Caught Dead

ELEVEN

Shayne rode the elevator to the lobby and looked at the ladder of names in the vestibule. Half the slots were empty, designating unrented apartments. He rang two of the bells at random and waited. A moment later, hearing no answering buzzer, he returned to the elevator.

The first of the two apartments was still being painted. Open cans of paint indicated that the painters would be back. The second was ready for renting. Shayne was about to leave after looking it over when something pulled at his eye-a car turning off the elevated freeway, much too fast, taking the exit curve on the outside of its tires. It was Lenore Dante’s green Olds-Rubino, coming back.

Going out hurriedly, he snapped the lock so the door could be opened from the outside. He had blocked the elevator, and had already pushed the button for Rubino’s floor.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said, snapping his fingers as the car responded at its usual pace to the electronic controls.

Lenore, on the sofa where he had left her, jerked around as he came in. One hand was out of sight. She seemed very pale.

“It’s you,” she said, relieved. “God, I was afraid I’d have to-”

“He’s just pulling into the parking lot. We don’t have time to rehearse. Take off your clothes.”

She looked at him blankly. “Did you say-”

“You heard me. He’ll have to go out to phone. As soon as you hear him leave, go down to Nine-C. Don’t forget that number. Nine-C. It’s an empty apartment and the door’s unlocked. Bolt it from the inside and wait there for me. It could be a long wait. It won’t be what you’re used to, but it’s better than jail. Damn it, get undressed! We’ve got about a minute and a half.”

He had kicked off his shoes and was unzipping his pants. Lenore began to fumble with her skirt. Leaving his clothes scattered about the rug, he went to help her.

“You can leave the shirt on.”

“Mike,” she stammered, “you-you mean we’re going to make love? With Rubino watching through the mirror?”

“No. It’s already happened, and it was terrific, as usual. We’re about to have an intimate post-sex conversation, and he’ll believe every word he hears.”

He brought a bath towel from the bathroom. She was still on the extreme front edge of the sofa, her nicely tanned legs stretched out, her hands folded in her lap.

“You look about as relaxed as a crowbar,” he said roughly.

“Mike, are you really sure what you’re doing?”

He gestured. She slid back into a reclining position, crossing her ankles. He arranged a pillow behind her and unbuttoned the striped shirt. The pose was right, but she was still semi-rigid. He moved the cognac and glasses so he could reach them from the sofa and lit cigarettes for them both.

“Don’t look at the mirror,” he said more gently, arranging himself beside her. “You’ve got thirty seconds to get in the mood. You enjoyed it.”

“I did not! Mike, you saw that camera. He’s sure to take photographs.”

“That’s right.” He put his hand flat against her stomach. “One way is to think about the jam you’re in and the other way is to forget about jams.”

Under his moving hand, she lost a little tension. She turned her head and kissed him lightly.

“I’ll try to trust you. I hope I can. I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I’ll feed you the cues.”

He touched her unbandaged breast, and felt the nipple tighten. He gave her a long searching kiss, drawing away only when he caught a flicker of response. They settled against each other.

“I guess I did enjoy it,” she admitted. “How long have I known you?”

“Six months. And it’s been sweet all the way.”

He heard coins jangle in the glass as the door to the next apartment opened. Lenore stiffened. He put his hand back on her stomach.

“You’re doing fine.”

He reached for his cognac, a movement that had the effect of making her nakedness visible to the man who was undoubtedly in position now on the other side of the trick mirror. Her fingers tightened on Shayne’s shoulder. He finished the drink and poured himself another.

“Can you reach mine?” she said quietly. “Darling.”

He brought her glass up from the floor and passed it to her. Trying to drink without changing position she spilled some of the cognac, and laughed as she brushed the drops off her breast.

“We’d better think about putting ourselves back together,” Shayne observed. “That guy is a demon driver, and he’ll walk in any minute.”

“Not yet, darling. I know Caracas traffic. We’ve got ten minutes, even if he turned right around as soon as he got there, and Frost wouldn’t let him do that. It’s been ages since we had a chance to be alone. I think you’d better kiss me.”

She closed with him, and kissed him with surprising fierceness. He felt her teeth, then her tongue. She gripped him tightly when he tried to cut it short. The tables were turned now, and she released him only when she spilled more of her cognac.

“Poor Andres is going to murder us,” she said. “We’re wrecking his sofa. Darling, I have a smashing idea. Let’s do it again!”

“Don’t be silly. Come on, get dressed.”

“Do something unsensible for a change. You’re always figuring the angles. So cool. I want you inside me. Right now!”

“I know you don’t mean it,” Shayne said, reaching for his pants.

“Don’t I?” she said wickedly.

She followed him as he tried to get away, caressing him with both hands.

“Baby, think of the money at stake,” he said.

She let him go then, after putting her mouth to the side of his face and biting his earlobe very hard. “How could I forget about the money?”

“There’ll be other times,” he said. “All we need is a couple of small breaks, and we can buy an eighty-foot yacht and go around the world. And we’ll never have to do another thing we don’t feel like doing for the rest of our lives.”

