An Affair Of Sorcerers

'Two hours, Garth. That's all I want. I'm going to try something; if I can't pull it off in that time, it'll be too late anyway. Okay?'

'First tell me what you plan to do.'

'What kind of lawyer does Esteban have?'

'I told you: Legal Aid.'

'He'll need better.'

'No, he won't. The guy's name is Herman Spiegel. I know him; he's young, enthusiastic, and he's damn good. You won't find better.'

'Call Spiegel and get him over to the Criminal Courts building. The two of you have to round up a judge to hold an emergency bail hearing.' I glanced at my watch. 'It's one thirty now; let's make it for three thirty. I'll need you as a witness to tell what you saw and heard yesterday in Esteban's cell. Was there an autopsy performed on Samuels?'

Garth nodded curtly. 'You were right; he had cancer.'

'Esteban was right. He knew about Samuels' cancer, and he knows about my condition. You can testify to that.'

'You'd better come up with more than that, Mongo. A judge-if I can find one to listen to you-will laugh you right out of the hearing room. If you don't mind, I'd just as soon my colleagues didn't get a chance to spread the rumor that you and I are idiots.'

'I know I'll need more; if I can't come up with it, the whole thing's off.'

'What kind of evidence do you think you're going to find?'

'I don't want to say yet.'

'Aw, c'mon, Mongo,' Garth replied wearily. 'I said Spiegel was good, but F. Lee Bailey couldn't get a judge to stand by for two hours with the kind of tap dance you're showing me.'

'I've got somebody better than F. Lee Bailey; I've got Senator Bill Younger.'

That impressed him. 'The Senator Bill Younger, I presume. What does he have to do with Esteban?'

'You'll find out at the hearing; or sooner, if he wants to tell you. He'll be here ten minutes after I make a call. He'll help you and Spiegel find a sympathetic judge. What about it? Are you with me?'

Garth grinned crookedly. 'Aren't I always? Hell, I'm your biggest fan.'

'Thanks, brother.' Baby time: the first props for my magic act were in place, and the pressure that had been building up inside me emerged as tears. I quickly wiped my eyes, blew my nose. 'Is Esteban still inside?'

'Yeah.' Garth slapped me lightly on the back and glanced at his watch. 'He's being transferred to Rikers Island at four.'

'I want to talk to him.'

We went into the station house, and Garth took me back to Esteban's cell. As before, the old man was squatting on the cot, his back braced against the wall. He looked up and smiled broadly as I entered. His face was still serene and peaceful; perhaps there was a bit more sadness in his large brown eyes.

'Hello, Mongo,' Esteban said, getting up from the cot and placing a gnarled, mahogany-brown hand on my shoulder. 'It's good to see you again.'

'It's good to see you, Esteban. I don't have much time, so I'll get right to the point. Senator Younger is in town with Linda. She needs you badly. And there's a little girl who also needs you to give her the strength to stay alive a few days longer.'

Esteban lifted his hands from his sides, then let them drop loosely in an elegant gesture of helplessness. 'I will do anything I can, Mongo. But I am here-'

'Well, I'm going to try and get you out on bail. But I have to ask you some questions. You may not want to answer them, but you're going to have to if you want your freedom. First, is Dr. Jordon a negative healer?'

Esteban looked puzzled. 'I do not know what you mean, Mongo.'

'You seem to have some kind of positive effect on people; being around you helps them to get better. You once said Dr. Jordon shouldn't have become a doctor. What did you mean?' When he hesitated, I stepped close to him and gripped his arm. 'Esteban, two people are going to die in a very short time unless you can give me some answers.'

'Dr. Jordon had a had effect on patients,' Esteban said quietly. 'I saw it in his patients that I treated. It was harder for them to get better when he treated them.'

'How did Samuels and Jordon get along?'

'They were. . not friendly,' he said with obvious reluctance. 'They tried not to show it in front of me, but I sensed tension when they were together.'

'Thanks, Esteban,' I said on my way out of the cell. 'I hope I'll be seeing you again in a couple of hours.'

I hurried to my apartment, where I had a miniature cassette recorder. I taped the machine to my body, then called Janet Monroe. She wasn't home, but I finally reached her at her university office.

'Mongo!' she said. 'Senator Younger called me; he told me-'

'Babe, I haven't got time to talk. I need you.'

'I'm here,' the nun said quickly.

'Get over to the university Medical Center; sixth floor. The patient's name is Kathy Marlowe. She's dying fast, but from what you and Mercado say, Esteban just might be able to maintain her long enough for me to get information that could save her life. I need you to set things up. Younger will be bringing his daughter over there. We'll need another bed set up in the Marlowe girl's room so that Esteban can work with both of them. The doctor you want to speak with is Joshua Greene. He's going to be pretty incredulous. I need you as a scientist to talk to the physicians, and as a nun to talk to the girl's mother and uncle.'

'Are they Christians?'

'Hardly; but I suspect the three of you may have something in common: you take your beliefs seriously. Concentrate on the mother; right now she's trapped by the notion it's all been written, and that it's a waste of time to try to change the ending. If the big weirdo with her gives you any lip about accepting fate, kick ass. Okay?'

'When do you want me to go?'

'Right now. I don't know when I'll be there, but there isn't a minute to spare.'

'I'll do my best, Mongo.'

'I know you will, Janet. Thanks.'

I made my second call to Senator Younger. I told him to meet Garth at the station house, then quickly filled him in on what I hoped to do.

Now I had to make the crucial decision whether to call Eric Jordon or go directly to see him. If I called and he simply refused to see me, my show closed out of town. I preferred to confront him directly, without any prior warning. On the other hand, his office was about thirty minutes away, allowing for traffic. He could have an office full of patients; he could be out on a Long Island golf course; he could be in Bermuda. In which case, precious hours would be wasted. I decided to call; it might give me a slight advantage if I could start him stewing before I got there.

I dialed his number and got his nurse. I was told that Dr. Jordon was in, but that he couldn't be disturbed. I asked her to tell him I wanted to talk to him about his dead colleague. She sniffed, informed me that she'd see if he'd come to the phone. He did.

'Dr. Jordon here.'

My stomach picked that moment to heave, and I tasted bile in my mouth; a burning, acid sensation undulated back and forth across the inside of my belly. I couldn't afford any show of weakness; I had to appear cold, confident. I crouched down on the floor and pressed my fist into my stomach. The nausea passed. I activated the tape recorder and put the tiny microphone up against the receiver.

'This is Robert Frederickson,' I said, blinking sweat out of my eyes.

'Who?'

'Right now I'm the most important person in your life,' I said, trying to imagine how Laurence Olivier would handle it if he wanted to sound casually menacing. 'I've been doing some checking on your operation, and I've found out some interesting things. I thought I'd talk to you before I went to the police.'

I winced when a new spasm of nausea hit me, and shoved my fist even deeper into my stomach. I felt short of breath. There was silence on the other end of the line. All Jordon had to do was laugh, or be outraged, or hang