6
The doctor was sitting on the floor where they’d left him, still tied and gagged. Webb went directly to the dresser when Parker turned on the light, picked up Godden’s keys, and went out to switch cars, putting Godden’s car in the drive and the Buick in the garage.
Parker sat on the bed. “Listen close,” he said. “Because of you, things got screwed up. We can’t use our hideout now, we’d never get out there any more, it’s almost light already. Three of my friends are dead, and two thirds of the money is gone. If I didn’t have any use for you I’d kill you now with a wire hanger. But I can use you, so you’ve got a shot at living. Cooperate and you’ll be all right. Screw up again and it’s all over.”
Godden nodded vigorously.
“All right.” Parker went over and removed the gag. “Don’t do a lot of talking,” he said. “Just answer the questions I ask you.”
Godden nodded again. “I will.” His voice sounded rusty, there were red marks on his cheeks where the gag had bit. The blood on his forehead had dried, so no more was seeping out.
Parker went back and sat on the edge of the bed again. He said, “How long is your wife out of town for?”
“Five more days. She’ll be back Monday afternoon. That is, the two of us are supposed to be back Monday afternoon.”
“You were leaving?”
“Friday. Friday afternoon.”
“Were you due in your office today?”
”You mean tomorrow? The day that’s starting?”
“It’s twenty after four in the morning. I mean today.”
“Yes, of course.”
“How many patients today?”
“Four. Well, three, not counting Ralph Hochberg.”
“Roger St Cloud?”
“Yes. Is he—?”
“That’s two,” Parker said. “What time’s the first session?”
“Ten o’clock. But that would have been Ralph. The next one would be at eleven.”
“In the morning,” Parker said, “call those two patients, tell them you won’t be in today.”
Godden nodded. “All right.”
“But wait till after the law talks to you.”
Godden looked surprised. “The law? You mean the police?”
“Your boy Roger barricaded himself in the house and shot it out with the cops.”
“My God!”
“They’ll be calling you. If you hear about it some other legitimate way first, you call them, offer full cooperation. Offer to talk to them, tell them anything they want to know. But you don’t want to go to them, you want them to come to you.”
“What if they insist?”
“You insist.”
“But, won’t they be suspicious?”
“No,” Parker said. “When they come here, give them the whole rundown on Roger, anything you want to say. But you keep cool about us.”
“You’ll be here? This is where you’re going to hide out?”
“If you tip about us,” Parker said, “the least you’ll get is your connection with the air base heist found out by the law. The worst you’ll get is a bullet in the head.”
“If I come out of this with my skin,” Godden said, “I’ll consider myself well ahead. Ellen Fusco told me about you, Parker, but I underestimated you, I didn’t really listen to what she was saying.” His face clouded. “I underestimated Roger, too.”
“Just keep remembering that,” Parker said. He got to his feet. “See you in the morning.”
“You’re going to leave me here like this?”
Parker went out, switching off the light.
There was a small light on in the kitchen now, enough to allow him to make his way around in the house. He went down to the kitchen and found Webb at the refrigerator. Webb looked around, a container of milk in one hand and a piece of pound cake in the other. “I was starved.”
“Where’s Devers?”
“Here,” Devers said, coming in grinning, lugging the suitcase. “I thought we could divvy up before I went back.”
Parker looked at him. “Back where?”