“Heaven.”

Shayne swung his feet to the floor and began pulling on his socks. “I don’t think Rubino caught on, do you?”

“Goodness no, he hasn’t a clue. But, dear God, that was close at the boat. You have a genius for showing up at exactly the right time. Another minute-”

She gave a quick gasp of pain as she sat up. “I’m not sure sex is the best thing for stab wounds.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“Darling, you’ll have to help me.”

Shayne dressed hurriedly. “In a minute. We’ve still got things to talk about. It’s lucky he’s such a small-timer, Rubino. He’ll pass on everything I said to Frost, and I think I really convinced him that all I care about is springing Rourke.” He laughed shortly. “Tim made that bed himself, and he has to lie in it. If I grease the right wheels I can get him pardoned after a couple of years.”

“Unless it slips your mind.”

“No, he did what he was told. I consider it an obligation.”

After buttoning his shirt, he dried Lenore with the towel. “Baby, you’re a mess.”

She touched his face. “Where would I be without my dear, sweet sexy Michael Shayne?”

His voice hardened. “Keep telling yourself that and maybe you won’t be tempted to dump me.”

“I’m not totally out of my mind,” she said, surprised. “I know I need you.”

“You need me now. But after I get you back to civilization you may not feel the same pressure.”

“That’s a ridiculous statement,” she declared, playing to the menace in his tone. “The partnership won’t be dissolved except by mutual consent. I know what would happen to me if I tried to be too clever. Not only that, damn it, I love you.”

“Yeah,” Shayne said skeptically.

“All right, I’ll modify that. I have a much better orgasm with you than I’ve been able to manage with anybody else, and wouldn’t I be a fool to throw it away? Do you find that more convincing?”

“People have done dumber things for less money.”

“Now listen to me, Mike,” she snapped. “I’m getting more than a little fed up with these hints. It can cut two ways. I hope you aren’t getting any mad ideas about being able to swing this singlehanded because I can tell you right now-”

He grinned. “The orgasms have been mutual, kid.”

She laughed grudgingly. “Then we’ll keep right on watching each other, O.K.?”

She had trouble with the shirt, and Shayne buttoned it for her. “One character I know you won’t try anything with is Rubino. He doesn’t carry enough weight. But you’ll have to spend some time with him, so work out an attitude.”

“What am I supposed to say to him?”

“That I’ve gone out to see the widow. I know the way now. I don’t need him.”

“Why you want to go near that bitch-”

“To hammer a few final nails in a few coffins. I think she knows more than she’s telling people. Somebody like Felix Frost always looks for the money angle or the political angle. But ninety percent of the killings I run across are committed for the old-fashioned motives-hatred, jealousy, revenge. Don’t say anything to Andres about this because I don’t want him to get any more moneymaking ideas.”

“Mike, do we really need him?”

“Yeah, to carry messages. He’s my direct wire to Frost. And we may need Frost, if this other thing doesn’t pay off.”

He smoothed her skirt over her hips and gave her a critical inspection. “You’ve got lipstick on your teeth. And comb your hair.”

While she was working on that, Shayne knotted his necktie at the two-way mirror. He leaned closer, running his fingertips the wrong way along his stubbled jaw. His face was now only a few inches from Rubino’s in the other apartment.

“I shaved in too big a hurry this morning.”

“Don’t tell me,” she said, looking up from her pocket mirror. “You rubbed me raw in places.”

“You complain about the damndest things.”

“Mike, how is this going to work, or don’t you feel like telling me?”

“I’m playing it by ear, as usual.” He came back to rearrange the sofa cushions. “But it seems to me I’ve got a handle. It depends on how much power Mejia really has. He was trying to tell me this morning that he’s the man with the muscle. Maybe he is. I’ll have to go easy until I find out.”

“Are you planning to see him?”

“As soon as I get the widow to clear up a few points. It’ll take negotiating. We want safe conduct out of the country, and we want him to call off his dogs. If I can get Tim included, fine. If not, the hell with it. It seems to me I’ve got something to sell. I’m handing him half the MIR on a platter.”

He had picked a moment when she had her back to the big mirror. She sent him a questioning look.

He went on. “Combine what you told me with everything I already knew and I can knock those people down so they stay down for good. I’ve got names and locations, and if Mejia takes a few precautions he can wipe out their whole outfit in one raid.”

“He’ll love that,” Lenore said.

“I think so.”

“If you can give him Serrano and all the top leaders, you can name your own price. They’ll make you an honorary colonel.”

“But it has to be handled. It’s not a simple matter of turning off the heat and putting us both on an airplane. He has to lay off altogether. I was getting a strong smell of chicanery out of him this morning. I don’t think he’d mind cutting himself a small slice. That’s why I say it’s going to be delicate. I’ve got to have guarantees, not promises.”

“Baby, you’re beautiful,” she said admiringly.

He kissed her and gave her a quick mechanical caress. “I’m taking the cognac.”

“Leave me the gun?”

“No, I may need it.”