“You won’t shout twice. Move.”
Kapor hesitated, thinking it over, but his eyes kept flicking past Parker towards the room where the statues were. He wanted to know if the money was still in the Apollo. He shrugged and walked past Parker down the hall.
“Move slow.”
Kapor glanced back at him. “I see you’ve been wounded.”
“Just move slow and steady.”
Parker braced himself, and then staggered over to the opposite wall. He wanted to keep his right side as a support.
Kapor walked into the room first, and stopped short in the doorway, staring at the wreckage. Then he saw the Apollo, with its head off. “What has hap”
“That’s right,” Parker told him. “It’s gone.”
Parker followed him in, and closed the door. He leaned his back against it. He would have liked to sit down on the floor again, but it would have been wrong psychologically.
Then Kapor saw Handy lying there, breath still bubbling faintly in and out of him. “Is he the one who shot you?”
“No. You ever hear of Menlo?”
“Auguste Menlo?” Kapor looked surprised, and then frightened, and then artificially surprised. “What would the Inspector have to do with this?”
“We’re going to make a deal, Kapor.”
“We are? I don’t yet know what you’re talking about.”
“The hundred grand is gone. Go take a look in the statue. It’s gone.”
“I can see that.”
“I can get you half of it back.”
“Half?”
“That’s better than none.”
Kapor glanced at Handy. “He’s dying,” he said.
“If he dies, the deal’s off.”
“What deal? Say what you’ve got to say.”
“I can tell you things you want to know. And I can get you half the dough back. That’s what I do for you. What you do for me you get a doctor who won’t make a police report on bullet wounds. In your job, you must know a doctor like that.”
Kapor nodded briefly. His eyes were wary.
“You also take care of my partner. Keep him here till he’s on his feet. When he’s well enough to travel, I give you your dough back.”
“How do I know you can get it back?”
“I know who’s got it, and where he’s going.”
“You seem sure.”
“I am sure. He’s too greedy not to go there.”
“Whatever that may mean. This other point. You said you could tell me something I might want to know. What would that be?”
“Is it a deal?”
“How do I know, until I’ve heard what you have to tell me?”
“Forget that part. That’s bonus. For half the dough back, is it a deal?”
Kapor shrugged, and looked at Handy. “I think he will die anyway. Then you won’t give me the money.”
“So make up your mind quick. The sooner he sees a doctor, the better.”
“If he is going to die and I get no money, why should I deal with you?”
“It’s worth the chance.”
“Possibly.”
“Definitely. You don’t have a week to think it over.”
“Very true. All right, it’s a deal.”
“I want a doctor. Fast. For him, to keep him alive. And for me, to tape me up so I can travel. If I can’t travel, I can’t get you your dough back.”
“Now, what do you have to tell me that I want to know?”
“After the doctor gets here. Where do I find a bed?”
“I see.” Kapor smiled thinly. “There is no trust wasted between us, eh? Am I permitted to know a name by
