“I’ll do that, sir.”
“When they release you, take a week and rest up. There’ll be an inspector’s funeral for Joe Rossi next week. I’ll let you know the day and time.”
“Thank you, sir.” They hung up.
? ? ?
DAX BAXTER SAT at his desk. For some reason, he didn’t feel as relieved as he thought he should. He Googled Centurion Studios and called the Barrington unit. “Billy Barnett, please,” he said to the woman who answered.
“I’m afraid Mr. Barnett is not working today,” she said, “and we don’t know when he’ll be in. May I take a message?”
Baxter hung up. He felt better now.
? ? ?
TEDDY AND SALLY drove to the LAPD pound and rescued her car, then Sally said she’d like to do some shopping, and they’d meet back at the Arrington in time for drinks. Teddy watched her drive away, then drove up to Mulholland Drive. He found Dax’s house, a very large establishment, nestled on the mountainside, overlooking the city. He parked along the drive and took a stroll, taking with him a pair of binoculars from his glove compartment.
There were people there: servants, workmen, a pool guy, but he got the lay of the land. There was the large house with an attached garage, then two outer buildings that looked like guesthouses, or maybe servants’ quarters. He found a deer trail that led down from the road to the property and disturbed a large rattlesnake there.
As the sun approached the horizon, people began leaving the Baxter property, and soon the place was deserted. Bill walked down to the house and toured the perimeter. High up on a wall he found the junction box installed by the security company. It was nice of them to label it so visibly, he thought. He found a workman’s ladder and climbed up to it. Twenty minutes of careful work with his Swiss Army Knife and he had the system rigged. When Baxter entered his code, the system would shut down and not come up again.
Using a pair of lock picks he had made from a hacksaw blade and tucked away in his wallet, he picked the lock of a rear door to the house and had a look around. He found the master suite and went into the dressing room and took a pair of socks from a drawer, drawing one onto each hand, then he searched the master bedroom until he found a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol in a bedside drawer. There was a round in the chamber, and the hammer was back. Dax wasn’t taking any chances. He replaced the weapon exactly as he had found it, returned the socks to their drawer, and let himself out again.
? ? ?
BACK AT THE ARRINGTON he went into the kitchen of the cottage and found a pair of rubber dishwashing gloves under the sink, along with a box of large garbage bags. He tucked both items behind a book in the library, and he was having a swim when Sally arrived home, bearing shopping bags, and joined him.
“What’s going to happen now?” she asked.
“We’re going to take a couple of days off, then go back to work,” Teddy replied.
“I take it I’m not supposed to ask.”
“You shouldn’t ask, if you think you wouldn’t like the answer.”
“Once the Dax thing is over, then you’ll be done? We can live normal lives then?”
“When Dax is no longer our concern, we won’t have a care in the world.”
“I’ll look forward to that,” she said.
“I’ll look forward to it, too,” Teddy said.
“Have you always been like this?”
“Like what?”
“Concerned with revenge?”
“I’m not concerned with revenge in the least—only with our safety, particularly yours.”
“I’m glad.”
“It was careless of me to allow us to be taken so easily last time,” Teddy said. “I’ll see that it doesn’t happen again.”
“Why do I have the feeling this isn’t finished?” she asked.
Teddy laughed and kissed her. “Once in a while, a woman’s intuition works overtime and comes up with the improbable.”
“Mine doesn’t do that,” she said. “I’m practically psychic.”
“Sweetheart,” he said, “switch it off for a little while—we’ll both be happier.”
57
AFTER TWO DAYS in bed, Carlos Rivera was released from the hospital, and Chita was there to meet him. She drove him to his apartment, and she sent him inside, then brought her luggage in, along with a shopping bag belonging to Carlos.
“I’m moving in with you,” she said, “until you’re all well.”
“That’s good with me,” he said, kissing her.
“And no sex until the doctor says it’s okay.”
Carlos took her hand and led her into the bedroom. “The bullet struck my sternum, then stopped. No internal damage. The doctor has already said it’s okay.”
“He really said that?” she asked.
“He certainly did,” Carlos said, working on her buttons.
? ? ?
DAX WORKED ALL afternoon with the writer, eliminating scenes and demanding new ones; adding lines to the male star’s role and eliminating many from his costar. They had a drink at five, then continued for another couple of hours.
“That’s it, Hal,” Dax said, finally. “We’ve got a script. I’ll get it printed out and distributed in the morning.” He reached into a desk drawer, withdrew an envelope, and handed it to Palmer. “Here’s your final check, along with a bonus.”
Palmer thanked him profusely. “I gotta say, Dax,” Palmer said, “you really know how to shape a script. I’m learning a lot from you.”
“A lot of people could learn a lot from me,” Dax replied, “but you’re the only one listening.”
“It’s their loss,” Palmer said.
They had another drink, and Palmer pocketed his check and went home.
? ? ?
CHITA MADE CARLOS DINNER. “What’s in the shopping bag?” she asked. “The heavy one,” she said, pointing.
“The study materials for the lieutenant’s exam,” he replied.
“You have to take an exam to be a lieutenant?”
“You certainly do, and it’s a big one. My captain says he’s going to promote me to the head of Violent Crimes when my boss retires in a few months, but I have to make lieutenant before that can happen.”
“Then you’ll get a raise?”
“Certainly.”
“I’m due for a raise pretty soon, too. Another producer on the lot has asked me a couple of times to come work for him, but I’ve hesitated.”
“You like working for Dax Baxter that much?”
“It’s not that, it’s just that Dax would view the move as disloyal, and he could make trouble for me on the lot. He’s nothing if not vindictive.”
“Tell him you’ve got a cop boyfriend with a mean streak,” Carlos said, and she laughed.
? ? ?
STONE AND ANA were having dinner in Santa Fe, at El Nido, near her house. “Listen,” she said, “this has been wonderful, but I’m not going to be able to come back to New York with you.”
“Why not?” He was disappointed.
“Have you noticed that I’ve been on the phone, nonstop, since we got here?”
“I had noticed that,” Stone said.
“Well, that’s what happens when I’m out of town for longer than a day or two—my clients get mad at me because I’m not available, and my staff goes nuts trying to placate them and keep the gravy train moving.”
“Did you ever consider that you might work too hard?”
“I have considered that, deeply, and after a couple more good years I’m going to sell the company and pack it in.”
“Do you think you’d be happy doing nothing?”
“I wouldn’t be doing nothing, I’d just be doing less. I’ll have to consult with whoever buys me out, because I’m the company’s prime asset, but that I can do on the phone. Then I’ll come to New York.”
“Sounds like a long wait,” Stone said.
“The price of success,” Ana said.
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