Silent Treatment

'You must have done something prettyspecial for his kid.'

'Not really,' Harry murmured. 'But Pavelthinks I did.' He turned to Concepcion. 'Okay then, Walter, we're in business.'

'Um, almost.' Concepcion looked at himwarily. 'I'm going to need some money for my expenses, and some more to buyinformation when I need to. Don't worry, I'll keep an accounting and receipts.'

'Just how much are we talking about here?'

'For expenses, maybe five hundred.'

'And for the other, the information?'

'I dunno. Maybe a thousand.'

'Fifteen hundred dollars!' Harryexclaimed. 'I thought you said no results, no pay.'

'I told you, Harry, I'm a professional. Iknow what it takes to get information. How much do you think that guy got paidto kill your wife?'

'Okay, okay. Point made. Stop by my officetomorrow morning and I'll have the cash for you.'

'Great. You won't regret this.'

'You said that fifteen hundred dollarsago.'

Concepcion stood and shook hands with eachof them.

'Maura, we'll hit a meeting tomorrow orthe next day. I promise.'

'Great. I'm ready for it.'

He turned to go, and then turned back.

'Oh, Harry?'

'What now?'

'If you've got it, I could really use asmall advance on that expense money.'

Harry handed over a twenty, then another.

'Why do I feel like I just swam into awhirlpool?' he said.

Concepcion just grinned in his engagingway and headed off.

'Have I been had?' Harry asked.

Maura shook her head.

'Hardly. You've been leading too sheltereda life,' she said. 'Everybody's got to eat. I trust him. Besides, he's alreadycome up with two good ideas we didn't.'

'I would have thought of the hypnotist,'Harry grumbled.

Chapter23

Impatient for The Roundtable to convene,Kevin Loomis lay facedown on the king-size bed in his room at the GarfieldSuites. It had been a week since he learned that Evelyn DellaRosa had beenmurdered. Any number of times over those days, he had considered trying totrack down Sir Gawaine to see if the man agreed she was Desiree. But if he wasdiscovered by anyone in the group probing into the identity of a fellow knight,it would probably be over for him. For the moment, his plan was to keep hismouth shut on the matter and hope that Gawaine brought it up.

The young beauty who called herself Kellyknelt astride Kevin's buttocks, kneading the tension from the muscles in hislower back. Her silk Oriental dress — red this night and adorned with gold lame- lay over the chair, alongside her black lace panties. Kevin watched herreflection in the mirror across the room, her high, firm breasts, her small,dark nipples, the perfect curves of her hips and ass. Kelly. Anothermeaningless name, he thought. Like Lancelot and Merlin and Desiree and therest — shadow names of no substance, created only to cloak secrets. Names thatvanished in the light of day.

'Is Kelly your real name?' he asked.

Her saw her smile in the mirror and feltfoolish knowing he was hardly the first to ask that question.

'If you wish it to be, it is,' she repliedsoftly, patiently.

Kevin closed his eyes and found himselffeeling vaguely queasy. Massaging him was this most gorgeous woman, ready, ifhe should wish it, to take him inside her in the most intimate ways imaginable,yet forbidden to share even her first name with him. Was she a reporter?Or perhaps a student in nuclear physics at Columbia? Or was she just anup-and-coming whore? Kelly, Tristram, Desiree, Galahad, Gawaine. Shadownames.

What would Nancy say if sheknew? hewondered. Would she believe he was part of it all? Did he even believe it,himself?

'I'm going to take a shower,' he said,rolling over.

Kelly bent down and kissed his cock, whichimmediately started to harden.

'You want me to come with you?'

'No,' he said, too sharply. I want youto tell me what in the hell I'm doing here. 'Just get dressed and ordersomething for dinner … I don't care what it is as long as it's the mostexpensive thing on the menu.'

'Filet medium rare,' she said. 'Iremember.'

As soon as Kevin entered the StuyvesantSuite, he made eye contact with Gawaine. From the man's dress and manner,Loomis had always believed he had a prep school and possibly even Ivy Leaguebackground. Tonight, his smooth manner seemed frayed, his smile a little tense.

The seven high-backed chairs circling thetable were set about four feet apart. Tristram's gold nameplate had been placedin its customary spot between Kay and Lancelot. Gawaine moved his seat, whichwas almost opposite Kevin's.

Kevin caught his eye, nodded a greeting,then approached.

'How're you doing?' he asked.

Can't complain,' Gawaine said.

'Lancelot's sent me a Chinese girl thistime. Eleven on a scale of ten, he calls her. He might be right. I think he'strying to make up for that Desiree fiasco.'

'Yeah, probably.'

Gawaine smiled uncomfortably and pulledout his chair.

Before Kevin could test him again, themeeting was convened by Merlin.

Maybe he doesn't know anythingat all about Evelyn DellaRosa, Kevin thought. Maybe he hasn't even seen any of thepictures of her.

Galahad's financial report showed that thegroup's contributions had put their operating capital back over the agreed-upon$600,000. Kevin had no idea how that baseline figure was arrived at, or, forthat matter, how any of their rules had been adopted. No minutes were everkept, no record of votes, no paperwork of any kind. But everyone seemed to knowexactly where projects stood and what was expected of each of them.

Kay spoke first, reporting on one of threemajor new programs that would be discussed tonight. He sounded quite eager toreport that the votes were now in place to pass legislation permittingcompanies to run genetic panels on all prospective employees. First formalpsychological exams and profiles, then AIDS screening, and now, finally,genetic testing. They all knew that the total package might not do one trulypositive thing for the companies involved. But it would save those companies'health-insurance carriers tens if not hundreds of millions.

'There'll be the usual court challenges,'Kay explained. 'But I think we have control of this one. I would guess it'll bea year before it's enacted, challenged, and upheld — maybe a bit longer if thelabor unions latch onto any half-decent lawyers. But we are going towin.'

'The quicker the better,' Lancelot said.'As far as I'm concerned, we ought to make genetic screening a requirement forentering kindergarten. Goddamn mutants are everywhere.'

There was laughter from around the table.Loomis faked his and noted that Gawaine's smile looked perfunctory.

Kay received a round of appreciative pentaps for his work. Percivale clapped out loud. Tens of millions in increasedprofits for the industry — possibly more. Tristram thought about the figureBurt Dreiser had quoted him the morning when they met on his boat. Nineteenmillion dollars.