Part 36 (2/2)
”So you just think I'm a gullible idiot?”
He avoided answering that. ”I don't know much about toxicology. I've never worked narcotics. But it sounds to me like Max must be slipping you a whole smorgasbord of hallucinogenics.”
”Max isn't drugging anyone!” I said in exasperation.
He pulled his cell phone out of his jacket. ”I'm going to have this place searched.”
I thought of the laboratory downstairs. ”No!” ”No!”
”If there's nothing here, then they won't find anything.” His voice was professionally soothing as he dialed a number on his phone.
I leaped forward and knocked the phone out of his hand, startling him. ”I will not be the cause of you violating Max's privacy!” Or the cause of Max getting locked up after they found weird things in his lab that couldn't easily be explained away. Especially not with Lopez so suspicious of him already.
Angry now, Lopez said, ”You just told me you watched Max cut off 'my' head tonight, and then 'I' exploded all over the room! Do you really want to go on another another trip like that, Esther?” trip like that, Esther?”
”I wasn't tripping!”
”Do you want him doing this to someone else, too?”
”He's not drugging anyone! Why won't you believe me?”
”Do you hear how crazy you sound?”
”Yes, I do! Do you honestly think I'd even talk talk to you about this if your life weren't at stake?” Frustrated, I said, ”Max wants to protect you! And me! Why are you trying to blame him?” to you about this if your life weren't at stake?” Frustrated, I said, ”Max wants to protect you! And me! Why are you trying to blame him?”
He bit off whatever he was about to say, got control of his temper, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he let out his breath slowly and said, ”Because Max creating these delusions by drugging you is better than the alternative.”
”Which is?” I gasped as I realized what he meant. ”Oh! You think I'm crazy?”
He didn't say anything.
”So either I'm a drugged-up dupe or I'm a nutbag?”
”I'm trying to think of a third alternative, but nothing's coming to me.” He crossed the floor and stooped down to retrieve his phone. Examining it, he said, ”It's dead. Great. That's the second phone I've run through today.”
Trying to relieve the tension in the room, I said, ”What happened to the first one?”
”I don't know.” He shrugged. ”It'll turn up. But after I saw those photos, I didn't want to call you from an OCCB phone, and I couldn't find my cell.” He turned the broken phone over in his hands. ”I keep this in my desk. It's prepaid. Anonymous. Useful for work, sometimes.”
”Oh.” That explained why his call to me a little while ago had shown up on my cell as ”Caller Unknown.” I said, ”I'm sorry I broke it. But I don't want you bothering Max.”
”I'm worried about you,” he said. ”Seriously worried.”
”I'm a lot more worried about you.”
”I want you to stay away from Max from now on.”
”No, I won't do that.”
He glanced at his watch. ”s.h.i.+t. I have to go.”
”Back to work?”
”I'm following a lead. I've got to go meet someone.”
”You're not safe,” I said urgently. ”Don't go.”
”The city's on the verge of a mob war, Esther. That's a very messy thing, and people besides wiseguys will get hurt. I want to get you out of here-”
”And maybe into an insane asylum?” I said sourly.
”-but I don't have time to fight about it. I've got to leave.” He started collecting the bladed weapons from the table.
”What are you doing?”
”You sound insane, you're talking about beheading people-”
”Not people! people!”
”-and chopping off heads is evidently Max's bright idea. All things considered, I don't think it's a great idea for me to leave two swords and an ax lying around here when I go.”
”You can't just take take those! Don't you have to have a warrant or something?” those! Don't you have to have a warrant or something?”
”Let's agree that I'm not taking them as a cop, but as your concerned . . . friend.”
”Give that back!” I grabbed the ax and tugged. ”You can't leave us defenseless!”
He used his free hand to grasp my wrist and torque it downward. A sharp jolt of pain made me let go of the ax and stumble. He twisted my arm behind my back and pulled me up against his chest. I was breathing hard and grimacing in pain. He looked angry, sad, and frustrated.
”Either you're leaving here right now, or else these weapons are leaving.” His voice was quiet, his tone unyielding. ”G.o.d knows what you might do with them, in your current state of mind.”
”Where do you want me to go?” I was angry and frustrated, too. ”A psych ward?”
”That's not a bad idea.” He lifted his brows. ”Well?”
I lowered my head and tried to get control of my breathing, aware of our bodies pressed together. Aware of how different things were now than they had been only this afternoon. Nothing about this embrace resembled the one we had shared then.
”If you take these weapons,” I said, realizing there was a silver lining, ”keep them with you. And if you see your perfect double-”
”No, Esther, I'm not cutting off someone's head.” He released me. ”But I will take the weapons.”
Ax still in hand, he picked up the two swords. ”Don't eat or drink or inhale anything else Max gives you-”
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