‘That’s right.’
‘But business is over tonight,’ she said. She was standing very close behind him.
He turned around. ‘When did they move you in here?’
She was startled. ‘What?’
‘I figure three months ago,’ he said. ‘Long enough so you’ve set up your darkroom, but not long enough to change anything in here.’
‘What are you talking about?’
He said, ‘I figure Karns didn’t send you after me, that’s some local boy’s idea. Karns is too smart for that.’
She looked at him, frowning a bit now, studying him. She sipped at her martini and said, ‘Why? I’m the wrong type?’
‘You’re the wrong information,’ he told her. ‘I’ll decide yes or no, and it’s what the island looks like that says which it is. Karns could give me three women a night for a month and it would still be what the island looks like that would make me say yes or no about the job, and Karns is smart enough to know that.’
She decided to be coldly insulted. ‘You think Mr. Karns gaveme to you?’
‘No. I think some local bright boy did it and Karns’ll talk to him when he hears about it.’
‘What if I tell you you’re wrong? What if I tell you I was just sent along to take your pictures for you, and I got intrigued by you and curious about you, and I thought I might like to find out about you? What if I told you it was all my idea?’
Parker said, ‘How much did that chair cost you?’
‘What chair?’ She was annoyed at the change of subject.
Parker pointed. ‘That one. How much?’
‘How do I know?’ She looked at the chair and shook her head. ‘What difference does it make?’
‘The difference,’ he said, ‘is this isn’t an apartment, this is a crib.’
‘A what?’
‘Crib. It’s a place where whores work.’
‘You’ She was insulted again, and this time it
seemed more real. She stepped back a pace, saying, ‘I ought to throw this drink in your face.’
‘This isn’t your apartment,’ he said. ‘This is where you entertain for the Outfit.’
‘That’s a damn lie!’
Parker shrugged. ‘You can send me the pictures,’ he said. He drained his glass, put it down, and headed for the door.
He was almost to it before she spoke, and then she sounded almost plaintive, all the anger and irritation gone: ‘Why did you do this? Why act this way? You didn’t have to.’
He wanted the pictures. He turned and said, ‘I think I did.’ To get the pictures sooner, he’d talk to her, explain to her.
She said, ‘If it wouldn’t make any difference which way you decided about the other thing, then why not go ahead? You’re putting something over, you’re getting something for nothing.’
‘A prize,’ he said. ‘A prize for being stupid. And I don’t even have to be really stupid, I just have to play like I’m stupid.’
‘In other words,’ she said, ‘it’s pride. You thought you were being underrated and it hurt your pride.’
He shook his head. ‘Whores,’ he said, ‘are for people without resources. I don’t need you on your terms.’
‘Oh?’ She frowned, studying him, and then she nodded and said, ‘Oh. All right. If that’s the way I suppose you’ve guessed I was supposed to phone in my report right after you left.’
He nodded.
‘One minute,’ she said. She crossed the room to the telephone, dialled a number, waited, and said, ‘Crystal here. He just left. No dice.’ She waited again, looking at Parker, and said into the phone. ‘He tumbled, that’s why. The apartment looked phoney, and I guess I did it wrong myself.’
Parker went over and took the phone away from her and listened, hearing a male voice say, ‘
won’t need it. But I’m surprised at
‘ He handed it back, and she took over the conversation again, saying she was sorry a couple of times and then ending it.
She cradled the phone and looked at Parker. ‘Do you want me to send the pictures or will you wait for them?’
‘I’ll wait for them.’
‘What were you drinking?’
‘Harper.’
While she made him a fresh drink she said, ‘You know, I’m not conning you now. Do you know that?’
He sat down on the sofa. ‘Yes.’
‘How can you be sure?’
‘Because,’ he told her, ‘you can be sure you can’t do anything about my yes or no, no matter what happens here. If I stay, if I go, no matter what, you won’t have any reason to make another call.’
She nodded. ‘That’s right.’ She came over and handed him his glass and sat down beside him. ‘That’s right,’ she said. She smiled; she had an elfin smile, a pixie smile. ‘And if now I told you it’s just that I’m intrigued about you and curious about you, and I’d like to find out about you, what would you say?’
The terms were better now. He put his drink down and reached for her.
4
HE rolled over under the sheet and put his hand on her thigh and rubbed upward, putting some pressure in it, rubbing upward over her belly and breasts to her shoulder, then putting his hand back down to her thigh and rubbing upward once again. Her flesh was warm and dry and resilient.
The second time he did it she made a moaning sound deep in her throat, and squirmed under his hand, and moved her arms in a lazy way. The third time, she opened her eyes as though surprised.
‘Oh!’ she said. She blinked rapidly, and yawned, and stretched her arms up so her breasts were pulled taut. He stroked his hand across them and she laughed and said, ‘It’s you! Good morning!’
‘Not yet,’ he said.
‘Oh? Oh! Oh, yes, of course
‘ She held her arms out to receive him. ‘Yes, of course,’ she murmured.
The pattern was changing here, but he understood why. His sexual appetite was cyclical, at its peak right after a job, waning slowly, disappearing entirely when he was involved in the planning and preparation of the next job. According to that pattern he should be having little or no interest in a Crystal right now. But the usual pattern was based on his working only once or twice a year, and that was where the difference lay; the football stadium heist had only taken place six weeks ago. He was working again so soon because of a combination of an unusual need for money and the timely request from Walter Karns, So, for one of the few times in his life, he was combining business with pleasure.
As they were getting out of bed, she said, ‘Did you get an answer on your call yet?’
He’d put in a call last night, after he’d looked over the pictures, to Grofield’s contact. ‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s still too early.’ Grofield mostly liked to sleep till noon.
She said, ‘Does it mean you’re going to do it? Making the call, does that mean?’
‘Stop working,’ he said.
She no longer took offence with him. She just laughed and shook her head. ‘I’m not working, I’m curious. I want to know for myself.’
‘You’re curious all the time.’
‘All right, never mind. May I ask what you want for breakfast?’
‘I don’t care,’ he said. ‘Whatever you make.’ Food was functional with him, he didn’t think about it.
She said, ‘There’s one thing I’ve got to say.’
‘Say it.’
‘I’d like to stay here, as long as you want. But if you stay, I’ll have to tell my boss, so he won’t give me anything else to do.’
Parker considered. It would take a week or two to get set up, and the choice was between here and the motel room. After he was more fully involved in the job the usual pattern might reassert itself, but until then this place had advantages over the motel. He said. ‘Tell your boss to have somebody pick up my stuff at the motel and bring it here.’
‘Good.’
She made breakfast while he showered, and afterwards they went back to bed for a while. Someone brought Parker’s suitcase a little after ten and Crystal’s nesting instinct took over. She had to unpack everything and stow everything away, and then she had to get dressed and take things down to the cleaners. While she was gone Parker looked over some of the pictures again they were all first-rate black and white prints and when she came back he took her clothing off and returned her to bed.