Part 13 (1/2)

She walked toward him and held out her hand as if to take his. ”You can buy Bachman, and my silence, if you want to.”

”It'd be easier for Bachman to change his name,” he said.

”Untrue. Besides, Ross would find him sometime.”

That was right enough. But he said, ”Buy your silence? With what?”

”Money.”

”We haven't any.” He sounded angry and bitter, but he couldn't help it. He'd had to keep up his renowned facade too long already.

”You will if you deal with me,” the girl said. She dropped the offered hand, waiting. She looked even more like Elise now, a secret smile of self-satisfaction tinting her lovely face.

Tucker said, ”What's the deal?”

She pursed her lips, licked them. She said, ”Okay, you're going to find this Bachman on your own, I see that. You're going to make a fool out of Ross like no one's ever done before. He won't want me around once I've seen him humiliated, so I haven't any reason to stick around here. The deal is-I get twenty percent of whatever's in those three suitcases, plus a free ride out of here.”

Tucker blinked, felt his legs grow momentarily weaker, then smiled. ”I'll be d.a.m.ned,” he said. ”The Tuesday s.h.i.+pment?”

”That's it.”

”The cash?”

”Yes.”

”I didn't think it'd be here yet.”

”It wasn't sent out a second time, for reasons I'll explain if you'll deal.”

He shook his head ruefully. ”Now that I know it's here, why do I need to deal at all?”

”Because you could waste hours hunting for it. There are a thousand places in a house this size that three suitcases could be hidden. And from the way you've been acting, you can't spend much more time in here-you've got someone coming to pick you up.”

He admired her despite the fact that she'd started out on the other side of the fence. When she saw that the circ.u.mstances had gotten beyond her control, she maneuvered to increase the range of her power. He could see why Baglio had respected her. The old man's only mistake was in not respecting her even more than he had. He was also pleased with her demands. They were eminently reasonable if she could supply what she boasted.

”Okay,” he said.

”Deal?”

”Deal.”

She frowned and said, ”It's not as easy as that, though. We'll have to talk some more.”

”Talk,” he said. He reached into his pocket and took out the roll of Life Savers, popped one into his mouth.

”Not here.”

”Where?”

”In the room you're on your way to.”

Tucker looked at his watch: 6:06. He didn't feel much like finis.h.i.+ng the operation in broad daylight, though it appeared as if they were going to have to do just that. He said, ”We can't take long bargaining. It's getting d.a.m.n late.”

”I'll need two minutes,” she said.

”Come on, then.”

She stepped over the corpse on the corridor floor, her pretty bare toes squis.h.i.+ng in the damp carpet, went with Tucker to the guard's bedroom. Behind them, Harris fared another burst down the main stairwell.

In the bedroom she sat down on the corner of the mattress and tucked her long legs under her, now very demure and innocent in the flannel gown. She said, ”How do you expect to get out of here?”

He hesitated, then said, ”A helicopter.”

She made a face. ”I'm serious.”

”So am I.”

She said, ”I don't want to make a deal if you're really a bunch of clowns who didn't think this thing through.”

He explained, in detail but as rapidly as possible, about Norton and the helicopter with the state-police markings.

”I'm impressed,” she said.

”Now,” he said, ”impress me. Do you know what happens to people who upset Ross Baglio?”

”I know.”

”But you're willing to risk it?”

”A girl has to provide for herself,” she said. She sounded like an earnest, homely high-school freshman deciding to take the sensible secretarial program to prepare to meet the bills four years hence. She was delightful.

”Baglio knows your name. It'll be easy to track you down.”

”A name can be changed,” She was implying that Loraine wasn't her real name anyway.

”You can't change the way you look. Every man who sees you is going to remember you.”

”You're exaggerating my appeal,” she said. ”Besides, I know something about makeup and disguise.” She got off the bed and said, ”Are you trying to talk me out of helping you?”

”No,” he said. ”I just want to understand exactly why you're doing this so I have a better idea of what's going to happen later. For instance, I wouldn't want you to go through with this with the idea of bringing your twenty percent back to Baglio and telling him all you learned about us while you were counted as a friend.”

”I'd have to be a fool,” she said.

”I know.”

”But I'm not.”

He sighed. So much like Elise. ”I know that too.”

”Well?”