A few minutes later, Sue came into the kitchen and blurted, ‘What in tarnation are ya doing?’
Neal smiled over his shoulder at her. ‘What does it look like?’
‘Looks like ya lost yer marbles.’
A large paper grocery bag was spread across his counter. He had arranged the four sanitary napkins on it, side by side. Dangling from his tongs was a wad of blood-stained gauze and tape. He placed the wad on the paper.
‘I’m just laying this stuff out to dry.’
‘Aimin’ to re-use it?’
‘Let’s not get gross,’ Neal told her.
‘Too late.’
‘Actually, I’m just trying to preserve the blood evidence. It should stay good longer if it dries out.’
‘Ya learn that watchin the trial, too?’
‘Yep.’
‘What’s it gonna prove?’
‘I don’t know. I just think we need to save it. Maybe it’ll come in handy, somehow.’
‘Well, if you say so.’
When the bucket was empty, he carried it to the sink. With hot sudsy water, he washed the bucket and tongs. Then he put them away and dried his hands. ‘All done,’ he said.
‘What’re we gonna do now?’ Sue asked.
‘Would you like a beer?’
‘Sure.’
As he took a couple of cans out of the refrigerator, Sue said, ‘It don’t bother ya, me bein under age?’
‘I guess you’ll have to drink the beer as your alter ego. What’s her name? The older one?’
‘Elaine Taylor?’
‘That’s the one.’ He tossed a can to her, and she caught it.
In the living room, they sat down beside each other on the sofa and popped open their beers.
‘Here’s how,’ Neal said.
‘Chug-a-lug,’ said Sue.
They both drank. The beer was very cold. Neal drank a lot of his before coming up for air. Then he said, ‘Do we stay here or not? That is the question.’
Sue lowered her can. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘I say we stay.’
‘He has been here.’
‘Yer tellin me.’
‘He’ll probably come back. Maybe even tonight.’
Frowning at Neal, Sue nodded. ‘If he don’t come back, how’ll we ever catch him? I mean, he knows who you are, but ya don’t know him from Adam. So he’s gotta come after us. If he don’t, we’re out the fifty grand.’
‘You’re right about that,’ Neal told her.
‘So we gotta stay right here till he comes.’
Neal drank some more beer. ‘I guess so,’ he said. ‘But . . . you do realize he intends to kill me. I mean, that’s the only reason he came over here. I’m not just a loose end, either. I’m not just some Joe Blow who might be able to identify him. I’m also the guy who nearly killed him. I’m responsible for all those bullet holes in him – God only knows the pain I’ve caused him. And I’m sure he wants to pay me back in full.’
‘We won’t let him,’ Sue said.
‘If you’re with me . . . the things he’ll do to you . . .’
‘He won’t do nothin to either of us, Neal. We’ll surprise him and nail him.’
‘Maybe he’s better at surprises than we are. Maybe we’ll be the ones who get surprised and nailed.’
‘Naw.’
‘This isn’t a movie, Sue. There isn’t any rule that says we end up winning. He might win. He’s won before. He won against Elise.’ He gazed into Sue’s eyes. ‘At the very last, just before I got out of her, she was thinking . . . you know, like it was a movie. Like she would survive, somehow. Because she was . . . the star, and the star always makes it, one way or the other. But she didn’t. He killed her. He won.’
Sue looked more somber than he’d ever seen her before.
‘I know how much you want the reward money,’ Neal said. ‘But do you want to risk your life for it?’
Sue took a deep breath. She blew it out loudly, then took a drink of beer. ‘I want it,’ she said. ‘Sure I do. I mean, our half of fifty grand . . . But it’s not just the money. If it was only just the money, maybe I’d say forget it. But if we don’t stay, we’d have to run away and hide. We’d have to keep on hidin, too. Till Rasputin’s either dead or jailed.’
‘I guess so,’ Neal admitted.
‘So what I still think is, we oughta stay right here and lay for him.’
Thirty-Eight
‘What’s wrong?’ Sue asked.
