I said, 'We had a communications problem with Mickey when we arrived and had to ask him to leave.'
The diplomat looked up. Poitras said, 'He's a private cop, Hal.'
The diplomat said, 'What the fuck are you running here, you fat jerk? A private cop? Who's that with him, the fucking police commissioner?'
'I don't know, Hal. I don't know what he's doing here. He's been bothering me about the girls.'
'You fucking baby raper, I shoulda known better than to try to do business with a goddamn child molester.' He looked at the slugger. 'Get them outta here, Vince.'
The slugger straightened from the wall and Hawk pointed a handgun at him. 'I think Vince overmatched,' Hawk said in his friendly, gliding voice. He grinned at the diplomat. 'You too, Hal.' I went and took the slugger's gun and dropped it in my jacket pocket.
Everyone was still looking at the gun, steady in Hawk's hand, pointing at Vince. L went to the files and opened the top drawer. It was still full of evidence. I stepped across to Hal and took his sheet of lined paper from his hands. It was an inventory list for video cassettes with titles like Grade School Gals and Teeny Boppers. I folded it twice and put it in my shirt pocket. I didn't bother to pat Hal down. Guys like him never carried guns. They had employees like Vince to do that.
'Okay, April,' I said. 'You go with Mrs. Silverman.'
` No.
'Yeah. Go sit in the car with her until we get through in here and then we'll go back to my place and have some milk and Fig Newtons, and we'll talk.'
'No.'
'You too, Amy, you should go too.'
She didn't even look up. She had her head down, looking at the plate of canap6s, and she shook it.
'In a little while there's going to be cops here,' I said.
'Cops?' Hal said.
'Yeah. Soon as the girls are out I'm going to call them.'
Hal said, 'That's no way to make a buck.'
'Neither is this,' I said.
Hal looked at Hawk. 'Hey, man,' he said. 'Be smart. There's some bread to be made here.'
Hawk grinned. Without taking his eyes off Vince he said to me, 'Hear that 'Hey, man? This a soul brother -see how he know how to talk to us darkies? He say 'Hey, man' and he say 'bread.' ' Hawk stretched the bread out in a burlesque jive accent.
The diplomat raised his hands. 'Hey, no offense. Black, white, makes no difference to me. There's a lot of money involved here. I'm talking about giving you guys apiece of it.' Poitras was motionless in all this. Amy had put her canapds aside and taken his left hand. She held it in her lap with both of hers.
I said, 'April. You don't have a choice. Go with Susan or we'll take you. Amy, you can go or stay.'
Still without looking up, Amy said in a voice as small as her prospects, 'Stay.' There was something almost touching about the ugly fat man sitting there in his Thom McAn shoes with a little kid holding his hand and refusing to leave. Love? A turkey like that? Someone loved him? I shook my head.
'Go ahead, April,' I said. I was beginning to feel tight inside. I'd been in here too long with the bizarre sexuality and the affectless children and the ugly men. There was force in my voice. April nodded.
She said, 'Bye, Amy,' and walked out the door. Susan went with her.
I said to Poitras, 'There is a gentleman of some influence whose name we won't mention. He has offices in the South End and you served him as a supplier of youthful whores.'
Poitras said, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' But there was no bite in his growl now. He was scared.
'Yeah you do. This gentleman has asked me to remind you that no mention be made of his name or his relationship to you. He says that some really dire things will happen to you if he gets involved.'
Hawk glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. 'Dire?' he said.
“I was dean's list once in school,' I said.
“I can tell.'
I said to Poitras, 'You understand what I told you?' He nodded.
'I got a deal with this gentleman,' I said. 'So I want to be sure.'
'I won't say nothing. I know what'd happen,' Poitras said. I could barely hear him. His growl had become a mumble. Amy clutched his hand in both hers, rubbing it with the thumb of her top hand.
I looked around the lab. No phone. There was one in the office below. 'Last chance, Amy. I'm going to call the fuzz.'
She shook her head. I said to Hawk, 'Think you'll be safe here without me?'
'I can always scream,' he said.
Through the door to the lab I heard some commotion sounds from downstairs; then I heard Susan's voice.
She yelled, 'Spenser,' and there was a sound in her yell I'd not heard from her before. She was scared. I headed across the room. Hawk looked at me and then at Poitras and his group.
