eight, just barely night, then full night by the time they got back to this house, after eight-thirty. They’d be keyed up, and now they’d have Lesley to distract them, so they wouldn’t go to sleep until late. Parker figured he shouldn’t go downstairs until at least three in the morning, so he had six hours up here to rest.
But he hadn’t expected to sleep. Normally, he could hold sleep off until the work at hand was done, but this was some other part of the weakness. He’d been awake, lying on his back in the darkness among all the swivel chairs, planning how he would take them out, and now he was awake again, the red-tinged lights clicking on, the swivel chairs like flying saucers above him.
He heard them coming up the stairs, Melander saying, ‘This is a nice quiet place for you till the morning, keep you out of trouble.’
Parker rolled against the wall farthest from the stairs, black clothing against black carpet, turned away so the paleness of his face and hands wouldn’t show.
‘What is this?’ That was Lesley, still trying to catch up.
Melander, the grin in his voice, said, ‘The previous owners used to watch their own movies in here. Think how much fun people used to have in this room. Maybe if you’re real quiet, you can hear the singing and the dancing and the laughing.’
‘And if you’re not real quiet,’ Carlson said, ‘you’ll hear from us.’
‘Oh, come on, Hal,’ Melander said. ‘Claire’s gonna cooperate, aren’t you, Claire?’
‘I’ve told you I’m not’
Slap. Melander’s voice, no longer humorous: ‘And I’vetold you, quit insulting my intelligence. I’m losing my good disposition, Claire, you follow me?’
Silence from Lesley. Ross said, ‘She’ll be all right now, Boyd. Won’t you?’
‘Please
‘
‘See?’ Now Ross was being the good cop, saying, ‘Here’s the light switch here, you can turn it on or off, whatever you want. The door’s gonna be locked down there, but we’ll let you out in the morning, we’ll have a good breakfast, talk it over.’
‘That’s right,’ Melander said, in a good mood again. ‘No more excitement for tonight. You go on over there and sit down. Go on, now, just go right over by those chairs and’
Her shriekat that second was not because they’d hit her again or anything like that. Parker knew exactly what it was. Coming deeper into the room, she’d piped him, and immediately tipped him to the others, like a bird dog.
She’d been better than the normal amateur, until it mattered.
Yes. Here came the footsteps and Melander’s humorous surprise, saying, ‘And what have we here?’ Parker rolled over onto his back to look up at them. Carlson and Ross carried the automatics he’d ruined. He said, ‘You boys pulled a nice one today,’ hating the reediness of his voice.
Carlson said, ‘And you thought you’d wait till we were asleep and take it away from us.’
‘Just keeping an eye on my share,’ Parker said.
Melander said, ‘On your feet.’
‘He’s been shot!’ Lesley blurted. ‘He isn’t even supposed to be out of the hospital!’
They frowned at her, and then down at Parker. Melander said, ‘Is that right?’
‘Shot in the chest,’ Parker said. ‘Some broken ribs. I’ll live.’
‘Maybe,’ Carlson said.
Melander backed away a pace. ‘Okay, Parker,’ he said. ‘You can stay up here with’
Lesley said, ‘That’sParker?’
Before Melander could smack her again, Parker said, ‘Give it up, Claire, we folded that hand.’
She blinked at him, but at last she was beginning to get her wits about her, and she didn’t argue the point.
Ross came forward, saying, ‘You bandaged and stuff?’
‘Around the chest.’
‘Where you carrying? I’ll just ease it out without making trouble for you.’
Parker shook his head. ‘Not carrying. I don’t want you to think I’m still sore.’
They didn’t believe him. Melander, laughing, said, ‘We come in peace? Check him out, Jerry.’
Ross handed his automatic to Carlson and went to one knee beside Parker. ‘Sorry about this,’ he said.
‘Go ahead.’
Ross patted him down without unnecessary pain, then shrugged and looked up at the other two. ‘He’s clean.’
‘Will wonders never cease,’ Melander said. ‘Okay, Parker, we’ll talk in the morning. Your investment came through, right?’
‘Right,’ Parker said.
Ross took his dead automatic back from Carlson, and the three of them went downstairs, murmuring together, a little confused. Parker was here, but hurt, and unarmed. What did it mean?
