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"I think I can get him to come in," I said "I think that's what he wants to do"

"That'd be nice," he said "But if not at least he'll talk to you, and you'll be wearing a wire You're ot appointht? I'll see you here at three" He stood up "Meantiot appoint en route for flowers and a bag of Jaffa oranges She put the flowers in water and the oranges in a large blue glass bowl and tolda lot better "Weak," she said, "but definitely on the ht?"

"Why?"

"You look drawn Were you up again last night?"

"No, but I didn't sleep very well The case is breaking It ought to wrap up in a couple more hours"

"How did all that happen? It's Wednesday, isn't it? Or did I get delirious and miss a couple of days?"

"Thur pressured, partly by me, I suppose, but mostly by Stettner"

"Who's Stettner?"

"Rubber Man," I said I gave her an abridged version of our conversation last night at Grogan's "I was in the right place at the right time," I said "I was lucky"

"Unlike Amanda Thurman"

"And a whole lot of other people, froo away for Between Thurman's testiether, they ought to be able to build a nice solid case"

"Then why so glu around like a banta the uess I'ed "I don't know," I said "I spent a couple of hours with Thurht It didn't make me like the little prick but it didn't leave o he looked to be soenius, and now it turns out he's just a dimwit A couple of manipulative perverts led him around by his cock"

"You feel sorry for him"

"I don't feel sorry for him I think he's a manipulative bastard himself, he just ran into a better one in Stettner And I'ht I don't think he fed ht lies, but I think he ht to For one thing, I'll bet anything Amanda wasn't the first person he killed"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because Stettner's not stupid He knew the cops would grill Thurman up one side and down the other if his as murdered under that sort of circumstances Even if they didn't suspect he was involved, they'd question hiet a line on the killers and not overlook any possible clue So Stettner would have te He was there when Leveque was killed, he was an accessory, and I think there must have been times when he and one or both of the Stettners did a number on a woman and she wound up dead That's what I would have done if I were Stettner"

"I'lad you're not"

"And I'm not sure how much I buy of his attack of conscience," I said "I think he's scared, I think that part's true enough Once Stettner gets the last hundred grand froot no reason to keep him alive Unless he wants to try for the rest of the money, which is always a possibility Maybe that's Thurive up the rest of the money"

"He can't keep it anyway, can he? If he confesses?"

"He doesn't intend to confess"

"But I thought you said you were going to bring hi I can manipulate hi and blow him?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary"

"Good"

"See," I said, "I think he's trying to manipulate me Maybe he wants me to kill Stettner for him That seems farfetched, but it's not out of the question Hesome sort of Mexican standoff, whereby he leaves evidence and testimony that will nail Stettner in the event of his own death If he sets that up right and Stettner knows it, then he's hoht to Joe Durkin Damn it"

"What's thehiht instead of giving him time to think it over The probleht we'd do it thisand dance about his business appointments I wanted to tell him he could afford to cancel, that he was out of business, but I couldn't do that You know, he called me a few times yesterday afternoon and wouldn't talk"

"You told ht be wrapped up by now Of course I wouldn't have talked to Danny Boy and I wouldn't have gone in knowing about Stettner" I sighed "I guess it'll all work out"

"It always does, baby Why don't you lie down for an hour or two? Take the bed, or I'll make up the couch for you"

"I don't think so"

"It won't hurt you And I'll wake you in plenty of tiet wired"

"I'"

"That'sand walked back tofor a stand-up lunch at a pizza parlor I had pepperoni on it to roups

Maybe the ood nutrition, but when I got back to h to lie down for an hour I set my alarm for two-thirty and left a call at the desk for that time as a backup I kicked my shoes off and stretched out in my clothes, and I must have been out beforeI knew the phone was ringing I sat up and looked at my clock and it was only two, and I picked up the phone prepared to snarl at the desk clerk TJ said, "Man, why is it you ain't never hoone tell you what I find if I can't even find where you at?"

"What did you find out?"

"The boy's na one I met this kid who knows him, says his name be Bobby"