Black-Eyed Stranger (19 page)

“I'm asking whether you've talked already, Sam?”

Sam didn't deny it. He simply looked lost in thought a moment. Then, as if he found a verifying idea of his own, he exclaimed, “I see what you mean.”

“I thought,” purred Ambielli, “that you would.”

“You were up there in Salisbury's apartment.” Sam's voice was eager with curiosity. “How
was
that?”

“You were up there, Sam.”

Sam said, “For questioning. You, too?” He managed to exude curiosity.

Ambielli said, “If you talked to them, Sam, you know I'll kill you?” The voice was thin steel.

Sam's voice had a tremor. “Personally?”

“Perhaps even personally,” said the little man. The big man pouted.

“Be an honor,” Sam said grimly.

For the first time, Kay believed. There was no doubt that this little man would do as he said. Once he was sure, he would kill Sam Lynch. Something shimmered and quivered and vibrated inside the small shell of his body. It would kill. It wanted to kill. It could hardly wait.

But she made herself put forth curiosity. She pushed it out of her, generated it within her mind. She said inside, over and over, What is this about? What is this about?

Sam said, irritably, “Well?”

“See whether that's a wig,” the little man said, and Kay felt the big hand in her hair and there was a tug and a yank and a frightful pain, and she raised her hands to her scalp as she was dragged forward.

He let her go and she fell on her hands and knees, and she couldn't see because of the tears of pain, but the big man took no interest in her hurt. He said, “It's hair.”

She scrambled to her feet, drying her eyes on her wrist, and let the simplicity of pure rage take her completely. She cried out and with her fists she tried to pound the big man, and he grabbed her as she fought him. Words kept coming out of her throat.

Sam moved, naturally, away from the struggle. He sat down in the chair beside the table and he tilted it and he was laughing. His fingers caught at the table edge as if to keep the chair balanced on its two hind legs, and he kept laughing. Struggling with the big one, she thought surely it was time, but Ambielli never took his eyes off Sam so Sam kept laughing.

She twisted toward him. “And what's so funny?” she howled. “Tell me the joke. You, Sam!”

“Bonnie.” Sam sobered. “Let her go, Baby. Bites, doesn't she? You want to ruin my private life?” His eyes crinkled to laugh.

Ambielli said, “Let her go.”

“Aw,” said Baby in profound disgust, “this ain't Katherine Salisbury.”

It was as if a stick cracked on something, as if a sharp rap sounded, commanding silence. And there was silence except for her panting breath.

Then Sam's body stiffened, and his two feet crashed on the floor, and his whole body jerked forward and then back. “
You're looking
for Katherine Salisbury?” he said as if he were strangling and the flesh of his cheeks rose up to narrow the wild mirth rising in his eyes. It was perfect, Sam's astonishment. The perfect reaction, including, as it honestly must, to be perfect, the joke of it. It shouldn't have been perfect. Ambielli said, “Shut up,” and another brittle thing began to crack.

Sam put his head in his hands, “Sorry,” he said quickly, apologetically, fearfully, “Sorry. Excuse me. I didn't mean—I thought—Sorry, boss.” Kay thought, now he will die just for thinking it's funny. And she believed this, and the whole room rocked on the edge of that catastrophe.

Baby's big hands had released her. Baby was trembling. He waited for the boss to say. She tossed her hair away from her face. She thought, but we fooled him. We can't spoil it now.
No.
So she walked deliberately between Sam and Ambielli and stood on the line of tension, the straight line between them. She leaned over the table. She said, “Give me the keys.”

“Huh?”

“The keys to your car. I'm getting out of here. I'm leaving, Sam.”

“Aw, Bonnie, look, just because there's been a little trouble, don't—”

“There's been too much as far as I'm concerned. Give me the keys. You boys can settle your troubles all alone.”

“Going to walk out on me,” Sam said bitterly.

“If there's going to be any killing,” she managed to sound scornful.

“Nobody's going to do any killing.”

“He looks like the type,” she said, “this friend of yours. I don't think he's kidding. Where are the keys? In that drawer?” She began to lean over.

