“We’ve heard nothing from them. Surely a complaint of this kind would have made its way back to us by now?”
“The police didn’t get to talk to him. I did. I took the tag number from his car and traced it back to your firm.”
“Very enterprising of you. And now, instead of informing the police, you are here. May I ask why?”
“The lady in question is not convinced that the police can help her.”
“And you can.”
It sounded like a statement, not a question, and I had an uneasy sensation that Eldritch already knew who I was even before his secretary gave him my name. I treated it as a question anyway.
“I’m trying. We may have to involve the police if this situation persists, which I imagine might be embarrassing, or worse, for you and your client.”
“Neither we, nor our client, are responsible for Mr. Merrick’s behavior, even if what you say is true.”
“The police may not take that view if you’re acting as his personal car-rental service.”
“And they’ll get the same reply that I have just given you. We simply provided a car for him at a client’s request, and nothing more.”
“And you can’t tell me anything at all about Merrick?”
“No. I know very little about him, as I’ve said.”
“Do you even know his first name?”
Eldritch considered. His eyes were cunning and bright. It struck me that he was enjoying this.
“I believe it’s Frank.”
“Do you think that ‘Frank’ might have served some time?”
“I couldn’t possibly say.”
“There doesn’t seem to be very much that you can say.”
“I am a lawyer, and therefore a certain degree of discretion is to be expected by my clients. Otherwise, I would not have remained in this profession for as long as I have. If what you say is true, then Mr. Merrick’s actions are to be regretted. Perhaps if your own client were to sit down with him and discuss the matter, then the situation could be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction, as I can only assume that Mr. Merrick believes she may be of some assistance to him.”
“In other words, if she tells him what he wants to know, then he’ll go away.”
“It would be logical to assume so. And does she know something?”
I let the question dangle. He was baiting me, and wherever you found bait, you could be pretty certain that there was a hook hidden somewhere within it.
“He seems to think so.”
“Then it would appear to be the natural solution. I’m sure that Mr. Merrick is a reasonable man.”
Eldritch had remained impossibly still throughout our discussions. Only his mouth moved. Even his eyes appeared reluctant to blink. But when he said the word “reasonable” he smiled slightly, imbuing the word with an import that was entirely the opposite of its apparent meaning.
“Have you met Merrick, Mr. Eldritch?”
“I have had that pleasure, yes.”
“He seems to have a lot of anger in him.”
“It may be that he has just cause.”
“I notice that you haven’t asked me the name of the woman who is employing me, which suggests to me that you already know it. In turn, that would seem to indicate that Merrick has been in touch with you.”
“I have spoken to Mr. Merrick, yes.”
“Is he also a client of yours?”
“He was, in a sense. We acted on his behalf in a certain matter. He is a client no longer.”
“And now you’re helping him because one of your other clients has asked you to.”
“That is so.”
“Why is your client interested in Daniel Clay, Mr. Eldritch?”
“My client has no interest in Daniel Clay.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I will not lie to you, Mr. Parker. If I cannot answer a question, for whatever reason, then I will tell you so, but I will not lie. I will repeat myself: to my knowledge, my client has no interest in Daniel Clay. Mr. Merrick’s line of inquiry is entirely his own.”
“What about his daughter? Is your client interested in her?”
Eldritch seemed to consider confirming it, then decided against it, but his silence was enough. “I could not possibly say. That is something you would have to discuss with Mr. Merrick.”
My nostrils itched. I could feel the molecules of paper and dust settling in them, as though Eldritch’s office were slowly making me part of itself, so that in years to come a stranger might enter and find us here, Eldritch and me, still batting questions and answers back and forth to no end, a thin layer of white matter covering us as we ourselves dwindled into dust.
“Do you want to know what I think, Mr. Eldritch?”
“What would that be, Mr. Parker?”
“I think Merrick is a dangerous man, and I think somebody has set him on my client. You know who that person is, so maybe you’ll pass on a message for me. You tell him, or her, that I’m very good at what I do, and if anything happens to the woman I’ve been hired to protect, then I’m going to come back here and someone will answer for what has taken place. Am I making myself clear?”
Eldritch’s expression did not alter. He was still smiling benignly like a little wrinkled Buddha.
“Perfectly, Mr. Parker,” he said. “This is purely an observation and nothing more, but it appears to me that you have adopted an adversarial position with regard to Mr. Merrick. Perhaps, if you were to be less confrontational, you might find that you have more in common with him than you think. It may be that you and he share certain common goals.”
“I don’t have a goal, beyond ensuring that no harm comes to the woman in my care.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s true, Mr. Parker. You are thinking in the specific, not the general. Mr. Merrick, like you, may be interested in a form of justice.”
“For himself, or for someone else?”
“Have you tried asking him?”
“It didn’t work out so well.”
“Perhaps if you tried without a gun on your belt?”
So Merrick had spoken to him recently. Otherwise, how could Eldritch have known of my confrontation with him, and the gun?
“You know,” I said, “I don’t think I want to meet Merrick unless I have a gun close at hand.”
“That is, of course, your decision. Now, if there’s nothing else…”
He stood, walked to the door, and opened it. Clearly, our meeting was at an end. Once more, he extended his hand for me to shake.
“It’s been a pleasure,” he said gravely. In an odd way, he seemed to mean it. “I’m delighted that we’ve had a chance to meet at last. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Would that be from your client as well?” I asked, and for an instant the smile almost slipped, fragile as a crystal glass teetering on the edge of a table. He rescued it, but it was enough. He seemed about to reply, but I answered for him.
“Let me guess,” I said. “You couldn’t possibly say.”
“Precisely,” he replied. “But if it’s any consolation, I expect that you’ll meet him again, in time.”
“Again?”
But the door had already closed, sealing me off from Thomas Eldritch and his knowledge just as surely as if a tomb door had closed upon him, leaving him with only his paper and his dust and his secrets for company.