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"Easy," he said "You’re going to break solass, all the way around This is our VIP car"
"I’ed her skirt down to a ladylike angle, and sat in silence until they’d passed the gates of Pharone
Da on? Where are you? She was starting to think that Joe Fideli wasn’t the only casualty of the last twenty-four hours--or the last
Irene Harte had an office approxie that there were two conference tables at different points, a sofa-and-chair grouping, a full bar… It was bigger than -marched across the expensive Persian carpet toward the desk, there was no sign of the woman herself Just an extremely impressive desk--clutter-free, save for two thin folders in a letter tray and a Montblanc pen lying at an angle The empty leather chair behind the desk could easily have doubled for a throne in a antic panorareen and unspoiled
"Sit," Bryn’s guard said, and pushed her down in one of the two angled visitor chairs He stood behind and a little off to the side, ready to counter if she did anything stupid
Which she was considering, but it would probably be fairly difficult to stab someone fatally with a Montblanc The pen’s shape was a little too rounded
A concealed door opened to the side, and Irene Harte eed, trailed by anothercup in one hand and a notepad in the other The cup went on the desk, on a crystal coaster The pad, and the wolance at Bryn or her escort
Harte nodded to the guard and said, "You may wait outside"
"Ma’am, I don’t think it’s advisable She’s--"
"I know exactly what Ms Davis is capable of doing," Harte interrupted, her gaze fixed on Bryn’s face "Go If I need you, I’ll ring Mareen’s desk You may wait there"
"Ma’am" He touched an invisible hat and left It seemed to take forever for him to cross the office, even at a brisk walk, but Harte didn’t move or speak until the door had clicked its latch behind him
Then she sat back, s well?"
That was not what Bryn had expected She didn’t answer Harte glanced at the stea cup on her desk, and her fine eyebroitched, then pulled down She pressed a button on her phone "Mareen, bring Ms Davis a cup of coffee…" She paused, looking at Bryn "Milk? Sugar?"
"Yes," Bryn said If she was going to die, she --already surreal--was turning into a French farce "Are you going to offer arette, too, or just a last meal?"
"Don’t be so draar in that, please Thank you" She let go of the intercoer on the desk’s surface, slowly It was the only sound in the hushed room
Bryn said, "You abducted me for coffee and to ask hoas You know, most people just phone"
"I’m not most people"
Obviously "What do you want?"
"I want you to tellyou know about Patrick McCallister"
That was a very odd request, co from a woman who had access, surely, to every scrap of infor, really He likes to be mysterious Don’t you know him better? You’re his boss"
"Boss," Harte repeated softly, with an odd smile "Yes, I a with hied "If by closely you mean he tells me what to do, yes" Calm, she told herself Be calm
"It’s come to my attention that Mr McCallister may be involved in … questionable activities Do you have any knowledge of these things?"
"No" That was still the truth She had no idea what Harte would consider questionable, considering as being sanctioned by her at Pharmadene
Harte’s eyes went flat and cold, like a shark’s "I want you to listen to me very closely," she said "Condition Sapphire, Bryn Do you hearThe inhibitor orking, she hoped; if it wasn’t, it was going to be a panic-stricken interview on her side, and a very informative one on Harte’s
"You and McCallister have become close, haven’t you? Tell me the truth"
"Yes," Bryn said Nice to know I can still lie Patrick McCallister definitely wasn’t close to her; they had an emotional barrier between theh to ad on "You’ve stayed at his faraded on my apartment"