Sam put his hand on the table drawer. Their cold fingers touched. “I trust it's okay with you boys if Bonnie runs out on me. I guess the evening's disenchanted.” He could snatch the drawer open. She was between him and Ambielli.

Baby growled something. But Ambielli spoke and his voice was soft again. It had been drawn back, the blade to the sheath. “Don't go, Bonnie. I'd like to talk to you, Sam. It won't be necessary for the young woman to leave.”

Why, maybe they had fooled him! Their cold fingers winced and wondered, together. She thought it seemed too easy. Maybe they hadn't fooled him altogether, but given him doubt. Maybe he wasn't sure.

Ambielli said, “There seems to be a lock on that door. Put her in there, Baby. She's a distraction. No way out, is there?”

“You're not going to put me …” She whirled. She would fight and occupy the big one. But she was still on the line between Sam and Ambielli and before she could duck aside, Baby came and lifted her away. Then she saw, as she threshed in his grasp, that now, somehow easily and magically, it was Ambielli who had a gun in his hand.

“Take it easy, Bonnie.” Sam was sober and stern. “Do what the man says. Good idea if we can clear this up. We can try.” Sam wasn't laughing any more. His hands were in his pockets. He tilted the chair.

Chapter 19

BABY carried her to the bathroom and dumped her on her feet inside. She didn't protest. He closed the door. He locked it. The room was black dark. She looked up at the strip of glass. There was faint light, out there, from the night sky. There were no faces. In all the vast night she could hear no sound of any car.

But she could hear Ambielli say, “Who sent Dulain after me, Sam?”

“That I don't know.” Sam answered promptly.

“Why were you there?”

“Because they found out I ate with you on Wednesday.”

“They did?”

“That's the way I got it.”

“Why did they care?”

“I couldn't say.”

“You don't say, Sam, as a rule. Break the rule.”

“Is that a question?”

“That's advice.”

“I'm talking,” Sam said bitterly. “You listening?”

“Did you mention a newspaper picture?”

Sam hesitated. Then he said sharply, “I left that in Nick's.” There was a beat of silence. “Nick have any two's to put together and make four, boss?”

Silence.

The big man growled.

“Do you think …?” Sam began.

“I ask. You talk. What happened?”

“Where?”

“Up there.”

“At Salisbury's place?” Kay could hear the creaking of the wooden chair. “Dulain asked how well I knew you.”

“And?”

“I said, naturally, I knew who you were. Asked me did we have lunch on Wednesday. I said, yes. Asked me had I planned to meet you. I said, no, happened to go into Nick's. Asked me if I knew where you went afterward. I said you left ahead of me. I didn't know. Asked me where is Katherine Salisbury. I said, isn't she here?”

“That's all, Sam?”

“No. Maybe this is something. Listen. They made me print some stuff. It was instructions. Part of a demand for money. You see what I thought?”

“Aw, we got the money,” Baby said.

Ambielli hissed at him.

Sam said, in awe, “You never did!” His voice went on gathering reverence with the surprise. “Somebody else did the dirty work. You got the money. That's—that's …” The chair bumped the floor. “Marvelous! It's sweet. What a twist! Who …?”

“Ah,” said Ambielli, “how I wonder who.”

“You care, eh?” Sam conceded this.

“I would like to know.”

“I can see that you would. And yet … saved you trouble.” The idea was delicately extended.

“I don't mind trouble, Sam. I do mind interference.”

“Wait a minute. See what you mean. Somebody did more than talk.” Sam spoke with lively interest; “If it was talk, the Salisburys would have locked her up. Nobody could have gotten her. And in that case, they'd never pay off.”

Ambielli said smoothly. “It may have been that they didn't expect to pay off. There was an element of surprise, you see, Sam, as it was collected. It occurs to me that they may have had an ambush farther up the line.”

“Real money?” Sam said quickly.

There was no answer.

“At least the numbers would be listed. That money must be hot.”

“A test has been made,” Ambielli said, dryly.

“It passed?” Sam sounded startled.

There was no immediate answer. Then Baby said, “It sure did,” and laughed in a high whinny.

“You know a little too much for my best comfort, Sam. You can see how that is?”

