Part 13 (2/2)
”That part doesn't bother me.”
”What then?”
”Eternity. I'm bothered by eternity. You know, 'til death do us part?”
”Do you love me?”
She stirred her soup. ”That's not the point.”
”Aha! So, you admit to it! You do love me!”
”Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to marry him.”
”No, but it makes things a lot easier. Besides, I'm a real catch. I'm relatively good looking, I'm great in bed, I'm rich, I'm fun at the zoo...”
”What about my independence? You know, charting my own course, running my own life.”
”I don't want to take away your independence, I want to share in it.”
”That's what my mother said when she persuaded me to go to the University of Maryland as a commuter.”
”There are alternatives to marriage. We could get engaged and live together in sin. That sounds like fun, doesn't it?”
”I'm going to tell Grandma Brannigan you said that.”
He dredged up a smile, reached across the table, and covered her hand with his, ”Think about it.”
Kurt showed up on Pete's doorstep at five-thirty. He had tapes stuffed into his ski-jacket pocket and his fingers hooked into a six-pack of beer. He set the beer on the counter, peeled one off the pack, and popped the top.
”You did good,” he said to Louisa. ”Between the phone tap and the bug in Maislin's coat, I was able to get everything I needed. Not only did I find out the pig's flight, but Maislin and Bucky had a nice conversation about how the insurance company deserved to get hit.”
He flipped the tapes to Pete. ”These are yours. You paid for them, you get to keep them. There's even a bonus tape dedicated to his drug buys.”
”What about the insurance company and the police?” Louisa asked. ”Don't they want the tapes?”
”Can't use them,” Pete said. ”We bypa.s.sed a few technicalities.”
”Then what are you going to do with them?”
Pete grinned. ”Give them to the media...anonymously.”
”That should end his political career.”
”Yeah, and when the animal rights activists get through with him, he'll be nothing more than a grease spot on the pavement,” Kurt said.
He had his head in Pete's refrigerator. He came out with a plastic container of leftover hot dogs and beans and went in search of a fork.
”There's a loose end I need to tie up. I need to get the bug back. It's still in Maislin's pocket. If he found it, he might get nervous and call the deal off. Besides, it has Louisa's prints on it.”
He saw the look on Pete's face and held up a hand. ”No problem. He's on ice at a benefit dinner. In about an hour and a half he'll be full of chicken almondine and his own self-importance. All I need to know is which pocket.”
”The left,” Louisa said. ”Suit jacket.”
”They're not going to let you close to him dressed like that,” Pete said. ”You're too scruffy looking.”
Kurt tossed the empty plastic container in the sink. ”That's why I'm here. I need a clean s.h.i.+rt.”
By the time he was ready to rendezvous with Maislin, he had more than a clean s.h.i.+rt. He had a suit, topcoat, s.h.i.+rt, shoes, and tie.
”Where's the dinner?” Pete asked.
”The French emba.s.sy.”
Pete handed him the keys to the Porsche. ”This'll help you get through the gate.”
Kurt grinned. ”I hope I don't see anybody I know. This is gonna shoot my image all to h.e.l.l.”
Louisa watched Kurt disappear down the stairs, heard the front door slam behind him. ”He actually looked human.”
”An illusion,” Pete said.
They were playing Monopoly when Kurt returned. He helped himself to another beer and headed for the bedroom. Five minutes later he emerged in his own clothes.
Pete rolled the dice. ”Any problems?”
”None.”
”Want to play?”
Kurt snorted. ”Pa.s.s.”
”I listened to the tapes. They're pretty condemning.”
”Amateurs,” Kurt said. ”They even call each other by name.”
”You going to be in on the kill tomorrow?”
”I might listen from a discreet distance.”
”Thanks for helping out,” Pete said.
”You'll get my bill.”
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