Silent Treatment

Chapter31

It was nearly midnight when Harry heardMaura's soft knock on his partially open bedroom door. He was lying on hisback, wide awake, trying to will himself to sleep. But he was still far too keyedup. Things were continuing to break for them, as they had since the momentMaura convinced him to hire Walter Concepcion. Now the insurance executiveKevin Loomis had left a message on his answering machine. He wanted to talk. Inthe morning he was going to call. Bit by bit the circle was closing. Step byminuscule step, they were drawing closer to Evie and Andy Barlow's killer.

'Come on in, I'm awake,' he said.

'I just wanted to see if I could talk youinto some tea, and maybe a little company.'

Wearing loose cotton pants and a tank top,she stood in the doorway, framed by the light behind her. If her goal at thatmoment was to look alluring and incredibly sexy, she has succeeded admirably.Harry pushed himself up and motioned her to a spot on the bed a fairly safedistance away.

'No tea, thanks, but a little companywould be fine.'

A little company. Harry's attraction to the womanhad begun within minutes of their meeting at her apartment, and had grownsteadily since. It was dumb, he knew. Dumb and dangerous. Both of them werefragile and vulnerable. His wife had been dead just a few weeks. Maura hadfallen off the wagon. And they had business to attend to — a madman who wantedboth of them dead.

'Harry, I've decided to go home tomorrow,'she said suddenly.

He tried to mask his surprise and hurt.

'You don't have to do that.'

'I know. But sooner or later I do. It'snot to get away from anything here. I hope you know that. It's just that all ofa sudden, my head is full of the paintings I want to do. They're flashingthrough my brain like comets.'

'That's terrific. But I don't think it'ssafe yet.'

'Not from the killer, I agree. But thatdanger's here, too. It'll be everywhere I go until we nail him. What I am safefrom now is the booze. That was the big worry for me — even more dangerous thanthe killer. The AA meeting tonight made me even more certain. I'm not takinganything for granted, and I'm going to keep going to the meetings, but I knowI'm going to be all right. With all the terrible things that've happened,that's one good thing to come out of this mess.' She smiled at him. 'But now Ifee like I ought to be alone, and I know you need some space.'

She sat with her legs tucked underneathher. Her body was silhouetted by the hall light. Harry tried to remember thelast time he had held Evie — the last time they had sex. The last time he hadreally cared. He sensed the stirrings in his body. Over the past days he hadmanaged to overcome them. Now? He reached out tentatively and took herhand.

'I don't need space, and I don't want youto go,' he said.

She moved closer. He breathed in the scentof her and knew that whatever resistance he had been clinging to was gone.

'You don't know me, Harry,' she said. 'I'mtough. I've been known to eat nice, kind men like you for breakfast and spitout the seeds.'

He backed away and peered at her.

'That sounds like something you heard in amovie.'

'It is, actually. I think it might havebeen Garbo. But I've sort of always wanted to try the line out myself.Unfortunately, though, it's true. I can't remember the last lover I cared aboutas anything more than some sort of perverse validation that I was a worthwhileperson.'

'You are a worthwhile person,' hesaid, 'and incredibly sexy.'

'Even with no hair?'

'You have plenty. Besides, that minimalistcoif just lets me focus more on the rest of you.'

He drew her toward him and gently cuppedher breast. She made a soft, excited sound, pressed his hand in more tightly,and nestled her head against his chest.

'Harry, I've wanted you to want me since Ifirst saw you walking up the stairs to my place. Now I really am frightened.We're both going through so much — we've had so much hurt.'

'Maura, we don't have to make love. We canjust lie here and hold one another.'

She slid her hand down his shorts.

'Don't let me talk you out of this,' shesaid.

Propped against the headboard, he kissedher lightly on her lips, on her neck, on her throat. She knelt astride him andpulled off his T-shirt. Then, with his lips just inches from her breasts, sheswept off her tank top and threw it aside. Instantly his mouth was on her,sucking her, caressing her nipple with his tongue.

'Making love sober is going to be a hellof an experience for me.'

'We don't have to do it tonight.'

'Shut up … Harry, listen, though. Ireally don't feel right making love with you unless it's safe. It's been quitea while for me, I think. But you know how us blackout drinkers are.'

'Don't worry. Evie was the condom queen.The latest box is in the drawer by the bed. It's been there for months. I don'tthink it's even been opened.'

'Well, it's about to be.'

They kissed, gently, longingly. He workedhis hand inside her pants over her buttocks, farther and farther, until hecould touch her new dampness. Instantly, she was wet. She let him stroke herthat way for as long as she could stand. Then she slid down him, pulling hisshorts free and running her lips and tongue over him again and again.

'Go slow, Maura,' he begged. 'I'm reallyout of practice and I want this to last.'

'Where does it say you only get one try?'she murmured, moving up to his lips and helping him slide her pants down.

Completely nude, with wonderfully whiteskin and only the shortest, soft bristles of hair on her head, she was thesexiest woman he had ever been with. She lay stretched out on her belly now,toes pointed. He knelt beside her and ran his hand down her long, silky body,pausing to stroke her buttocks again and again. Then he rolled gently on top ofher, kneading the muscles in her back, spreading her legs apart with his knees.He was so aroused, so large, he ached. He kissed the inside of her thighs andtouched between her legs. She was ready, too — incredibly ready.

