
“And I’ll need a better way to contact you than to keep coming to this dump. Something more direct.”
“If you get Doc out, he’ll do that for you. He knows what places to find me.”
“Come on, Angela.”
“You just get Doc and he’ll take care of it; otherwise, no deal. That’s all you need to worry about.”
It was more than enough.
“You want some muscle, some guns?”
I thought about it. Asking for them just might put me next to her. “What if I do?”
“Then I’d tell you where to go to get them.”
Cagey girl. “Nah, I’ll be fine without.”
“What’ll you say to Sullivan when you call him?”
“That you’re willing to deal, but it won’t be easy. I’ll make you look good.”
“I don’t need your help for that, and you’re damn right it won’t be easy. If he doesn’t cough up enough money to suit me, he’ll have a fight on his hands.”
“I’ll make sure he understands.”
“You do that. And one other thing, Fleming.” Her voice came back stronger, like it was from the start, but darker and sleet-cold. “You pull anything cute, I mean anything, and I’ll hang your carcass from a meat hook right next to Sullivan’s. You won’t be able to hide from me; no matter how this turns out, I’ll come after you and make it happen. Take that as a promise.”
“I believe you, lady,” I whispered.
CALLOWAY was awake finally, sort of, if you didn’t mind him looking like he was having an open-eyed cataleptic fit. Before I could call Sullivan I had to have his stooge up and ready to talk. I got tired of waiting for him to come around naturally and tried the cold-water-in-the-face routine along with some hard shaking and a few face slaps. They worked just fine, and while he was still in a highly receptive state for it I gave him my best evil-eye. Now he was sitting in the chair by the phone, quiet as a cat and ready to do a bit part in White Zombie.
I’d primed him with a bogus memory of my conversation with Angela, then gave instructions on exactly what I wanted from him in reaction. I hoped it would cover every point Sullivan might raise, but the effort had given me one hell of a headache. It felt like someone had tied a tourniquet to my skull and was squeezing it too tight. I vanished once to see if that would make the pain go away, but it didn’t seem to have much effect, which was a disappointment. Usually that cleared up things like cuts and bruises pretty fast; maybe I needed to not be solid for a longer period. No time to experiment. It wasn’t near to midnight yet, but I didn’t want Sullivan to get the sweats waiting. He’d seemed confident when I’d left, and I wanted to bolster that feeling with an early report of success.
I dialed the number Maxwell had given me. Two rings and he answered. Low voice, as well modulated as a radio announcer, very civilized.
“Yes?”
“It’s Fleming. Is Opal okay?”
“She was when I last saw her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what I said.”
“Did you bring in a real doctor for her?”
“She’s being carefully looked after in a very safe place, I assure you.”
Didn’t know how much of that I could believe, if any. Sure, I’d been able to give him a last order, a slight push in the right direction, but was uncertain whether it’d taken a solid enough hold in his mind to do Opal any good. I’d find out soon enough, though. “I’ve talked with Angela. You want your boss to hear the news?”
Apparently he did. The next one on the line was Sullivan.
“What have you to say?” Cultured, with that flat Boston accent. A Boston roach. He was probably a real pip scuttling around the football field. Or maybe it was polo.
“I think I’ve got a deal for you.”
“You only think you have it?”
“I’ll know for sure once I meet with the lady. She’s pretty skittish after all the fireworks tonight. She wants your guarantee you’ll lay off for the time being, call a truce.”
“So she has a chance to hit back?”
“At the moment she’s got very little to hit you with and no idea where you are. I’m going to meet with her, but Calloway’s kicking a fuss about letting me out. She won’t talk if I’ve got fleas on my tail. I wouldn’t put it past her to plug me if she thinks I’ve turned and gone over to your side.”
“Nice girlfriend you’ve got.”
“It’s the same as for any girlfriends you might have. Would you let one of them stand between you and the organization? Didn’t think so. She’s soft for me, but only to a point.”
“Smart gal.”
“I’ve always thought so. Now how about calling off Calloway so I can get some work done?”
“What sort of work?”
“I’m gonna meet her at some place on the road in Indiana. No one else knows about it. No address, I just know how to get there. It’s gonna take a while, too; I won’t be able to call until morning, if that soon.”
“That’s too long.”
“She’s a stubborn gal. I’m gonna have to do a lot of sweet talkin’ to get her to come around to your way of seeing things. If I’m not careful about this she’ll dangle me from a meat hook. Talking her into dealing with you means I get out of it alive.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to skip.”
“I’m not trying to—”
“Put Calloway on.”
“But—”
“Put him on, Fleming.”
I grumbled and growled for effect, then passed the receiver over. Calloway pressed it against his ear. No worry from me. He was my creature, I owned him. His voice sounded perfectly normal, but his face was still quite blank. Creepy.
“Yeah, Mr. Sullivan?”
“What’s this deal about him m
eeting Angela?”
“I listened to both sides, he’s on the up-and-up with it far as I can tell. She wants to see him, but I still don’t trust him. He needs to be watched.”
“Of course he does, but from a distance might be better. Can you trail him?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“Very well. Don’t be caught or things could get complicated.”
“I won’t.”
“Put him back on.”
He handed it over.
Sullivan sounded reassuring, like a teacher with a not too bright student. “I got things straightened out with the lieutenant, so you won’t have any trouble from him now.”
“That was easy. Maybe too easy. He swallowed that without any choking.”
“He knows what’s good for him and how to obey orders. I’m hoping you do as well.”
“We both want the same thing, Mr. Sullivan. You hold to your part and I’ll hold to mine and then everyone’s happy. But if Calloway screws this up for me . . . ” I thought I’d give him a chance to adjust things. If I really did have a meeting with Angela, Sullivan’s orders to Calloway could get us both killed.
“He won’t.”
Why did I even bother to hope he’d smarten up and play square? Okay, to hell with him and all his cousins. “All right. I’ll call in the morning around ten.”
“That late?”
I gave a snotty chuckle, the sort he’d expect from someone who was quite a bit less than a gentleman. “Well, Angela’s a pretty hot little twist. I may have to be sleeping in from all the—”
“Eight o’clock, Fleming,” he said in a world-weary and rather patronizing tone.
“Hey, I can’t—”
“Eight, no later.” He hung up. Probably thought he’d scored a point or two. Fine, far be it from me to disillusion him. By this time tomorrow, if I had any luck, he wouldn’t even remember my name.
8
JUST to be neat about things, I led Calloway back to the bedroom and tucked him up nice and sweet with his friend Baker, who I had to wake briefly in order to give him new instructions. It made my headache worse, but everything went smoothly. They’d come to in the morning and swear up and down that after the call to Sullivan I’d knocked them cold and escaped, which was more or less the truth. Certainly Calloway had the physical evidence of it forming on his bruised jaw. This way, no matter how the night turned out, they’d be in the clear. Maybe. If Sullivan even knew what they were talking about. No matter, I could fix him just as easy.
