hands across their faces to shield their eyes or to keep me from photographing their faces, so with one hand, I give ’em a shot or two with the water pistol, aiming at tender spots like the armpit or the ribs, and, what do they do? Why, they grab at the places I squirted them, don’t they? And they leave their faces exposed, just long enough for me to record them for posterity.”
“Great! Then what happened?”
“Then the guy, who’s on the bottom, remember, tosses the lady in the air, and he starts for me. But I’m outta there, filming all the way, of course, and outside the door I got this little hook that goes one end over the doorknob and the other end hooked to the door molding, so the guy can’t open the door from the inside, right?”
“Wonderful,” Stone said.
“So, I ring for the elevator, and, while it’s coming, and while the guy is trying to break down the door, no doubt bruising his shoulder pretty badly, I slip into my shoes, stick the camera back into its case, and then the elevator comes, I ride down and walk right out of the building. To make it even nicer, the doorman is asleep!”
“Perfection,” Stone said. “Teddy, you’re a wonder.”
“Of course, our guy is going to have to call downstairs and get the doorman to open the door for him, and that’s going to be just a little embarrassing for him.”
Stone pulled up in front of his house. He reached into a pocket and handed Teddy a thick envelope. “Five thousand, as agreed,” he said.
“I thank you, sir,” Teddy said, glowing. He handed over the case. “Your camera, and your videotape.”
Stone got out of the car, and Teddy drove away. He let himself into the house and called Bill Eggers.
“Jesus, Stone, I haven’t slept a wink. How’d it go?”
“It went perfectly, absolutely perfectly.”
“You’ve seen the tape, then?”
“Well, no, I haven’t; I don’t have a VCR. But my man says he got it all, and he’s a good man.”
“You gave him the five grand without seeing the tape?”
“Take it easy, Bill, it went well, believe me.”
“I hope so, for all our sakes. Meet me at the office at nine tomorrow morning, and we’ll have a little private screening.”
“All right, but don’t worry, Bill. It went well.”
“If you say so,” Eggers said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Stone wearily got undressed and went to bed, but it was his turn not to sleep. If he’d known where to get a VCR in the middle of the night, he’d have gone out and gotten one. He hoped to God that Teddy O’Bannion’s confidence in his own work was not in any way misplaced.
Chapter 38
Before leaving the house, Stone shoveled the steps and the sidewalk in front. The weatherman had said there had been eighteen inches of snow over-night, and Stone believed it. He could not remember such silence in the city.
There were no cabs to speak of, and, since the sun was shining brightly anyway, Stone hiked the distance to the offices of Woodman amp; Weld, walking in the paths broken by buses and the odd cab with chains. The only people in sight seemed to be those who had come out to play. He passed more than one group of adults building snowmen or throwing snowballs at each other. That, and the memory of a task well accomplished, made the day seem festive.
He arrived a little early and waited in the lobby for Eggers. When the lawyer arrived, he introduced Stone to the security guard and had him put on the list for after-hours entry to the Woodman amp; Weld offices.
“Jesus,” Eggers said as they rode up in the elevator, “I hope your man did this right. If we don’t have what we need on that tape, it’s going to put my client in a very awkward position. I mean, his old lady will be on her guard, and she could make it tough for him.”
“My man says he got it,” Stone said, “and that’s good enough for me.” At least, until we see the tape, he thought. It was not going to be good for his position with the law firm if the tape was not good.
Eggers unlocked the front door and relocked it behind them. “Take that stuff down to the small conference room,” he said to Stone. “That’s where our video system is. Third door on your right. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Stone went to the conference room, unsnapped the camera case, took out the camera, and pushed the reject button. The cassette fell out into his hand. He turned to the wall of video equipment but wasn’t sure which piece of equipment to use.
Eggers came in. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it? We tape depositions, and we have other capabilities, too. You’ll see in a minute.” He took the cassette from Stone, inserted it into a machine, and flipped a number of switches. Snow filled the screen of a large monitor, then the picture snapped on.
“Here we go,” Stone said, sitting down and resting his elbows on the conference table. “Hey, your camera worked pretty well in the low light. Listen.”
The sound of two people making love came faintly from the bedroom. The camera moved slowly, smoothly across the living room to the bedroom door. The moonlight was as Teddy O’Bannion had described it, bright as day. The figure of a woman was clearly visible, and she was moving rhythmically in sync with the noises heard a moment before. She was sitting on a man, who was also clearly visible, though neither of their faces could be made out.
“This is sensational!” Eggers said wonderingly. “Hang on a second.” He picked up a remote control and froze the frame, then he walked to the wall of equipment and turned on another piece of gear. There was a whirring noise, and, a few moments later, a color photograph slid out of the machine. Eggers looked at it approvingly, then handed it to Stone. “Very artful, wouldn’t you say?”
“You’re right,” Stone said. “It’s a beautiful shot, but the faces are shadowed.”
“He did turn on the goddamned light, didn’t he?”
“Yes, but later; hang on.”
Eggers started the tape again. The lovemaking was growing in intensity, and the couple’s voices rose with it. Then, at the moment when both seemed to be reaching a climax, the floodlight came on. Instinctively, both the man and the woman threw up a hand to shield themselves from the light. Eggers froze the frame again and made another print.
“This is where the water pistol comes in,” Stone said.
Eggers stopped what he was doing. “Water pistol?” he asked incredulously.
“That’s how my man gets shots of their faces,” Stone replied. “Watch.”
Eggers started the tape again and pressed the slow motion button. A jet of water could be seen to enter the frame and strike the man in the chest. His hand started down. Another jet struck the woman just below the armpit, and her arm followed, too.
“There! That’s it!” Eggers shouted, freezing the frame. “That’s our shot!” He ran to the printer and pressed the button again.
Stone froze to his chair, unable to move, unable to speak. The man’s face had surprised him, but the woman’s rendered him nearly catatonic. The man was Barron Harkness; the woman was Cary Hilliard.
“Perfect, perfect!” Eggers yelled in triumph, shoving the print in front of Stone. “You can have that for your scrapbook.” He pressed the button for another print. “The cat’s out of the bag now, though. I’m sorry for my little subterfuge, but I guess you recognize the guy. His wife is my client.”
Stone was unable to speak. His eyes ran up and down the two forms frozen on the screen. Harkness was clearly furious, Cary terrified. Her breasts shone with sweat in the bright light, the nipples erect; her lips were swollen and her eyes round with fright.
“Let’s see the rest!” Eggers cried. “Here we go!” He started the tape again.
Harkness reared up in the bed, upsetting Cary from her perch atop him.
“Jesus, the guy’s hung!” Eggers said admiringly. “And look at the tits on that broad! Shit, I don’t blame the guy!”
