The quiet calm of his voice seemed nearly to shatter Cushman; the man seemed barely able to reply. Finally he managed to whisper:
“Quite right, sir.”
Breck stood in front of the desk, leaning forward, the heels of both hands against its edge; from his great height he loomed over the jeweler.
“Now let’s get this straight. You called the bank this morning…”
“Yes sir.”
“And you found out my check’s good.” He pointed to it. “Isn’t it? The money’s in the bank to cover it.”
Henry Cushman all but cringed. “Yes sir.”
“But because of your impulsive stupidity, my wife was arrested…Do you have any idea what it’s like for a woman of Mrs. Baldwin’s breeding to spend a whole night locked up in whatever you call your local louse-infested women’s house of detention?”
Cushman, squirming, was speechless.
Breck was very calm and serious. “I guess we haven’t got anything more to say to each other, Mr. Cushman.” He wheeled slowly and with dignity toward the door. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”
“Please — please, Mr. Baldwin.”
He stopped with his back to the jeweler, waiting.
“Mr. Baldwin, let’s not be hasty. I feel sure we can find a solution to this without the expense of public litigation…”
With visible reluctance Breck turned to face him. Very cold now: “What do you suggest?”
“No, sir. What do you suggest?”
Breck gave it a great deal of visible thought. He regarded the check, then the ring. Finally he picked up the ring and squinted at it.
“For openers — this belongs to me.”
He saw the Adam’s apple go up and down inside Cushman’s shirt collar. Cushman said, “Yes sir.”
“And I can see you haven’t deposited my check yet. So here’s my suggestion. You listening?”
“Yes sir.”
“I keep the ring — and you tear up that check.”
Cushman stared at him. Breck loomed. “It’s little enough for the insults we’ve had to suffer.”
In acute and obvious discomfort, Cushman struggled but finally accepted defeat. Slowly, with a sickly smile, he tore up the check.
It earned the approval of Breck’s cool smile. “You’ve made a sensible decision. Saved yourself a lot of trouble. Consider yourself lucky.”
And he went.
She said, “Don’t you think we make a good team?” She said it wistfully, with moonlight in her eyes and Remy Martin on her breath. “Don’t you remember the time we sold the same Rembrandt three times for a million and a half each? I remember the Texan and the Iranian in Switzerland, but who was the third one?”
“Watanabe in Kyoto.”
“Oh, yes. How could I have forgotten. The one with all the airplanes around the pagoda in his yard.”
A breeze rattled the palm fronds overhead. He looked down into her upturned face. “I’ve got a race next week in Palm Springs, which means I’ve only got a few days to get the car in shape. Besides, you still need to learn a man doesn’t like paying alimony. It feels like buying gas for a junked car.”
“Don’t talk to me about that. Talk to my lawyer,” she said. “Are you going to kiss me or something?”
“I don’t know. I seem to remember I tried that once. As I recall it didn’t work out too well. Turned out kind of costly.” He began to walk away.
“Hey. Breck.”
Her voice pulled him around.
She said, “King’s X?”
He threw up both arms: his eyes rolled upward as if seeking inspiration from the sky. And shaking his head like a man who ought to know better, he began to laugh.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
“Introduction” and all story introductions copyright © 1993 by Brian Garfield.
“The Gun Law” copyright © 1977 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, June 1977.
“Hunting Accident” copyright © 1977 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, June 1977.
“Two-Way Street” copyright © 1978 by John Ives (pen name of Brian Garfield). First appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, August 1978.
“Ends and Means” copyright © 1977 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, February 1977
“Scrimshaw” copyright © 1979 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, December 17, 1979.
“The Chalk Outline” copyright © 1981 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, May 20, 1981.
“The Shopping List” copyright © 1981 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, December 20, 1981.
“King’s X” copyright © 1987 by Brian Garfield. First appeared in MURDER CALIFORNIA STYLE, edited by Jon L. Breen and John Ball, St. Martin’s, 1987.
cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
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