3
Jack returned to his seat and studied the
Indian. To his credit, Kusum hadn’t flinched. Either his reflexes
were extremely slow, or he had something akin to copper wire for
nerves. Jack figured Kusum’s reflexes to be pretty good.
Score one for each of us, he thought. He
wondered how Kusum had lost that arm.
“The point is probably moot,” Jack said.
“Finding a particular mugger in this city is like poking at a
hornets’ nest to find the one that bit you. If she saw enough of
him to identify a mug shot, she should go to the police and—”
“No police!” Kusum said quickly.
Those were the very two words Jack was
waiting to hear. If the police were involved, Jack would not
be.
“They may well be successful eventually,”
Kusum went on, “but they take much too long. This is a matter of
the utmost urgency. My grandmother is dying. That is why I’ve gone
outside official channels.”
“I don’t understand this whole thing.”
“Her necklace was stolen. It’s a priceless
heirloom. She must have it back.”
“But you said she’s dying—”
“Before she dies! She must have it back
before she dies!”
“Impossible. I can’t…” U.N. diplomat or not,
the guy was obviously a nut. No use trying to explain how hard it
would be just to find the mugger. After that, to learn the name of
his fence, find that fence, and then hope that he hadn’t already
removed whatever precious stones were in the necklace and melted
down the settings, was simply beyond the wildest possibility. “It
can’t be done.”
“You must do it! The man must be found. She
scratched him across the eyes. There must be a way he can be
traced!”
“That’s police work.”
“The police will take too long! It must be
returned tonight!”
“I can’t.”
“You must!”
“The chances against finding that necklace
are—”
“Try! Please!”
Kusum’s voice cracked on that last word, as
if he had dragged it kicking and screaming from an unused part of
his soul. Jack sensed how much it cost the Indian to say it. Here
was an inordinately proud man begging him for help. He was
moved.
“All right. I’ll do this: Let me talk to your
grandmother. Let me see what I’ve got to work with.”
“That will not be necessary.”
“Of course it will be necessary. She’s the
only one who knows what he looks like.” Was he trying to keep him
away from his grandmother?
Kusum looked uncomfortable. “She’s quite
distraught. Incoherent. She raves. I do not wish to expose her to a
stranger.”
Jack said nothing. He merely stared at Kusum
and waited. Finally the Indian relented.
“I shall take you there immediately.”
Jack allowed Kusum to lead him out the front
door. As he left, he waved to Julio, who was setting up his
infamous “FREE LUNCH: $2.50” sign.
They caught a taxi immediately on Columbus
Avenue and headed downtown.
“About my fee,” Jack said once they had
settled into the back of the cab.
A small, superior smile curled Kusum’s thin
lips.
“Money? Are you not a defender of the
downtrodden, a crusader for justice?”
“Justice doesn’t pay the bills. My landlord
prefers cash. So do I.”
“Ah! A Capitalist!”
If that was supposed to rile Jack, it did
not.
“If you don’t mind, I prefer to be called a
Capitalist Swine or, at the very least, a Capitalist Running-dog.
Plain old Capitalist has so little color. I hope Burkes didn’t let
you think I do this out of the goodness of my heart.”
“No. He mentioned your fee for the U.K.
Mission. A rather steep one. And in cash.”
“I don’t take checks or charges, and I don’t
take physical danger lightly, especially when I could be on the
receiving end.”
“Then here is my offer… Jack: Just for
trying, I will pay you in advance half of what the British paid you
last year. If you return the necklace to my grandmother before she
dies, I will pay you the other half.”
This was going to be hard to turn down. The
job for the U.K. Mission had involved terrorist threats. It had
been complex, time-consuming, and very dicey at times. Normally he
would have asked Kusum for only a fraction of that amount. But
Kusum seemed quite willing and able to pay the full fee. And if
Jack managed to bring that necklace back, it would be a bonafide
miracle and he would deserve every penny of it.
“Sounds fair to me,” he said without missing
a beat. “If I take the job.”