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Mitch felt his face color. He looked away. In the food knapsack he found a batch of utensils wrapped in a plastic bag. He took out the kitchen knife and ran his thumb along its serrated blade. With a glance at Theodore he slipped the knife into his belt and went over to sit against the wall beside the sulky beautiful girl. She didn’t look at him, even when he said lamely, “You see, Miss Co
C H A P T E R Seven
Carl Oakley’s bedroom was obliquely across the hall from Co
“Then throw him out,” Oakley said, curt and irritable.
“No. Question is, how to get rid of him without Louise exploding. He’s her guest, not mine.”
“Why don’t you explain it to her? Just tell her you can’t stand him.”
Co
In the office, the phone rang, cutting him off. Co
Oakley thought, That’s no way to answer a phone. Co
Oakley wheeled across the hall into his bedroom and picked up the extension phone.
Terry’s voice came over the wire like a phonograph record being played on an old machine—distant and scratchy, without body.
“… got a gun. One of them wants to kill me so I won’t be able to identify them. Please, Daddy.”
There was silence for a stretching interval, although the co
The voice that came on the line was cool, without feeling—almost mechanical. “I played it over twice so you’d remember it, Mr. Co
“You fucking bastard,” Co
“Money, Mr. Co
“Who are you?”
“I like to think of myself as a tax collector of sorts—separating money from people who’ve got too much of it, if you see what I—”
“Who are you?”
“Oh come on, Co
“Can’t possibly get that much cash tomorrow. You’re a fool.”
“I think you can.”
“Fifty thousand, maybe. Not more.”
“Are you really willing to haggle over Terry’s life? My, my. I want half a million dollars—and it’s a seller’s market.”
“A drunk wants ten-year-old Scotch whiskey too but he’ll settle for forty-nine-cent wine if he has to.”
Oakley, listening, couldn’t believe his ears. Co
The voice on the phone said mildly, “Your courage does you no justice, Mr. Co
“Listen here,” Co
“Let me finish.”
“No. You let me finish. You harm a hair on her head and I’ll spend last cent I own to see you killed. Clear?”
“Sure. Don’t worry about it. She’ll be fine—you just pony up on demand, all right?”
“You’re asking too much. It’s not possible.”
“What you don’t ask for you don’t get. You’ll make it possible, Mr. Co
“Wait. How do I know she’s still alive? How do I know you didn’t kill her after tape-recording?”
“I anticipated that, of course. Now, if there are any questions you’d like to ask her—questions to which only she could know the answers—give them to me and I’ll relay them to her. We’ll tape-record her answers and you’ll hear the tapes when I get back to you with instructions for the ransom drop. Satisfactory?”
“Of course it’s not satisfactory! I want—”
“Who cares what you want?” The voice was slow and as viscous as slow-rolling oil. “Quit sputtering and give me the questions.”
“I’ll find you. I’ll have your guts for guitar strings.”
“Sure, Mr. Co
Co
“Now you’re using your head. Listen—no police, no FBI, nobody. I spot any snoopers sniffing around and you’ll never see Terry again. Clear? Have the money with you, at home, tomorrow afternoon. You’ll hear from me.”
Click.
Oakley rang off and walked to the office like a somnambulist. Co
Co
Oakley took the receiver out of his hand and hung it up. “We’d better talk first.”
“Get Orozco. Then we’ll talk.”
Oakley thought better of further argument; it would do no harm to call Orozco. He dialed the area code and number, not needing to look it up; a woman answered on the fourth ring.
“Maria? Carl Oakley. Es necesario que yo hable con Diego, pronto por favor.”
“Seguro que sí—momento.” She was laughing at his ungrammatical Spanish. He could hear an infant yowling in the background.
Waiting, he gave Co
“Hello, Carl. Com’ está?”
“Diego, can you get down here right now? Earle Co
“Right-now-tonight?”
“Yes. Hire a plane.”
“I guess. I was pla
“As urgent as it can get.”
“Okay. You’ll get a hell of a bill from me.”
“Just get yourself an airplane. We’ll expect you in a couple hours—I’ll have somebody set out landing lights on the field.”
“All righty. See you.”
Oakley broke the co
Co
“Want me to call him back and cancel?”
“No. To hell with it. I need a drink.” Co