'Do you think you'll be long?'
'No.'
She started fiddling with her engagement ring, studying it as though making an appraisal. 'Do you mind if I
wait?' she asked. 'We can catch dinner together.' She took off her glasses. The eyes were puffy, but they were also strong and focused.
Okay.' .
He met up with Esperanza at the clubhouse. She made a face at him.
'What?' he said.
'You thinking about Jessica?' Esperanza asked suspiciously.
'No, why?'
'Because you're making your nauseating, lovesickpuppy face. You know. The one that makes me want to throw up on your shoes.'
'Come on,' he said. 'Tad Crispin is waiting.'
The meeting ended with no deal. But they were getting close.
''That contract he signed with Zoom,' Esperanza said. 'A major turkey.'
'I know.' .
'Crispin likes you.'
'We'll see what happens,' Myron said.
He excused himself and walked quickly back to the tent. Linda Coldren was in the same seat, her back to him, her posture still queenlike.
'Linda?'
'It's dark now,' she said softly. 'Chad doesn't like the dark. I know he's sixteen, but I still leave the hall light on. Just in case.'
Myron remained still. When she tumed toward himwhen he first saw her smile it was like something corkscrewed into his heart. 'When Chad was little,' she began, 'he always carried around this red plastic golf club and White ball. It's funny. When I think about him now.
that's how I see him. With that little red club. For a long time I hadn't been able to picture him like that. He's so much like a man now. But since he's been gone, all I see is that little, happy kid in the backyard hitting golf balls.'
Myron nodded. He stretched out his hand toward hers.
'Let's go, Linda,' he said gently.
She stood They walked together in silence. The night sky was so bright it looked wet. Myron wanted to reach out and hold her hand. But he didn't. When they got to her car, Linda unlocked it with a remote control. Then she opened the door as Myron began circling for the passenger side. He stopped suddenly.
The envelope was on her seat.
For several seconds, neither of them moved. The envelope was manila, big enough for an eight by ten photograph.
It was flat except for an area in the middle that puffed up a bit.
Linda Coldren looked up at Myron. Myron reached down, and using his palms, he picked up the envelope by the edges. There was writing on the back. Block letters:
I WARNED YOU NOT SEEK HELP
NOW CHAD PAYS THE PRICE
CROSS US AGAIN AND IT WILL GET MUCH WORSE.
Dread wrapped Myron's chest in tight steel bands. He slowly reached out and tentatively touched the puffy part with just a knuckle. It felt claylike. Carefully, Myron slit the seal open. He tumed the envelope upside down and let the contents fall to the car seat.
The severed finger bounced once and then settled onto the leather.
Chapter 18
Myron stared, unable to speak.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod . . .
Raw terror engulfed him. He started shivering, and his body went numb. He looked down at the note in his hand.
A voice inside his head said, Your fault, Myron. Your fault.
He tumed to Linda Coldren. Her hand fluttered near her mouth, her eyes wide.
Myron tried to step toward her, but he staggered like a boxer who didn't take advantage of a standing eight count. 'We have to call someone,' he managed, his voice sounding distant even to him. 'The FBI. I have friends- ' `
'No.' Her tone was strong. ~
'Linda, listen to me .... '
'Read the note,' she said.
'But '
'Read the note,' she repeated. She lowered her head grimly. 'You're out of this now, Myron.'
'You don't know what you're dealing with.'
'Oh no?' Her head snapped up. Her hands tightened into fists. 'I'm dealing with a sick monster,' she said.
'The kind of monster who maims at the slightest provocation.' She stepped closer to the car. 'He cut off my son's finger just because I talked to you. What do you think he'd do if I went directly against his orders?'
Myron's head swirled. 'Linda, paying off the ransom doesn't guarantee '
'I know that,' she interrupted.
'But . . .' His mind hailed about helplessly and then said something exceedingly dumb. 'You don't even know if it's his finger.'
She looked down now. With one hand, she held back a sob. With the other, she caressed the linger lovingly, without a trace of repulsion on her face. 'Yes,' Linda said softly. 'I do.'
'He may already be dead.'
'Then it makes no diiference what I do, does it?'
Myron stopped himself from saying any more. He had sounded asinine enough. He just needed a moment or two to gather himself, to figure out what the next step should be.
Your fault, Myron. Your fault.
He shook it off He had, alter all, been in worse scrapes. He had seen dead bodies, taken on some very bad people, caught and brought killers to justice. He just needed
All with Win's help, Myron. Never on your own.
Linda Coldren lifted the finger into view. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but her face remained a placid pool.
'Good-bye, Myron.'
'Linda . . .'
'I'm not going to disobey him again.'
'We have to think this through +'
She shook her head. 'We should never have contacted you.'
Cupping her son's severed finger like a baby chick, Linda Coldren slid into the car. She put the finger down carefully and started the car. Then she shifted it into gear and drove away.
Myron made his way to his car. For several minutes he sat and took deep breaths, willing himself to calm down. He had studied martial arts since Win had first introduced him to tae kwon do when they were college freshmen.
Meditation was a big part of what they'd leamed, yet Myron never quite grasped the critical nuances. His mind had a habit of drifting. Now he tried to practice the simple rules. He closed his eyes. He breathed in through the nose slowly, forcing it down low, letting only his stomach, not his chest, expand. He released it through the