'Please, Harry,' she moaned. 'Not thisway. I want to look at you this first time. I want to see your face. I want tosee your wonderful face.'

He kissed her behind the neck and helpedher roll over. She drew her knees up and took him in her hand. For severalmagical suspended seconds they remained that way, their eyes fixed on one another.

'Keep looking at me,' she whispered as sheguided him inside her. 'Baby, please, keep your eyes open. Just a littlelonger. Keep your eyes open and see how happy this makes me. See how much Ilove doing this with you.'

The light of morning was filtering throughthe blinds when the phone began ringing. Harry couldn't remember when they hadfinally drifted off to sleep, but he knew it couldn't have been very long ago.They had made love, then rested, then made love, then showered and ate, andthen made love again.

'If this is you at fifty,' Maura hadgasped at one point, 'I'm sure glad I didn't meet you when you weretwenty-five.'

'You would have been eleven,' he said.

'That's just the point.'

An hour later, as she lay beside him, shegently touched the patchwork of scars covering his back. He had already toldher about Nha-trang.

'Hey, you can tell me the real story now,'she said. 'I'll certainly understand. What was her name?'

The ringing persisted. He reached acrossher for the phone just as she was beginning to stir. The digital display on hisclock radio read 7:50.

'Hello?'

'Harry?'

'Yes.'

'Harry, it's Doug. Sorry to wake you.'

'Hey, I've been up for hours.'

Maura, now almost fully awake, reachedplayfully under the sheet to touch him. He pushed her hand aside, stifling alaugh.

'Harry, what in the hell is going on?'Atwater asked.

From the tension in Doug's voice, it wasclear he was not referring to what was going on at that moment in Harry'sbedroom.

'With what?' Harry asked.

'With those posters, dammit. Harry,please, we're friends. Don't play games with me.'

Harry was wide awake now, sitting boltupright. Maura, sensing trouble, was up, too.

'Doug, you have to believe me, I don'tknow what you're talking about.'

'There are posters on every bulletin boardin the hospital, and in at least two other hospitals we know of. Posters witheight versions of that drawing of the man you think killed your wife. Owen isfurious, Harry.'

Harry groaned and put his hand over thereceiver.

'The posters are up all over the hospital,godammit. It's got to be Concepcion.' He returned to Atwater. 'Doug, I swear,it was a guy I hired to help us out who did it. I told him not to, butapparently he did it anyway. Is it just the pictures? I mean, does the postersay anything?'

'Of course it does, Harry. Listen, I'm notan idiot. Don't treat me like-'

'Doug, please, what does it say?'

Harry could hear Atwater sigh, trying tocompose himself.

'It says that this man is wanted for themurder of Evelyn DellaRosa, and that anyone with information should contact youat the number I just dialed. There's a fifty-thousand-dollar reward forinformation leading to his arrest and conviction.'

'How much?'

'Fifty thousand.'

'Fifty thousand?'

'Harry, Owen is berserk about this.'

'Tell him I'm sorry. I'll be calling toexplain and I'll take every one of them down.'

'It's more than just this hospital, Harry.University has called, and St. Bart's. I suspect there may be others.'

'I'll take care of it, Doug. I'll takecare of them all.'

'Who's the guy who did this?'

'No one you know. Listen, thanks, Doug.Thanks for calling me.' He set the receiver down. 'No one I know either,' hemuttered. 'Maura can you get hold of your brother?'

'I think so.'

'I want to know if there was ever alicensed detective in New York named Walter Concepcion.'

The call from Kevin Loomis came preciselyon time, at nine o'clock. By that time, three other calls had come in as well.One was from a maintenance worker at MMC, one from University Hospital, and onefrom Bellevue. Each of them reported seeing the man in the poster. Two of themwanted an advance on the reward before giving any information. Harry found anotebook in the study and began keeping a log. He also began letting hismachine screen calls.

'Goddamn Concepcion,' he said after eachof the calls. 'Goddamn Concepcion.'

Loomis, calling from a pay phone, wouldsay only that he was willing for the two of them to meet. He sounded tense, butnot excessively so.

'Be at the southeast corner of theintersection of Third Avenue and Fifty-first at eleven o'clock tonight,' hesaid. 'Wear a baseball cap. I'll pick you up.'

He hung up before Harry could ask anyquestions.

Over the next half an hour, there were twomore calls with tips and inquiries about the reward. Maura answered both.Neither seemed that promising.

'We're going to have to develop a systemfor evaluating these,' she said. 'I suppose we should say that if the callercan point the man out to us we're interested. Otherwise, thanks, but nothanks.'

'Maura, I don't have fifty thousanddollars.'

'Hey, first things first,' she said.'Don't you remember hearing the speaker say that at the AA meeting last night?'

'God, I've created a monster.'

The third call was from Tom Hughes. Hewould keep looking, but as far as he could tell, there had never been alicensed private eye in Manhattan or any city in New York State named WalterConcepcion. Harry slammed down the receiver, then snatched it up and calledConcepcion's rooming house. Walter himself answered.

'Concepcion, I want to know who the hellyou are, and why you've stabbed me in the back like this.'

For fifteen seconds there was silence.

'Your place or mine,' Concepcion saidfinally.