Neal set down his empty beer can. ‘I don’t know. I’m not sure. Maybe I scared myself with that talk about him winning. I just . . . I don’t like it here. I think maybe we’d better not stay.’
‘How come?’
‘Just because he was here, I guess.’
‘But he’s gone.’
‘Probably.’
‘Ya looked around . . .’
‘That doesn’t make it a hundred per cent certain he isn’t here. Maybe he found a really good hiding place.’ Neal found his gaze wandering the room, studying the curtains, the dark corners . . .
‘Yer givin me the squeamies,’ Sue said. Wrinkling her nose as if bothered by a foul stench, she looked over one shoulder, then the other.
‘He’s probably gone,’ Neal told her.
‘Or he might be watchin us, huh? Might be hearin every word we say.’
‘It’s not likely.’
‘If he’s here,’ Sue whispered, ‘how come he ain’t jumped us yet?’
‘Scared I’ll shoot him again?’ Neal suggested. ‘He might want to bide his time, wait until later, come out after we’re asleep.’
‘Oh, jeezle.’ Looking pained, Sue hugged her chest and rubbed her upper arms.
They were bumpy with gooseflesh.
‘We could search the place really carefully,’ Neal said. ‘But even if he’s not here . . . and he probably isn’t . . . he might be nearby. Maybe he broke into someone else’s apartment. He might be right next door, or . . .’
‘Y’on a mission to scare the pee outa me?’
‘I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you. I’m just trying to explore some of the possibilities.’
‘Maybe he just went on home.’
‘That’s a possiblity, too,’ Neal said.
‘Or maybe he took off and went lookin for ya someplace.’
‘He’d have no idea where I went.’
Unless he traced the credit card, Neal thought. But that seemed awfully farfetched.
If he did trace the card, he’d end up in Nevada, a good, safe distance away from . . .
‘Any chance he knows about Marta?’ Sue asked.
Her question stunned Neal, put a hard cold place in his stomach. ‘No.’
But even as he denied it, he realized Rasputin might have followed him when he drove to Marta’s place Monday night. Or Marta might’ve stopped by here for some reason, yesterday or today. Or Rasputin might’ve found her name in Neal’s address book.
There must be fifty names in it. He’d have no way of knowing who . . .
Neal jerked his head sideways and stared at his telephone.
His answering machine.
From where he sat, he couldn’t see the tiny red dash that might be blinking to indicate new messages. He stood up and stepped toward the phone.
And saw the blinking red light.
He tapped the panel marked, ‘New Messages.’
‘Neal?’ Marta’s voice. ‘It’s me. Are you back yet? Hello? Guess not. Anyway, I just thought I’d give you a call. I was hoping you might get back before I had to head off for work. Did you decide to stay another night, or something? Anyway, I miss you. Let me know as soon as you get back, okay? This is Wednesday night, elevenish. Love you. Bye.’
The machine beeped.
No more messages.
Neal blew out a long breath. Then he saw Sue staring at him. ‘I was afraid she might say her name,’ he explained. ‘Then Rasp could’ve looked her up in my address book and gone over to pay her a visit.?
??
‘Ya think she’s okay?’ Sue asked.
‘Well, she was fine when she made the call. Elevenish. She should’ve left for work pretty soon after that. So unless . . .’ Neal shook his head. ‘I’m sure she must be fine.’
‘Yer not, either. We better make sure.’
How? Neal wondered. A quick visit to her apartment, either by car or bracelet, wouldn’t prove much.
Unless she’s there. Dead. Or captured by the bastard.
Maybe he’s working on her, torturing her, trying to make her talk . . .
Has her tied up naked . . .
Cutting her . . .
‘I’d better get over there,’ Neal said, and started for the door.
‘Use the bracelet,’ Sue said. ‘It’ll be quicker.’
He shook his head. ‘Have to go in person.’
‘Wait for me,’ Sue called. She hurried after him and switched off the light.
Out on the balcony, Neal paused long enough to watch her shut the door.
