“You could report it as stolen.”
“In the first place, no. In the second place, the whole idea is excessively dramatic, it risks more than it seeks to safeguard, it’s an antiballistic missile system built to protect a dog kennel. In the—”
“You have a talent for metaphor.”
“And you for obfuscation. In the third place, no again.”
“Then the license plates.”
“I do not want to be connected with this, Warren, and you seem to fail to understand that. No one will check your license plates.”
“Swear to it?”
“Damn you. How am I to drive around without plates? And I intend to drive my whole family to Philadelphia and spend the entire day in the company of friends.”
“I was going to suggest that.”
“Well?”
“I’ll switch plates with you.”
“And if I’m stopped? And if the plates do not match with the registration?”
“You left your registration at home.”
“I want my plates back on my car by Monday morning.”
“Certainly. And drive carefully, David.”
“Go to hell.”
“David? Don’t you have a second car? Couldn’t you use one car while I use the plates of—” He let the sentence trail off, entranced at the furious scowl that etched itself into his friend’s features. Then, before the scowl had a chance to fade, the psychiatrist erupted in laughter fiercer than the scowl. He roared.
“Schemes,” he said finally. “Plans, mechanisms, fucking clevernesses. The wise men of Chelm who could tell the horses apart because the black one was an inch and a half taller than the white one.”
“Drive carefully just the same,” Warren said.
“Peter? There’s one thing that bothers me.”
“What’s that, love?”
“Warren Ormont.”
“He was the one who explained the plot to me, Gretchen. We can trust him.”
“He might have had a reason. They’re unbelievably devious, you know.”
“I know, but not Warren.”
“I’ve known him longer than you, Peter. I’ve had my bitter experiences with Warren Ormont.”
He worked on it for a minute, then said, “I know about all that, Gretch.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“He told you?”
“Last night he had to. I’m almost afraid to tell you the rest of it.”
“I want to know, Petey.”
“All right. When Warren stopped seeing you, it wasn’t because he wanted to.” Her eyes were wide, her mouth half-open. “He was being used.”
“You don’t mean—”
“I’m afraid so. They turned him against you, Gretch.”
“But that was years ago. That was so long ago. You mean it’s been going on that long? It was going on for years before I had any idea. They must have known about Robin ages before she was born. My God, how can you fight them when they have resources like that?”
“But we’re learning more and more about them, Gretch.”
“Yes!” Her forefinger stabbed the air. “Yes! That’s right! We’re growing stronger and they’re beginning to weaken.” Her expression softened. “But poor Warren. He must have just found out. I’ve been hateful to him for years. It’s all so awful.”
“You drew strength from that hatred through the years.”
“That’s very true.”
“And now he’s on our side.”
“Oh, thank God for Warren,” she said.
At twenty minutes after eleven Sully Jaeger got up from the table and yawned. He said, “I feel like the end of the day and it’s just the beginning.”
“If you weren’t a sex maniac you wouldn’t be tired in the mornings.”
“Yeah, and if you weren’t a sex maniac, I wouldn’t be a sex maniac. And if it’s a choice between that and being wide awake in the mornings then the hell with being wide awake in the mornings.” He yawned. “I guess I’ll get over there. Saturday it starts early. Everybody has to be good and drunk before it’s Sunday. You got any plans for the day?”
“No, why?”
“Just curious.”
“No plans for the day. I was thinking I might go for a ride this evening.”
“I was wondering if you might.”
“You sound pleased.”
“I’m always pleased.”
“But with something else mixed in usually.”
“Not today.” He yawned again, stretching his arms high overhead. “What is it the kids say? I’m getting my head straight. That what they say?”
“I think so.”
“So it’s nuts to hate something and love it at the same time, and if you can’t stop loving it and loving it makes you feel better than hating it, the thing to do is stop hating it, am I right or am I right?”
“You’re right.”
“See? I’m just a big kid getting his head straight. I’ll be up when you come home. In more ways than one. You better have a good story.”
“I’ll take notes.”
“I just thought what I’m going to buy you. What’s open tomorrow? Major’s? I think I’ll take a run up to Major’s tomorrow.”
“What for?”
“No, I’m not telling. The idea just came to me and if you can’t figure it out you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.”
“Fucker.”
“Cunt. Give me a kiss good-bye, cunt.”
“Gretch, I’m worried about Robin. The next few days are going to make the difference. The plan Warren and I worked out is our one chance of ending this thing once and for all. And you know what that means.”
“It means we can start to live for the first time in our lives.”
“It also means they’re going to get desperate. And where will they strike?”
“Oh, God. Maybe I shouldn’t have let her play with those children. What defense can a child’s mind have against them?”
“She’s not safe here, either. And we’re going to have to have freedom of movement, and we can’t risk bringing her with us.”
“Let me think, Petey.”
“There is one answer,” he said. He put his finger his lips and got pencil and paper. He wrote: “Warren’s house. They can’t penetrate it.”
She snatched the pencil and wrote: “But who will stay with her?”
“Anne Tedesco.”
“She’s one of them! Just yesterday.”
He took the pencil from her. “I know about that,” he said aloud. He wrote: “She told me what happened. You handled her perfectly. She was a minor dupe just as you thought, and you brought her to her senses.”
She read this and said, “You would have been proud of me, baby.”
“I’m damn proud of you,” he said, while he wrote: “Anne wants to make up for what she did. She will watch Robin at Warren’s. I will take her to Anne now. It’s all arranged.”
She took this in and frowned in concentration. She reached for the pencil but he shook his head. He was going bananas already with the fucking pencil, his hand felt as though it had been tied in knots, and she was having so much fun playing counterspy she would probably go on passing notes all day.
He pointed to the window, indicating that what he was going to say was for the benefit of other ears. He said, “You know what I think I’ll do? I’ll go over to the Raparound for a bite. I’m still hungry.” She nodded approval at that one. “Maybe I’ll see if Robin wants to keep me company. And then maybe I’ll see Tony and find out if I can get my job back.”
A few more exchanges and he was on his way out of there. She called him just as he was drawing the door, shut. She was at the table writing furiously.