Cherry was paled by that light. It made her eyes seem dark and enormous. I suppose I looked as masked to her, and I thought it odd, because that night I wanted no part of disguises.
"You must know I care for you," I started.
"Care?" she said with a small smile. "That's rather insipid, wouldn't you say, Chas?"
"How about I'm fond of you, " I said. "Is that better?
"Not much."
"You're a tough lady. All right, I like you. Will you buy that?"
"You can do even better," she said. Try."
"First let me tell you what's bothering Tommy the Termite."
I told her about all his fears and the struggle he was going through trying to decide whether or not to propose to Lucy.
"Those are my fears, too," I told Cherry.
The bottle was in a bucket of ice at her feet. She leaned to refill our glasses. The wine looked as colorless as water in the moon t.
"And what does Tommy decide?" she asked.
"That's fiction," I said. "This is us."
"And I thought you had made up your mind," she said mockingly. "After all, you did say you liked me."
"Oh, God!" I burst out. "Care for, fond of, like, have affection for-is there anything I've left out?"
She looked at me. Was she amused or hurt?
"Whatever happened to love?" she said.
"Ah," I said, "the four-letter word. What is it?
Tell me that."
I think she laughed. "Someone once asked Louis Armstrong what jazz was.
He said, Man, if you gotta ask, you'll never know."
"
"At least tell me the symptoms."
"An ache, uncertainty, a hope, longing."
"That's it?
"That's it."
"I may have it," I said.
All right, I was bewildered. You've got to picture me, a grizzled old fart planted in a wheelchair. And there was that slim, elegant woman, brainy, with the greatest legs God ever created. And she wanted me to say I loved her. I knew she did. And I couldn't. You'd say I had been popping stupid pills, wouldn't you?
We stared at each other, and there were so many things unsaid, by me at least.
"This is worse than going into a firefight," I said.
"Is it so painful? I'm not pressuring you, you know. I wouldn't want you to think that."
"I don't think it. All the pressure is coming from meand it's driving me nuts. Give me a clue, doc."
"Chas, you're thinking about it too much, trying to solve your problem by linear reasoning."
"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
"Not in matters of faith. That is determined by emotions.
"Are you telling me love is a faith?"
"That's exactly what I'm telling you. You can analyze the beiesus out of any faith, tear it to tatters with logic and reason. But if it's strong enough, it will survive."
"That's heavy stuff," I said. "You want me to act on what I feel and not on what I think? " She nodded. "Follow your heart and not your head. Is that banal enough for you?"
"Plenty," I told her. "It's what Tommy the Termite does.
He decides to marry the girl, and they live happily ever after."
"Well?" she said. don't scare easy, but I admit I was getting antsy.
What happened was this, Willie and I had a meet with Jessica at her place, and she told us how she had spotted a black Camry driving past her house. But the guy behind the wheel, who Willie claimed was Teddy O an enforcer from Miami, Jess made as John R.
Thompson, who had conned his. way into her home by posing as a property tax appraiser. , and they got no one by that name working for them. So the bastard diddled me. I should have my brain examined."
I was spooked by the story, but Willie didn't lose his cool.
"Let's not panic," he said. "I'm just guessing that Teddy O. is working for Big Bobby Gurk. But it's possible that he's cooking some caper of his own that's got nothing to do with the ZAP pill."
"That's crap," I said, and I told them about Gurk's last visit when he told me he suspected the three of us were planning to dork him.
"Oh, he knows all right," I said bitterly. "And I'm betting he and his bloody playmate are plotting something nasty."
"Shit," Willie said, which surprised me, because usually he talked like a perfect gentleman.
"Hey," Jessica said, "I think right now we could all use a belt.
Chivas for you, Laura, vodka for me, and club soda for you, Willie.
Okay?"
She brought the drinks, and we sat there awhile without speaking. Jess and I were waiting to hear how Brevoort was going to handle these new developments. After all, the whole fucking deal was his idea, and he was supposed to be the ballsy honcho.
"I still think our original scenario is a good one," he said finally.
"But now we'll have to make a few minor adjustments.
First of all, let's move up the schedule and make our move before Bobby Gurk and Teddy O. can hit on us. Suppose we do it on Wednesday, September second, at noon. All right with you ladies?"
Jessica and I nodded.
"And since they may be tailing jess's car and mine, let's switch to your Taurus, Laura. Okay?"
"Sure," I said. "Jess and I can trade cars for the day."
"We'll still use this for our safe house," Willie went on, "because I'm convinced it won't be for more than one day.
Gregory Barrow will hand over the pill after the first phone call, I'm sure of it, he'll be at work in the lab. But now the problem is how do we get Mabel Barrow out of the house on September second? If she's around, it might queer the whole operation."
"That's easy," I said. phone Mabel on Wednesday morning and tell her Hashbeam's Boteek got in some new lingerie that's just right for her. She'll come running, I can practically guarantee it."
"Good," Willie said. "Then I think that takes re of everything. Any questions?" ca "You'll be with me in the Taurus?" Jessica asked him.
"Of course," he said. "That part of it will go just like we planned.
We come back here, call the chemist at the lab, and that's it."
"Willie," I said, "are you sure this cockamamy thing is going to work?"
"I'm sure," he said. "It'll go like silk, you'll see." He still had half his club soda left, but Jess treated me and herself to refills.
"Then what?" Jessica asked him. "Assuming we get the pill, what happens next? Go over it one more time."
"All right," he said patiently. "I take off as planned. I go to another city, probably another state. I get the ZAP pill copied and the business organized. it might take a month or so, but trust me.
I'm not going to shaft you. It's not my style.
And I figure that after a month or so Gurk will lose interest. After all, what can he do? He hasn't got the name of the chemist so he can't glom on to another pill."
"The asshole can come looking for us," I reminded, him. "Jess and I will still be here."
"That's right," he agreed, "but you both knew that when you signed on for this. If he shows up, just tell him that I suddenly disappeared, you don't know where I went, and to the best of your knowledge I never did get the ZAP pill. I honestly don't think he's going to lean on you."
We didn't say anything. Willie finished his drink and stood up.
"I don't think we should meet again," he said, until this goes down.
Let's stay in touch by phone. And by Wednesday or the day after this whole thing will be wrapped up, and we'll be on our way to easy street.
After he left, Jessica poured us another drink and we sat staring at each other.