In the car, he said, ‘She’s probably fine.’ He backed out of the parking space and sped up the alley. ‘It’s just that I can’t go by bracelet. If the bastard’s got her, I’d be useless. I found that out the hard way.’
‘How far away does she live?’ Sue asked.
‘Just a couple of blocks. Keep an eye on things, okay? Make sure we aren’t being followed.’
‘Roger dodger.’
‘She’s probably fine,’ he said again. ‘I mean, she was okay when she made the call, and she should’ve taken off for work right after that. She didn’t give her name, either. Even if Rasp was in my place and listening, he wouldn’t have known where to find her.’
‘Maybe he picked up the phone and talked to her.’
‘What?’
‘After she gets done leavin her message, maybe he picks up and says, “Ah! Don’t hang up! I’m here.” Pretendin to be you.’
The suggestion made Neal squirm inside. ‘Marta’s too smart to fall for a lame trick like that,’ he said, and hoped so. ‘For one thing, she’d recognize my voice.’
Unless the guy’s really good.
‘Or maybe he tells her he’s a cop . . .’
Neal grimaced at Sue.
‘Sorry,’ she muttered.
He reached over and rubbed the back of her neck.
‘I sure hope she’s okay,’ Sue told him.
‘Me, too.’
Moments later, he swung around a corner and Marta’s apartment building came into sight. He sped closer. Her parking space was empty. No sign of her Jeep.
Neal blew a long breath. ‘She must’ve gotten away all right. Her car’s gone.’
‘Ya better check inside her place, anyhow.’
‘Yeah.’ He drove nearly to the end of the block before finding an open stretch of curb. After parking, he faced Sue. ‘Let’s take our stuff up. I’ve got a set of keys. We’ll stay there tonight.’
‘In Marta’s?’
‘It’ll be safer for everyone. We won’t have to worry about Rasputin popping in on us.’
‘Won’t have to worry about catchin him, either.’
‘We’ll get him. We’ll figure out a way. The thing is, I want us to end up on top. I’m just afraid he’ll nail us if we stay at my place.’
‘Okay. But ya don’t s’pose Marta’s gonna mind?’
‘We’ll see. Come on.’
As they unloaded the car and walked back toward Marta’s building with their bags, Neal turned his head constantly, on the lookout for approaching cars.
‘I don’t think we got followed,’ Sue told him.
‘Probably not,’ Neal said.
‘This ain’t the movies, ya know.’ She grinned at him.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Yer sayin how we might get killed, as this here’s real life? Well, Rasputin, he’s real life, too. Works both ways, is what I’m sayin.’
‘I’m still not sure . . .’
‘He’s not a movie monster. Even if ya did hang a funny name on him, he ain’t . . . he isn’t Freddy Krueger or Jason or that Hallowe’en guy, whatever his name was.’
‘Michael Myers.’
‘Yeah, him. Those guys, they show up anywhere and everywhere for no reason at all. I mean, they’re chasin after ya one second. Then the next, they pop up in front of ya. They always turn up in places where they got no reason to be. But that’s the movies. Rasputin’s real, so he’s not gonna turn up where he shouldn’t be. See what I mean?’
‘I think so.’
‘If he was at yer place, only he didn’t hop in a car and chase after us, then he isn’t gonna turn up here. Not just yet, anyhow.’
Unlocking the gate, Neal grinned at her. ‘You’re absolutely right.’ He held the gate open, then followed her into the courtyard.
She looked over her shoulder at him. ‘He doesn’t have a hitchin bracelet, does he?’
‘A hitchin bracelet? No. I don’t think so.’
‘’Cause if he did, he might be inside you or me right this very second.’
‘There’s only one, as far as I know.’ He patted his pocket, and felt the shape of the thick, coiled snake.
‘A thing like that,’ Sue said, ‘it’d be dangerous in the wrong hands.’
‘It’s dangerous in any hands, if you ask me.’
‘Gosh, look at this swimmin pool. They keep gettin bigger and better. S’pose we’d get in trouble if we took a dip?’
‘At this hour? They’d probably shoot us.’
