She went out. Shayne gave Teddy an appreciative look.
“You’ve got a better looking client than I have. I like women who don’t wear sunglasses after sunset.”
“Mike, don’t do anything too cute,” Teddy pleaded. “This could be the turning point for me. I’ve always wanted to get some divorce business, and here it is, the classic case. I don’t want to make any mistakes. You don’t have to win every time, do you?”
Mrs. Brady, coming back with a tray of ice cubes, heard that.
“That’s his reputation,” she said. “Isn’t that how he commands those fantastic fees?”
“All I meant was that if he had any consideration,” Teddy said, “he might make an exception just once. It wouldn’t kill him.”
“You’ve got everything well in hand,” Shayne remarked.
“For the time being. I’ve got my equipment in, and everything seems to be working according to the catalog description. But experience tells me that the roof’s going to fall in in a minute. That’s what experience tells me.”
“If you’re that worried,” Mrs. Brady said, “why not tie him up?”
“Tie up Mike Shayne?”
“Why not? You were willing to shoot him a minute ago.”
“Yeah, but that’s more-well, he wouldn’t hold it against me.”
Shayne laughed. “Teddy, you’re a credit to the profession.”
Teddy beamed. “Am I?”
Mrs. Brady snapped, “I’ve laid out a certain amount of money here, and I make a habit of getting value for my money. You seem to consider Shayne a threat. Tie him up.”
Teddy glanced uneasily at an open leather kit on the floor.
“There’s a length of cord in there, Jack. Tie him up. How about some of that vodka, Mrs. Brady?”
Jack took a coil of waxed cord out of the kit and cut off two three-foot lengths. “Tell you what, Teddy. I’ll hold the.38. You tie him.”
Mrs. Brady shook her head. “I can see how this is going to end. I’ll do it.”
Teddy made an exclamation of annoyance and handed the gun to his assistant. He knelt beside Shayne and bound his ankles.
“This is not of my own volition, Mike,” he said. “You heard her. Hands behind you.”
Shayne put his wrists behind his back and Teddy tied them together. Having made up his mind to it, he did a complete job.
“If you start losing circulation,” he said, “tell me so I can laugh. I can be as mean as the next guy when I have to be.”
Mrs. Brady handed around paper cups full of ice and vodka. Teddy drank gratefully, wiping his streaming forehead.
“Nothing for me?” Shayne said.
“How would you hold it?” Mrs. Brady said. “Well, here, if you don’t mind drinking from the bottle.”
She uncapped the bottle and held it to his mouth. Some of it went down.
“Now explain to me how this apparatus works,” she said, turning.
“Simple as one, two, three,” Teddy said. “Of course it could be more automatic, but then you’d have those delicate components to go out of order. Here we’ve got a pickup, an ordinary electrical connection and earphones. With radio, you’re going to run into some ham operator, and he’s going to monitor you and notify the cops.”
“The tape recorder isn’t working.”
“No, we start that manually. You don’t want to waste tape when nobody’s talking.”
“But this won’t do. It won’t do at all. You mean you intend to listen to what you tape?”
“Well, yes,” Teddy said, surprised. “You can’t do away with the human element altogether.”
“Turn it on. I’m not interested in economizing in tapes. How many did you bring?”
“Only three or four. I thought that would be ample.”
He looked nervously at Shayne. Again Shayne had a sense that he was watching a screen on which everything was out of focus and improperly centered, and all the roles were slightly miscast.
“I suppose I’ll have to take the earphones,” Mrs. Brady said.
Jack handed them over. She sat in the place he vacated, and Teddy showed her what button to press to switch on the tape recorder.
“Still and all,” Teddy said, more and more worried. “You don’t want to think you can rely on a tape. They’re too easy to fake. Some judges won’t admit them at all. What you’ve got to do, you’ve got to listen to the conversation as it develops, and then when you’ve got them in bed and everything’s underway, you barge in and take your pictures. That way you’re sure. The thing about the bug, it gives you your timing. Then you don’t show up too early or too late, after it’s over. You’re only going to get one chance, remember. If you blow it, good-bye, see you later.”
“Help yourself to more vodka,” she said.
“I don’t like to give less than satisfaction, Mrs. Brady. Mike will bear me out. Isn’t that the standard procedure for proving adultery, Mike, as I’ve outlined it?”
“Sure. But Mrs. Brady doesn’t want you to hear what’s going on over there.”
Teddy cried, “I’m her witness! I’ve got to stand up in front of a judge and testify!”
“There’s more than one way of getting a divorce,” Shayne said.
She smiled at him. Suddenly she put one hand to her ear and listened intently. She signaled to Teddy and he started the recorder.
She adjusted the headset, covering both ears with the earphones. Shayne watched her closely. The room was silent except for a faint hum coming from the machine. Teddy, not liking the way this was going, kept rearranging himself and working away at the vodka. Her face was less attractive now that it was not in motion. It was all concentration and intelligence. Her movements, picking up a cigarette or drinking, were quick and graceful. Her eyes stopped now and then on Shayne, but he knew she didn’t see him.
At last she stopped the recorder and took off the earphones. She patted her hair with a satisfied smile.
“I’ve got the flash camera,” Teddy said hopefully. “You’re going to want a couple of action shots, to be on the safe side.”
“I don’t think so, Teddy. Thanks.”
He clapped his hands against his legs. “Just don’t blame me if they throw you out of court.”
“Teddy, you’ve been a doll, and if I hear of anybody else who needs this service I’ll give you a strong recommendation. Now pull in your wire.”
Teddy shrugged helplessly, and told Jack to put on his rig and get the bug.
“Experience just doesn’t seem to mean anything. There’s a right way and a wrong way, and this is the wrong way.” He unplugged the tape recorder, put the tape in its cardboard box and gave it to her. She was looking at Shayne again. This time he was sure she saw him.
“I wonder what I’m going to do with you.”
“Untie me, to begin with.”
“No, not yet. First I have to come to some conclusion about what you’re up to.”
“I’ll be glad to tell you as soon as Teddy’s out of the room,” Shayne said. “This whole thing is very weird. Everybody’s faking and pretending except me. I’m not concealing a thing. And I wish somebody would give me a cigarette.”
They exchanged a direct look. “And when I say everybody,” Shayne said, “naturally that includes you. You can fool Teddy because he wants to be fooled. He’s so short of capital he can’t afford to think about the story you gave him.”
“Do I pretend to be rich?” Teddy said.
“But don’t go by appearances,” Shayne went on. “He’s no mental defective. His mind will start working after your check clears.”
“No, it won’t,” Teddy promised.
Mrs. Brady shook a cigarette out of a pack, walked across to Shayne and put it between his lips. Her lighter flared.
“Teddy, you can go now. Pay no attention to what Mike says. You’ve done a first-rate job.”
