Parker shrugged. ‘No hurry,’ he said. He turned away and went back over to the bar to refresh his drink.
She followed him, saying, ‘I guess you’re what they call the strong silent type. No idle chitchat, no passes, just business.’
‘That’s right.’
‘But business is over tonight,’ she said. She was standing very close behind him.
He turned around. ‘When did they move you in here?’
She was startled. ‘What?’
‘I figure three months ago,’ he said. ‘Long enough so you’ve set up your darkroom, but not long enough to change anything in here.’
‘What are you talking about?’
He said, ‘I figure Karns didn’t send you after me, that’s some local boy’s idea. Karns is too smart for that.’
She looked at him, frowning a bit now, studying him. She sipped at her martini and said, ‘Why? I’m the wrong type?’
‘You’re the wrong information,’ he told her. ‘I’ll decide yes or no, and it’s what the island looks like that says which it is. Karns could give me three women a night for a month and it would still be what the island looks like that would make me say yes or no about the job, and Karns is smart enough to know that.’
She decided to be coldly insulted. ‘You think Mr. Karns gaveme to you?’
‘No. I think some local bright boy did it and Karns’ll talk to him when he hears about it.’
‘What if I tell you you’re wrong? What if I tell you I was just sent along to take your pictures for you, and I got intrigued by you and curious about you, and I thought I might like to find out about you? What if I told you it was all my idea?’
Parker said, ‘How much did that chair cost you?’
‘What chair?’ She was annoyed at the change of subject.
Parker pointed. ‘That one. How much?’
‘How do I know?’ She looked at the chair and shook her head. ‘What difference does it make?’
‘The difference,’ he said, ‘is this isn’t an apartment, this is a crib.’
‘A what?’
‘Crib. It’s a place where whores work.’
‘You’ She was insulted again, and this time it
seemed more real. She stepped back a pace, saying, ‘I ought to throw this drink in your face.’
‘This isn’t your apartment,’ he said. ‘This is where you entertain for the Outfit.’
‘That’s a damn lie!’
Parker shrugged. ‘You can send me the pictures,’ he said. He drained his glass, put it down, and headed for the door.
He was almost to it before she spoke, and then she sounded almost plaintive, all the anger and irritation gone: ‘Why did you do this? Why act this way? You didn’t have to.’
He wanted the pictures. He turned and said, ‘I think I did.’ To get the pictures sooner, he’d talk to her, explain to her.
She said, ‘If it wouldn’t make any difference which way you decided about the other thing, then why not go ahead? You’re putting something over, you’re getting something for nothing.’
‘A prize,’ he said. ‘A prize for being stupid. And I don’t even have to be really stupid, I just have to play like I’m stupid.’
‘In other words,’ she said, ‘it’s pride. You thought you were being underrated and it hurt your pride.’
He shook his head. ‘Whores,’ he said, ‘are for people without resources. I don’t need you on your terms.’
‘Oh?’ She frowned, studying him, and then she nodded and said, ‘Oh. All right. If that’s the way I suppose you’ve guessed I was supposed to phone in my report right after you left.’
He nodded.
‘One minute,’ she said. She crossed the room to the telephone, dialled a number, waited, and said, ‘Crystal here. He just left. No dice.’ She waited again, looking at Parker, and said into the phone. ‘He tumbled, that’s why. The apartment looked phoney, and I guess I did it wrong myself.’
Parker went over and took the phone away from her and listened, hearing a male voice say, ‘
won’t need it. But I’m surprised at
‘ He handed it back, and she took over the conversation again, saying she was sorry a couple of times and then ending it.
She cradled the phone and looked at Parker. ‘Do you want me to send the pictures or will you wait for them?’
‘I’ll wait for them.’
‘What were you drinking?’