‘Only if we woke ’em up.’
Neal, smiling, shook his head. ‘I don’t think it would be a good idea.’
‘Chicken.’
‘That’s me.’
He led the way up the stairs to the balcony. In front of Marta’s door, he set down his suitcase. He pulled the pistol out of his pocket. Holding it ready in his right hand, he quietly unlocked the door with the key in his left.
Her apartment was dark.
Neal reached inside and found a light switch.
Everything looked okay.
In a hushed voice, he called Marta’s name a couple of times. Then he turned to Sue. ‘I’ll take a look around,’ he whispered.
‘Make sure and look in the john.’
He did.
He found nothing in the toilet bowl except clean water.
He found nothing in any of the rooms to suggest that a stranger had visited.
‘Everything’s fine,’ he told Sue. Then he shut the door and latched its deadbolt.
In his wallet, he found the scrap of paper on which Marta, months ago, had scribbled her home and work numbers. He took it over to her phone.
‘Gonna call her up?’
‘Yeah, I’d better.’
‘Good idea.’
He tapped in the work number.
‘Hope she’s there,’ Sue muttered.
‘Hoffburg Travel,’ said the man at the other end.
‘Yes,’ Neal said. ‘I’d like to speak to one of your agents, Marta Wheaton.’
‘Who may I say is calling?’
‘Neal Darden.’
‘Just a moment please, I’ll page her.’
He met Sue’s eyes. ‘I think she’s in.’
Sue looked relieved.
‘They’re paging her. Might take a while.’
‘Gonna tell her I’m here?’
‘I guess so. She’ll find out, anyway, when she comes home in the morning.’
‘I could be gone by then.’
‘It’ll be all right.’
‘Neal?’ Marta asked.
‘Hi, yeah, it’s me. I’m back. Sorry I had to bother you at work.’
‘No problem.’
‘I got your message.’
‘Good. I was a little worried about you, that’s all. I thought you’d be getting back earlier.’
‘We had a late start,’ he explained.
‘We, huh?’
‘Sue and I.’
‘That’s the girl you were telling m
e about? Sue?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I thought you said she’s a pain in the ass and you were going to get rid of her.’
‘Well . . . I couldn’t.’
‘Terrific.’ Marta sounded only slightly annoyed. ‘Now you’ve brought her back with you?’
‘Yeah, but . . .’
‘Terrific.’
‘She’s going to help us get the reward.’
‘Do we need her help?’
‘I don’t know,’ Neal said. ‘She might be useful. Besides, going for the reward – it was sort of her idea in the first place. We really do need to keep her in on it.’
‘Hmm. Well. It’s up to you.’
‘The main thing is, I had a visitor.’
‘What?’
‘Our friend.’
‘Rasputin?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What happened? Are you all right?’
‘Yeah, we’re fine. He was gone by the time we arrived.’
‘Thank God for that. What did he do? Did he break into your apartment?’
‘He got in somehow. Nothing seemed to be broken. Maybe he picked the lock, or got himself a key that fits?’ Neal shook his head. ‘We wouldn’t have even known he’d been here, but he left some bloody bandages in the toilet.’
Marta was silent for a few moments. Then she said, ‘You’d better get out. Go on over to my place. You have the keys, don’t you?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Okay. Go on over. Right away. And be careful. He might be hanging around, waiting for you, you know?’
‘I know.’
‘You’ve got your gun?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Okay, good. Jeez. So I guess he did find your business card.’
‘Looks that way.’
‘Bad news.’
‘Well, we sort of expected it.’
‘You’d better get the hell out of there,’ she said.
‘Sue’s here, too.’
‘I know.’
‘Okay if I take her with me?’
‘No, leave her behind at your place so Rasputin can take her apart. Of course take her along. Are you nuts?’
‘Just wanted to make sure it was all right with you.’
‘It’s fine. It’s dandy.’
‘Okay. That’s great. We’ll go on over.’
‘I’ll give you a call in ten minutes to make sure you got there all right.’
‘What if we haven’t?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe I’ll call the cops.’