“I don't know much more than I knew last Wednesday.” Sam said tartly. “I remember, you said then, you never worried.”

“Unless and until, I said, Sam.”

“Make up your mind.” Sam sounded weary. “Don't let me influence you. I'll tell you this much. I wish I'd never gone to Nick's. The trouble you can get into in fifteen minutes. So your whole damn future takes a zig or else a zag. I wish I'd have settled for tea and toast. You're not the only one thinks I had something to do with it.”

“Who else, Sam?”

“That Dulain.”

“We know. He put a tail on you.”

“So he did,” said Sam smoothly. “But I lost them.”

“Oh, yes, you lost them, Sam. We helped a little. We rather got in the way.”

“You were there, boss?”

“Now, come, Sam,” Ambielli chided. “You know we were there.

“I do?” said Sam. “Well, if you say so.”

“Could I help wondering, Sam?”

“No. You couldn't help wondering. Followed me all the way up here, eh, boss?”

Then Ambielli must have laughed, although Kay heard no laughter except the afternote in his voice as it went on. “It was unnecessary. Since Wednesday, we had asked around. Heard you had this little place. Naturally, I wondered.” The voice sharpened. “I'd have stopped wondering, if they hadn't so obviously put a tail on you, Sam. I'd have been quite sure about you. I'd have been convinced that you were the one …”

“Is that right?” Sam said. “The one who …?”

“Who took Katherine Salisbury, on Wednesday, and hid her somewhere. Who is working with that Dulain. Who let the father follow instructions. Who kept him in the dark, to make it convincing. He was convincing. Who set up an ambush that failed. Who went in, today, for another little conference. To plan how to trick me …”

Kneeling on the floor in the dark behind the door, Kay saw through the little man's eyes how she was nothing. She was a checker, a wooden piece, to be moved from square to square in a game he played for blood and money and for a lust to win. And so Ambielli thought she must be to Sam, too. And so Ambielli thought Sam was moving the piece as an enemy, for the other side.

But she could see that Sam was on no side so much as that of the pawn itself, the little piece, which was not wood, but Katherine.

Then she heard Sam say, steadily, “Yet they put a tail on me. Doesn't fit, does it?”

“I wonder if you were that clever …”

“That devious,” murmured Sam. “The credit is nice. Don't give me too much credit. Tell me, why would I do all this, boss? I don't seem to me to be the type.”

“I hadn't thought so, Sam.”

“I've got a reputation, too, you know.”

“A reputation for not talking. But tonight you are talking. Aren't you, Sam?”

“I'm telling what I know,” Sam said slowly. “It's possible, I could look around. I might turn up Katherine Salisbury for you.”

“Are you sure she isn't in that bathroom?” Ambielli said softly. “Because I'm not, Sam. Not sure at all. Clever little girl, if she's Katherine Salisbury. But her vocabulary was literary, I thought. Didn't you?”

Silence.

“Keep your hands still, Sam. I'd rather you didn't move at all.”

Silence.

“How shall we make sure?” Ambielli purred.

Then, in the vast night, a sound began. At last, again, there was a car approaching.

Kay knelt on the floor and listened to that noise. In the outer room, the shack's door whined on its hinges. She had a vision, painted on the dark that pressed against her eyeballs, of the finger flick that had sent the big man out to see. For she could still hear the car and Ambielli was still there. “Sit still, Sam.”

She could barely catch Sam's muttering. “… sake, Bonnie's going to love this. Probably that damn Dulain.” Then, loudly, “Who is it, Baby?”

“Looks like Dulain. And the old man.”

“What?” That was Sam.

“Alone?” drawled Ambielli.

“Yeah, boss.”

“Another conference, Sam?”

“How do I know what the hell they want now?” Sam exploded. “Boss, if they find you and me, when they already think …”

“Would you like me to leave, Sam?” Ambielli was amused.

Sam had no answer.

Kay's fingers and her teeth ached. She couldn't make her mind inquire into the future. Her imagination hit a blank wall.

“Step outside, Baby. Keep dark.” Ambielli was moving around out there. “What's this place? Oh, the kitchen. This will do, I think.”