She shut the door after him and said, “What happened to him?” She seemed sober, or close enough to it. She was wearing a blue robe, and she was barefoot; red nail polish was half chipped off her toenails.
Parker said, “He died. Open a window.”
“I like the windows shut. How come he died?”
“Because he was a damn fool.” Parker went over to a window, yanked the drapes aside, pulled the blinds up, and opened the window all the way. A cool breath of fresh air came in.
“You move right in, don’t you?”
“You been out of this room at all?”
“What do you care?”
Parker crossed the room and opened the other window. Now a breeze came through, clearing out the underground aura.
She said, “You killed him, huh?”
“No. He killed himself.”
“That big hooraw at Copper Canyon, that was you people, wasn’t it?”
“What big hooraw?”
She shrugged and went over to the dresser, where the bottle and glass were. She poured and said, “What do I care if he’s alive or dead?”
“He was sick in the head. He tried to blow up the whole town, and one of his grenades knocked a wall over on him.”
“What was the matter with him?”
“He had a peeve against the town. We had a nice quiet operation going, and all of a sudden he blew up. Killed one of the boys, and a lot of locals, started fires all over the place, and got himself killed by a wall.”
She shook her head, a sour grin on her face. “I pick ‘em, don’t I? Tell me, Parker, what’s wrong with you?”
“There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“There’s got to be something, Parker, or I wouldn’t pick you.”
“You didn’t pick me. Get another glass.”
“Oh, don’t act so goddam tough. Where are you going from here?”
“Drive to Chicago, take a plane to Miami. You like Miami?”
“How the hell do I know? This is the farthest I’ve ever been from New York in my life.”
Parker looked at her, and thought of Grofield’s girl. Where do you find one like that? Forget it, there’d be something wrong with her, too. He stretched and said, “Get the glass, I’m thirsty.”
“Will you treat me nice? Will you for Christ’s sake treat me nice?”
He looked at her. “What happens if I treat you nice?”
“How do I know? Nobody ever did. Maybe I turn into a butterfly.”
“Let’s find out. Come here.”
She put the glass down on the dresser and came over. There was a pensive expression on her face, and she seemed oddly shy. It was out of character.
He reached for her, and she said, “The windows are all open.”
“Will you forget the goddam windows?”
“All right. Anything you say.”
His hands removed her robe. “Butterfly. Sure.”
THE PARKER SERIES
Point Blank (1962) aka The Hunter
The Mourner (1963)
The Outfit (1963)
The Steel Hit (1963) aka The Man with the Getaway Face
The Score (1964) aka Killtown
The Black Ice Score (1965)
The Jugger (1965)
The Handle (1966) aka Run Lethal
The Seventh (1966) aka The Split
The Green Eagle Score (1967)
The Rare Coin Score (1967)
The Sour Lemon Score (1969)
Deadly Edge (1971)
Slayground (1971)
Plunder Squad (1972)
Butcher’s Moon (1974)
Comeback (1997)
Backflash (1998)
Payback (1999)
Flashfire (2000)
Firebreak (2001)
Breakout (2002)
Nobody Runs Forever (2004)
Ask the Parrot (2006)