Part 16 (1/2)
He smirked.
Bobbi moaned and her head swayed. ”Oh, G.o.d, I'm going to be sick.” Marza put a protective arm around her.
”What do we do, Mr. Braxton?” Matheus was bug eyed at Bobbi's white face.
”What?”
”I'm going to be sick.” She gulped air and jerked to her feet.
”Follow her,” he told the kid. ”The rest of you stay where you are.”
Bobbi ran to the bedroom with Matheus close behind, but she shut him out when she reached the bath and slammed the door in his face. He was still very much the kid and hardly had the gumption to go inside after her. Through the walls I heard her coughing, then the rush of water when she flushed the toilet. She took her time at it and Braxton started to fidget.
”Look,” I tried again, ”we don't need to be here.”
”Quiet and keep your eyes down.”
”What do you want?” asked Marza. A large chunk of her veneer had come off in the past few minutes. She looked much more real to me now.
Braxton pretended not to hear and called to Matheus. ”If she's done, get her out.”
The water was still running. Matheus knocked gingerly on the door. ”Uh... miss...
uh... you all right?”
Bobbi mumbled a no and turned on a sink faucet.
”You have to come out now.” She didn't answer. He appeared at the bedroom door, shrugged helplessly at Braxton, and went back again.
”I'll go get her,” said Marza.
”No.” Braxton was not about to let the situation get any more out of hand.
”How did you find me?” I asked, distracting him.
”What? Oh, it was the old lady. I knew you would go see her eventually, so we waited at her hotel and followed you from there. This time we were more careful about it.””Smart, real smart.”
He made a little formal nod of acknowledgment like an actor in a play. He must have cast himself as Edward Van Sloan to my Lugosi. The only things missing were the accents and evening clothes.
”Miss? You've got to come out.” Matheus sounded a little more impatient now, and that gave him confidence. ”I mean it, come out of there.”
The water cut off and the k.n.o.b rattled. ”Don't rush me, big shot,” she growled.
She pushed unsteadily past Matheus and stood in the doorway. The tableau hadn't changed. She took a step toward me.
I shook my head minutely. ”You look done in. Miss Smythe, you'd better sit down.”
She nodded, figuring out the reason behind my sudden formality. She had no wish to have Braxton breathing all over her neck looking for telltale holes. Things were safe for the moment; her lounging pajamas had a high Oriental collar. She glided back to the sofa, glaring at him.
”You mugs have no right barging into my home. My neighbors are bound to hear all this and call the cops.”
He waved her down. ”I have every good reason behind my actions, however strange they may appear to you. If you do not yet understand my mission, I promise you that you soon will, and when you do, you shall approve of what I am doing.”
”It's the police state,” said Pruitt, gaining a revelation from G.o.d knows where.
”Who are you with, the Secret Service?”
”Secret Service?” said Matheus, looking blank. He was standing next to Braxton now, keeping me covered with his cross.
”Yes, the Secret Service, you fascist.”
Marza spoke through her teeth, which were exactly on edge. ”Madison, this is no time for politics, so shut up.”
”I'm telling you-ouch!”
”I said shut up.”
”Who's a fascist?”
”Matheus-”
”But he called me- ”Everyone quiet!” Braxton must have felt the situation physically slipping out of control. He was already sweating from the strain and certainly not used to it. He'd never last until morning the way things were heading.
”Braxton, please listen.”
He liked the pleading tone in my voice and considered my request like a magnanimous ruler. ”All right, what is it?”
”What Miss Smythe said was true, this is no place to settle things. There's a hotel detective downstairs-”
”You think there is, leech.”
So they had slipped by Phil somehow. It was time to change tack. ”I can't help what I am, I've tried to tell you that.”
He shook his head. ”And I am sorry for you. I think I know what kind of h.e.l.l you face each night... I will end it for you.”
Good G.o.d, he thinks he's doing me a favor. ”No, not here, please, at least for the sake of the ladies.”
”We will remain here. You seem to care for these people. I do not wish to use them as hostages for your behavior, but I see no other way.”
He sounded very certain of his hold over me. He was either stupid or had an extra ace up his sleeve he hadn't yet shown. I was inclined to think he was stupid. He was badly underestimating my will to survive and believed crosses and silver to be a strong check. The only thing actually holding me back was trying to come up with a way of safely disarming him without revealing my true nature to Marza or Pruitt.
I glanced at Bobbi to see how she was doing. Perched stiffly on the edge of the sofa, her whole posture was tense, natural enough under the circ.u.mstances, but something in her manner struck me as odd. Her left arm lay across her knees, the right hand resting on the left. The long sleeves of the pajamas were pushed up to the elbows. Her eyes caught mine and her mouth twitched in an almost-smile and she winked, her eyes dropping to her hands. Her right index finger was tapping once a second against the crystal of her watch.
I got it, or thought I did.
”Matheus,” I said, sounding reproachful. ”I asked you to talk with him. I was pretty reasonable about it all. Remember, I could have hurt you then, but I didn't.
Does that fit in with the things he's been saying about me?”