Silent Treatment

'But you have me until morning.'

He took a fifty from his wallet and set itin her hand.

'I won't tell anyone and I don't want youto. Just be careful leaving. I'll see you next time.'

Kelly tossed the dress aside, stood on hertiptoes and kissed him hungrily. He cupped her breast in his hand. Her nippleinstantly swelled to his touch. Her smooth, lean body melted into his.

'I want you,' she whispered.

For a frozen minute his thoughts were onlyof her. He had not yet given in and made love with her. But he knew he wasdrawing closer with every moment they were together. Perhaps that was what hereally needed, he began thinking. Not to face the demons that were suddenlytormenting him, but to escape them.

'I want you,' she moaned again. Still onher tiptoes, she took his swollen cock and worked it between her thighs. 'Iwant you inside me so much.'

He took her by the shoulders and forcedher to arm's length. She was part of them — an extension of The Roundtable. Oneof the shadow names. The piece she was about to take from him would bind himeven more tightly to the society. Perhaps she was even to be rewarded forgetting him to fuck her.

See, Tristram, you can do it. The Roundtable would be sayingto him. You can do anything!

'Get out,' he snapped. 'Right now.'

The hurt on her face seemed genuine. Kevinalmost laughed out loud at her skill. She dropped her dress on over her headand turned to allow him to zip it up.

'Next time?' she asked.

'We'll see. Now please, go.'

Kevin waited several seconds after thedoor had locked behind her and then splashed an inch of bourbon into a tumblerand gulped it down. Until he had read Beth DeSenza's name on Merlin's printout,none of The Roundtable's programs had ever presented even the slightest moraldilemma for him. But they were programs that largely involved laws and thepeople who made them. The insurance commissioner was a pompous, politicallymotivated bastard — fair game in Kevin's view. The corporate sabotage madeperfect sense given the dog-eat-dog climate of the insurance business. But thiswas different. This was a flesh and blood person. He could handle standing backbehind the lines, lobbing shells down on the enemy. But this was hand-to-handcombat. And suddenly, the enemy had eyes.

Kevin was in over his head. He knew itnow. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it — except to adjust. Theprice of a ticket on this ride was a twelve-room house and a secure future forhimself and his family. He had paid the fare. Now he had no choice but to hangon and make the best of it. The next time Kelly asked, he would be ready for.. whatever.

He had poured another two fingers when thephone began ringing.

'Tristram,' he said.

'It's Gawaine,' the knight whispered. 'Canyou talk?'

'Yes, I'm alone.'

'You sent your girl home?'

'Yes.'

'Jesus. You are asking for trouble. Mine'sin the other room.'

'What's going on? Why did you stop me atthe meeting?'

'I know your name. Do you know mine?'

'No.'

'It's Stallings. Jim Stallings. I'm a vicepresident with the Manhattan offices of Interstate Health Care.'

Kevin knew the gargantuan managed carecompany well. He had once interviewed for a sales job with them.

'Go on,' he said.

'Loomis, we've got to talk. Tomorrow, noonsharp. Can you make it?'

'I can, but — '

'Battery Park. The benches on the Hudsonside. Just be damn sure you're not followed.'

'But — '

'Please, Loomis. Wait until tomorrow atnoon, and be careful.'

'One thing,' Kevin said quickly. 'Did yousee the picture of that woman DellaRosa?'

'Of course I did.'

'And do you think it's Desiree?'

'I never had any doubt about it. It was youI had doubts about. I wasn't sure if you were one of them or not. But aftertonight I'm willing to take the chance that you're still an outsider like me.In fact, I'm betting my life on it.'

Kevin listened to the dial tone forseveral seconds. Then he set the receiver down and walked to the window.Fourteen stories below, scant early-morning traffic flowed in slow motion alonglargely deserted streets. A cab pulled up and stopped directly beneath hiswindow. A woman wearing a tight iridescent red dress hurried out and climbedinside. The lady without a name.

The cab rolled to the corner and thenturned uptown. Kevin sensed that he had seen the girl, stroked her magnificent,taut body, for the last time. He glanced at his watch. Eleven hours. Elevenhours until Battery Park.

Chapter24

At three-thirty in the morning, Maura gaveup trying to sleep and tiptoed from the small guest room to the den. Throughhis partially open door, she could see Harry asleep in the master bedroom. Fora time after they returned from C.C.'s Cellar, she thought he might ask her tojoin him there. He liked her. That seemed clear. But there were reasons — plenty of them — why he would want to keep some distance between them. Keyamong them was that she had given into her frustration and her demons and hadbeen drinking that afternoon.

It was just as well, she thought. Shewasn't ready for an emotional entanglement any more than he was. Still, shecouldn't remember the last time a man's looks had turned her on so. And moreimportant, he was one of the kindest, most decent men she had ever met. Itwould have been nice just to curl up in his arms for a night and let the chipsfall where they may.

She turned on the den light and ran herfinger over the volumes in the bookcase, searching for something light — verylight. Then again, she thought, perhaps heavy would be better. She pulled out athin paperback of poems by Lord Byron. Evelyn DellaRosa was written inperfect script inside the cover. Evie was, of course, another valid reason forHarry's maintaining distance between them. Maura closed the book and slid itback. She and Harry had been through so much since his wife's death that it wasdifficult to remember it had only been a few weeks.

She scanned the shelves once more andfinally settled on a coffee-table book on Ireland. In six hours she and Harrywere scheduled to meet with Pavel Nemec. Maura desperately wanted the sessionto work out. Connecting with the face that was locked in her subconscious wouldjust about balance her humiliation at having fallen off the wagon. She hadnever been hypnotized before and had no idea whether being sleepless for theentire preceding night would be a plus or a minus. On the other hand, if thelegendary Hungarian was as incredible as his reputation, it probably didn'tmatter.

As Harry had predicted, the moment Nemecheard his request, a time slot had been cleared out for them.

'Exactly what did you do for hisson?' Maura asked after Harry told her about the appointment.

'Ricard? Nothing, really. I just did aroutine physical for music camp,' he said. 'He plays the French horn.'

'And?'

'And I found a little lump that I didn'tlike beneath one arm.'

'Cancer?'