55
I
CALLED SUSAN.
"I am going to have
to check out for a while," I said.
"Business?" Susan
said.
"My appointment in
Samara has arrived," I said. "I don't want to lead him to
you."
She was silent for a
little while.
Then she said,
"Don't let him succeed."
"You know I wouldn't
do that to you," I said.
"God, you're
thoughtful," she said. "Can you stay in touch?"
"I can call," I
said. "And I will."
"You sound like this
will take a while," she said.
"I think so," I
said. "I think he likes foreplay."
"So he is a sadist," Susan said.
"I would
guess."
"While he's enjoying
the foreplay, why don't you kill him?"
"I'm hoping to learn
a little," I said.
"Besides which,"
Susan said, "you don't do that, do you."
"Only if it were
about you," I said.
"You just plow
along," Susan said. "You care about other people, but they don't
dissuade you, or distract you."
"Except you," I
said.
"Except me," Susan
said. "You continue to be who and what you are, and you continue to
do what you set out to do."
"Born to plow," I
said.
"It scares the hell
out of me," Susan said.
"Scares the hell out
of me too," I said. "Sometimes."
"But I greatly
admire it," she said.
"Good," I
said.
"You might want to
exploit his sadism in some way," Susan said.
"Suggestions?" I
said.
"I don't have one,"
she said. "But if someone wants to stall for a while before he
kills you, an opportunity might be lurking."
"Might at that," I
said.
"Is Z with you?"
Susan said.
"Yes," I said.
"Though not at this moment."
"Where are
you?"
"Home," I said.
"With the door locked."
"At least you've
locked the doors," she said.
"I always lock the
doors," I said. "There's no advantage to not locking
them."
"Always so logical,"
she said.
"Except when I'm
not," I said.
"Except for then,"
Susan said.
We were quiet again.
It wasn't awkward. Nothing was awkward with Susan. We both knew
there was nothing left to say, but neither of us wanted to hang
up.
"But Z will be
staying with you when you are out and about," she
said.
"He will," I said.
"He'll come and walk me to my office in the morning. We'll probably
have breakfast on the way."
"At the
Taj?"
"Probably," I
said.
"Don't overeat and
get logy," she said.
I grinned
silently.
"I'll be careful," I
said.
"When do you suppose
he'll have enough foreplay," Susan said.
"Same as everybody,"
I said. "When consummation becomes irresistible."
"I know the
feeling," Susan said. "In a different context."
"Yes," I
said.
"I hope to
experience it soon again," she said.
"I'll do my very
best to survive," I said.
"Call me when you
can," she said.
After we hung up, I
wandered to the front window and looked down at Marlborough Street.
Stephano was there, under a streetlight, leaning against a car.
There were three other men with him. Stephano was smoking. All of
them were looking up at my apartment.
I opened the window
and leaned out.
"Can you guys do
harmony on 'Old Gang of Mine'?" I said.
They looked up at me
silently.
"How about 'Danny
Boy'? 'Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey'?"
Silence.
"Want me to lead?" I
said. " 'Up a Lazy River'? You know that one?"
Nobody said
anything; nobody moved except Stephano, who took a long drag on his
cigarette and blew the smoke out slowly.
"Aw, you're no fun,"
I said, and closed the window.
I checked the lock
on the front door, set the security alarm, and went to bed with a
gun on my bedside table. There have been nights when I've slept
better.