bad now with all your different phone bills and companies?
If you can’t figure out which one can fix your inside wiring
or your outside line or even your five different phones, think
what will happen then. Rates will go up, quality will go
down, you’ll be lucky if you can get two tin cans and a piece
of string to call your next-door neighbor.”
“I don’t call my next-door neighbor,” Renie retorted. “She
hates me.”
Killegrew didn’t try to hide his exasperation. “Don’t act
stupid. You get my point.” He waited, his eyes moving
between Renie and Judith. “How much will it cost us to keep
the two of you from shooting your mouths off?” he finally
said.
“Let’s start the bidding at three point five million and stock
options,” Renie replied. “That’s each. Our silence isn’t merely
golden, it’s platinum.”
“Too much.” Killegrew’s chin jutted.
Renie flicked a wet towel at the air. “It’s not negotiable.
Remember, I want to be in Paris in ten years.”
Ava and Nadia returned via the elevator. “No luck,” said
Ava in a grim voice. “The others are checking the…deceaseds’
rooms now.”
Judith nudged Renie. “Our turn,” she said under her breath.
In the elevator, Judith expressed her shock over Killegrew’s
offer. “Is he serious? Does he think he can bribe us?”
Renie shrugged. “The idealistic stuff about OTIOSE got
nowhere. What else did you expect?”
“This is terrible.” Judith leaned against the rear of the car.
“You were right. He’s unscrupulous.”
“I’ve been trying to tell you, they all are,” Renie said as
the doors slid open to reveal the second floor. “Most of them,
anyway.”
Max and Gene were coming out of Andrea’s room while
Russell quavered in the hallway with an irritated Margo at
his side. “No Ward in any of the rooms,” Max said in a
morose voice. “Try yours.”
The cousins’ room was empty, too. “What about the third
floor?” Gene asked.
“Why the hell would Ward go up there?” Max demanded.
“The only thing of interest is Leon, and he’s stiff as a board.”
“It was a thought,” Gene said apologetically.
Max sighed. “I suppose we’d better look. Come on, Gene.
The others can go back downstairs.”
Along with Margo and Russell, Judith and Renie took the
elevator to the lobby. No one spoke during the brief descent.
As soon as they stepped out of the car, Killegrew made a
request.
“We could use some appetizers to go with these drinks,”
