Cathman smiled, apparently surprising himself when he did it. “I doubt that,” he said, “though it would be usual, yes. But we won’t want to discuss Ah, Miss Shields. Thank you.”
They waited and watched her in silence as she brought in a small silver tray, on which faintly jingled two bottles of mineral water and two glasses with ice cubes. She didn’t speak, but continued her performance of being in a world where her efficiency mattered. She put the tray on the coffee table, nodded to Cathman, and left, closing the door firmly but quietly behind her.
Cathman actually wanted water; he poured himself some as he said, “Is there really any reason for this urgency?”
“No urgency,” Parker told him. “I wanted to talk to you, and I wanted to see your place.”
“And now you’ve seen it. Will you need to see it again?”
“I hope not.”
Cathman sipped his bubbly water, put the glass down, and gave Parker a curious look. “That was some sort of threat, wasn’t it? What you meant was, the only reason you’d come back here is if you intended to do me harm.”
Parker said, “Why would I want to do you harm?”
“Only if I’d done you some.” Cathman smiled. “And I’m not going to, so that’s an end to that. Mr. Parker, I do understand what sort of man you are, I really do. I knew what sort of man our late friend Marshall Howell was. I am no threat to you, nor to anybody at all except the gambling interests in New York State.”
“That’s nice,” Parker said.
“You wanted to”
“Talk to you about those gambling interests,” Parker told him, “and the people opposed to them. There’s some state legislators against it, right?”
“In a minority, I’m afraid.”
“That’s a list you’ll have.”
Cathman was startled. “You want a list of anti-gambling legislators? But, why would you want to You don’t mean to approachthem.”
“Cathman,” Parker said, “get the list.”
Cathman didn’t know what to do. He needed reassurance, but if Parker were to consult with him once, give him explanations, then Cathman would want explanations and reassurances all the time. Stop it now, and it’s dealt with.
When Cathman couldn’t stand the silence any more, he put down his glass of New York State mineral water, with a clickon the coffee table, louder than he’d intended, and said, “I’ll get But Of course, it can’t leave Well.”
Parker watched him. Finally Cathman got to his feet and hurried from the room.
There was a second door in here, narrower, in the other corner, farthest from the desk. A way out, or a bathroom? Parker rose and crossed over there, and it was a bathroom, small and efficient, with a shower. Towels were hung askew, the soap in the shower was a smallish stub, hotel shampoos were on the shelf in there; so it was used, from time to time.
As Parker headed back toward the sofa, Cathman returned, a thick manila folder in his hand. He saw Parker in motion, looked quickly at his desk, then realized Parker was coming from the other direction, and stopped worrying; about that, anyway.
When they were both seated, Cathman put the folder on his lap, rested a protective hand on it, and said, “If you could tell me what you want
“
“An anti-gambling legislator. Not from this part of the state. Short and fat. Sour expression.”
Cathman looked alert, ready to be of help. “Do you know his name?”
“You’re going to tell me,” Parker said. “He should be an obscure guy, somebody most people wouldn’t know very much.”
“Oh, I see,” Cathman said, and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I was confused, I thought you meant one specific person, but you want a type,someone to match a Well, it would have to be an assemblyman, not a state senator, if you want someone obscure. There are many more assemblymen than senators.”
“How many assemblymen?”
“One hundred and fifty.”
“That’s a good herd,” Parker said. “Cut me out one. Short and fat. Sour expression. Most people don’t know him, or wouldn’t recognize him.”
“Let me see.” Cathman opened the folder, riffled through the sheets of paper in there, then found it was more comfortable to put the folder on the coffee table and bend over it. After a minute, he looked up and said, “Would New York City be all right?”
“Wouldn’t they be well known?”
“Not at all. There are sixty assemblymen from New York City alone. And assemblywomen, of course.” Cathman shrugged. “And to tell the truth,” he said, “the rural people and the people in towns are likelier to know their assemblyman than the people down in the city.”
“What have you got?”
“His name is Morton Kotkind, from Brooklyn. His district has hospitals and colleges, a lot of transients. It always
