“The monitor?s turned off,” he said. “So we can talk straight. First of all, Nance and you have had this hard-on for each other for a couple of years. I?m not responsible for his actions. And from the
looks of him, you could be looking at a case of police brutality, anyway.”
“And what?s the lady here guilty of, holding my coat while I did it?”
“I?ll admit that bringing you two out here was bad judgment on somebody?s part, but we can work all
this out.”
“Good, I?m glad you see it that way,” I said. “If you?ll just arrange for a ride back to town, we?ll be
leaving.”
“Not quite.”
“You?re skating on no ice, Costello. You may not be guilty of kidnapping, but holding us against our
will sure as hell makes you an accessory.”
“I?m just trying to arrange a negotiation here,” he said, holding his hands out at his sides and smiling.
“So everybody comes out happy.”
“There?s no way that can happen.”
“You?re all bluff, Kilmer. Right now you couldn?t lick a postage stamp in a court of law, and you
know it.”
“I?ve got Donleavy cold for murder one,” I said. “And I?ve got Seaborn and his bank against the wall.
Before it?s over, they?ll both be singing like Pavarotti.”
“I never had anything to do with either one of them,” Costello said. “1 may have said hello once or
twice.”
“Oh, I get it. It?s Save Costello?s Ass Week, that?s what we?re talking about here? Okay, here are my
terms. You give us Nance for murder and kidnapping, Cohen and his books for violation of the RICO
acts, Chevos for smuggling and accessory to murder, and you become a friendly witness for the Fed.
I?ll see if maybe we can get you off with five to ten.”
“Dream on,” he said with a laugh - It was his last.
The chopper was bearing in, coming closer.
Whah, whah, whah, whah...
