'I'm not going with anyone. I met him, I was nice to him... I mean I didn't tell him to get lost. But that might've been a mistake.' She glanced at LaBrava.
Maurice said, 'Wait a minute. How do you know this guy?'
'He works for the security service the building hired. I happened to meet him one night. I was out taking a walk. He was making his rounds.' Choosing her words with care. 'We started talking...'
Maurice said, 'Yeah?' Sounding suspicious.
'You have to understand, first of all,' Jean Shaw said, 'he has a way about him. Very friendly, comes on with a certain country-boy charm. If you know the type I mean.'
'Looks up at the condos with his mouth open,' Maurice said, 'scratching his ass.'
'He looks you right in the eye, and he grins,' Jean Shaw said. 'He grins quite a lot. And he stands right on top of you when you're talking. He comes on like he's trying to be friendly, a nice guy, you know? But there's something intimidating about him. He's a little scary.'
Maurice said, 'I never saw the guy in my life I can tell you what his game is, Christ.'
LaBrava listened.
'All the rich broads that live down here, lonely, don't know what to do with themselves...'
'Thanks a lot,' Jean said.
'Not you. But even you, you gotta be careful.'
'The ladies in the building think he's cute.'
'Yeah? You think he's cute?'
'In a way, I suppose. He's attractive... He's awfully big though.'
LaBrava did not think Nobles was cute in any way, by any supposition or measurement. He believed Nobles was dangerous, that you could look at him funny and set him off. But he said nothing. He listened.
'They come in all shapes and sizes looking for a score,' Maurice said. 'Find 'em in all the classier lounges.'
Jean Shaw said, 'Maury, I think I can spot a snake faster than you can. Don't worry about it.'
'Then what're we talking about?'
'I haven't said this guy's out for anything in particular.' She paused. 'Other than what they're usually out for.'
LaBrava saw her eyes come to him and hold for a moment as she sipped her drink. A familiar look from long ago, the calm dark eyes. A screen gesture... Or was it real?
'So what's his game?' Maurice said.
'He's a little too... familiar. That's all.'
'He call you? Want to go out?'
'I did meet him a couple of times. Just for a drink.'
'Jesus Christ,' Maurice said.
'I didn't encourage him, I was being friendly. I'm not a snob.'
'I'll tell you something,' Maurice said. 'At times you're not very smart either. Guys you get mixed up with.'
She said, 'Let's keep it simple, all right? I've never had trouble dealing with men, because I don't play games with them. I'm not a tease.'
LaBrava listened. He didn't like the sound of 'dealing with men.' For a moment, thinking of her with other men, he was uncomfortable.
'But you happen to let this guy get too close,' Maurice said. 'That why you called me last week? You tell me you have a problem, then you don't want to talk about it.' He glanced at LaBrava for confirmation.
She said, 'Oh,' and nodded with that look of resignation. She said, 'Well, I was beginning to get a little scared. So I called you. But then as we were talking I thought, no, you're going to think I sound dumb. You're going to say all the things you've been saying, I'm a big girl and should know better. So I kept quiet... It's not your problem anyway.'
LaBrava could close his eyes and listen and see her on the screen. The easy delivery, the slight huskiness in her voice, serious but calm, almost off-hand about it.
Maurice said, 'So what happened you got scared?'
'He was in my apartment that afternoon, the day I called you.' She seemed to be picturing it. 'It was the way he made himself right at home. Like he was taking over.'
Maurice said, 'Wait a minute. He was in your apartment. You let him in?'
LaBrava listened.
'Months ago, like the first or second time we talked, I promised I'd show him one of my pictures.'
Maurice said, 'One of your movies.'
'See, the way it started, he didn't believe I was an actress. We were talking about it and, in a weak moment, I promised I'd run one of my pictures for him. I have video cassettes of a couple. I think the only two available.'
Maurice looked at LaBrava. 'You catch that 'in a weak moment'?'
LaBrava was wondering which movies she had.
'I didn't invite him,' she said, 'he just came. I opened the door, there he was.'
'Forced his way in.'
'He talked me into it.'
'Musta taken at least ten fifteen seconds,' Maurice said, 'talk a movie actress into showing one of her hits. So what would you say it was outweighed common sense? You miss being a celebrity? What?'
'He's standing there at the door, hat in hand. Grinning.'
'Hat in hand--so you sit him down, just the two of you. The place is dark--'
'It was the middle of the afternoon.'
'You show the movie, there you are, the star, bigger than life on the silver screen.'
'On a television set, Maury.'
'He sees you putting the make on Robert Mitchum, Robert Taylor, whoever, with that sexy come-hither look... Okay, the picture ends, lights're still low, the guy tries to climb all over you and you wonder why.'
'That's not what I'm talking about,' Jean Shaw said. 'I can handle that end of it.'
LaBrava listened.
'I'm talking about his attitude. The way he walks around the apartment, looks at my things. He's possessive and he's intimidating, without saying a word. He wants something and I don't know what it is.'
'He wants you,' Maurice said. 'Guy like that, doesn't have any dough. What's he make? He wants you to keep him, buy him presents.'
'I don't think so,' she said. 'He would've given me a few hints by now. Like he can't afford new clothes on his salary, wouldn't mind having a new car.' Her eyes moved to LaBrava. 'His sister's a cripple and needs an operation.'
High Sierra, LaBrava thought.
'What he's doing, he's sneaking up,' Maurice said.
Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino, LaBrava thought. He couldn't think of the name of the girl with the clubfoot.
'Doesn't want to move too fast and blow it,' Maurice said. 'Only he's too dumb to realize you can see it coming a mile away.'
'See what coming?'
Maurice said, 'Jeanie,' taking his time, 'is this guy in love with you? Is that a possibility?'
'He's in love with himself.'
'Okay. Then he's looking for a free ride. Dinner at the club, some new outfits, little spending money... That's how those guys operate. They been around Miami Beach since the day they built the bridge.'
'Maybe,' she said. 'But I think he's got something else in mind.'
LaBrava said, 'I do too.'
Jean Shaw looked over. Maurice looked over.
'I don't think he has a particular lifestyle in mind,' LaBrava said. 'Dinner at the club... I think what he wants, if he's after anything at all, is a whole lot of money.'
