Silent Treatment

Martythat — '

'Honey, I can't. I've got a meeting with Burt.I'll try to get home early, though. Better yet, I'll call. Maybe we can meet atthe Starlight Motel.'

Nancy brightened immediately at the idea.

'You mean that?'

Meeting Kevin at a motel for sex had beenher oft-expressed fantasy since the one time in college when they had actuallydone it.

'I'll call early this afternoon,' he said.'If it's possible, we'll do it.'

He kissed her once more and trotted to hisLexus. That was the last time with Kelly or any other escort, he vowed. He wasfaithful, but he wasn't goddamn Saint Francis. Sooner or later, if he keptplaying with fire, he was going to get burned. He would discuss his decisionwith Burt — that was just a courtesy, given all the man had done for him. Buthe had made up his mind. Lancelot would have to invite one less girl to theparty or else do two himself. Sir Tristram was out of that loop.

He cut through the neighborhood and headedtoward the Midtown Tunnel. Dreiser's boat, a magnificent forty- foot Bertram,was moored at a yacht club near the Seventy-ninth Street Boat Basin on theHudson River side. Forty- second Street all the way across, then up the WestSide Highway, he decided. At the last minute, he changed his mind and took theFDR. He could cross over at Seventy-second through Central Park. If he gotlucky and made it there with a lot of time to spare, his laptop was on the backseat, and he had a ton of paperwork to catch up on. The portable computer hadcost Crown $4500 — more than he had made in six months when he was juststarting out.

He slipped a Sinatra disc into the CDplayer and closed the windows. The custom-made sound system had twelve speakersand a twelve-band equalizer. What a gas, Kevin thought. The dreammachine. The dream job. The dream house. His life was moving along like awell-oiled machine. And here he was, trying to mess it all up in his mind. Healways was one to look for the catch in any situation — the cloud at the end ofthe silver lining. The business with Evelyn DellaRosa was probably nothing morethan two women with a strong physical resemblance, and his overripe imaginationat work.

Traffic in town was lighter than usual.Kevin made the dock with almost half an hour to spare. Still, Burt was alreadyon his boat, having breakfast on the stern deck. He was a handsome fifty-one,with graying dark hair and patrician features.

'I stayed in town last night,' heexplained, motioning Kevin to help himself to coffee and juice.

In town meant on the boat. AndKevin strongly suspected that on the boat meant with Brenda Wallace. Maybeshe was what this meeting was about — Burt needed an alibi.

'If you have to stay in town,' Kevin said,motioning across the Hudson, 'this is the way to do it.'

'Your house go through yet?'

'Today or tomorrow, I think.'

'Port Chester, right?'

'Yes.'

'Port Chester's got some nice sections.Very nice sections.'

'The house is beautiful. Nancy'll becrushed if the deal falls through.'

'Let me know if any problems do come up.I'm pretty good at finding ways to solve problems.'

'Thank you.'

Dreiser flipped what was left of hisEnglish muffin over the stern. A seagull snagged it in midair.

'So, what's going on with you and TheRoundtable?' he asked suddenly.

Kevin felt the color drain from his face.

'I don't know what you mean.'

'Kevin, I was brought into The Roundtablefive years ago, shortly after it was formed. After I accepted the chairmanshipof Crown it became necessary for me to distance myself from the group. Ouragreed-upon understanding is that should The Roundtable ever be investigated,the company CEOs would have to deny any knowledge of it. The knights wantedsimply to eliminate my seat. Maybe look into bringing in someone from anothercompany. I can't tell you how strongly I had to argue for them to allow me tochoose a replacement from within Crown.'

'I'm glad you succeeded.'

'You should be. Let me give you an idea ofwhat belonging to The Roundtable means to us. A year or so ago one of theknights got real bad food poisoning at some damn Chinese restaurant and thenhad a coronary at the hospital and died. His company CEO wasn't allowed torecommend a replacement. There had been some problems with the man. Theknights, myself included, felt he lacked commitment to what we were trying toaccomplish. Nobody trusted him. If he hadn't died, he probably would havegotten kicked off The Roundtable before too long. That would have been a first.But unless he changed his ways and his attitude, it would have happened. As aresult of losing their representation, his company, Mutual Cooperative Health,lost something like nineteen million this past year. Nineteen million is a hitI don't want Crown ever to have to take.'

'So?'

'Kevin, as I have told you many times,these men are very careful and very suspicious. This thing with that magazinereporter — what's her name?'

'She called herself Desiree, but I believeher real name might be DellaRosa. She-'

'Yes, well, that thing with the reporterupset some people. They worried about what you might have said to her.'

'I didn't say — '

Dreiser raised a hand.

'Kevin, please. Let me finish.'

'Sorry,' Kevin mumbled.

'It was no big deal, but you were the newkid on the block. They didn't know you, so of course, they didn't completelytrust you. That's understandable, yes?'

'Yes.'

'Okay. The operative word here is trust.Kevin if these men don't feel comfortable with you, they don't trust you. Andif they don't trust you, you're out. And for all I know, Crown may be out, too.That would hurt us, Kevin. Nineteen or twenty million a year, and God only knowshow much more in the years to come, would hurt us badly.'

'I understand.'

'Then why in the hell did you callLancelot to complain about the girl he sent you?' Dreiser's voice raised just abit.

Kevin was stunned that such a full reporthad been given to his CEO. He stopped himself at the last instant from makingsome sort of excuse or explanation. There was one thing and one thing only thatBurt Dreiser wanted to hear at this point.

'It was a misunderstanding,' he said. 'Itwon't happen again.'

'Excellent. Excellent.' Dreiser clenchedhis fist for emphasis and pumped it in the air. 'Kevin, I don't care what inthe hell you do with those girls once they're in your room. But the more theother knights feel you're one of the gang, the quicker you actually will be. Itmay seem trivial to you. But believe me, when it comes to this group, nothingthat goes on is trivial. There is just too much at stake.'

'I understand.'

'Good. You'll be fine, just fine, as longas you never forget what's on the line.'

Chapter15

Six days after Evie's funeral, and exactlyone day before his fiftieth birthday, Harry Corbett realized he was no longer apotential suspect in a probable murder case. He was the only suspect in adefinite one.