Стюарт Вудс - Standup Guy

That thought made him nauseous again, but he fought it down. He took some deep breaths.

“You okay, Stone?” Hank asked.

“Just confused,” he said.

“Yes, I guess this is pretty confusing for you.”

“So, was it you and Bats or you and Marty?”

“It was always Marty,” she said. “Bats was just a schmuck.”

“Ah,” he said, “all is revealed.” He was a schmuck, too. Now all he could do was sit here and wait to find out who won the argument over whether or not to kill him.

52

Jack and Hillary finished their round and went back to the clubhouse for lunch.

“You beat me on handicap,” Hillary said, after they had ordered.

“Come on, I don’t even have a handicap yet.”

“You’re playing consistently, though, which nobody with your experience ever does. I think your instructor is wrong about your playing at the eighteen-handicap level. I think you’re closer to a fifteen.”

“From your lips to God’s ear,” Jack said.

“You seem very much at peace today, Jack. I had noticed a little tension the past few days. Did something good happen?”

“Yes, something good happened. I just cleared up a little of the underbrush of my past life.”

“Underbrush? That’s a funny word.”

“Now everything is just smooth, freshly mown fairway. I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so free.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m happy for you, Jack. I’m happy for both of us.” She looked out at the golf course for a moment, as if she had something on her mind. “There’s something I have to say to you.”

Oh, God, he thought. And it had been going so well. His greatest fear had been something like this. He had been thinking of marriage, but now he was about to be cut down to size. “What is it?” he asked, as steadily as he could.

“Will you marry me, Jack?”

He nearly spilled his iced tea. “I was going to . . .”

“I know, you were going to back out. I was afraid that you were afraid of me.”

“Oh, no,” he said.

“You haven’t answered me. Do you want to know about my circumstances? I love you, Jack, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“There’s nothing I need to know about you, Hillary. I love you, and I’ll marry you just as fast as we can do whatever it takes to get it done.”

“Oh, that’s such a relief,” she said. “I was afraid you were afraid of my wealth.”

“Not your wealth, hon, just our different stations in life.”

“There’s no difference, Jack. We live in the same community, in the same building, even. We play at the same golf course, we have the same best friends.”

“You’re a very generous person, Hillary.”

“You’re right, I am, but I’m not exercising generosity. I feel that we are absolute equals. I’m sorry about the difference in our fortunes, but it wasn’t my fault—I inherited it.”

“I promise I won’t hold it against you.”

“There are some things you need to know about my life and the way I live it.”

“I don’t need to know anything.”

“If we’re to be married, you need to know everything . I was married twice before I met you: divorced once, then widowed. Bob was a very wealthy man, and neither of us had children. After the estate was wound up and the taxes paid, I had a stock account with about seventy million in it, and four houses. I sold the one in Scottsdale. Now I live here in the winter and in Northeast Harbor, Maine, in the summer, and the spring and autumn on Fifth Avenue in New York, across from Central Park. Do you think you could live like that? I mean, I can sell any place you don’t want to live.”

“Excuse me, I’m a little breathless,” Jack said. “I’m sure that any place you love will be fine with me.”

“There’s a lovely sailboat in Maine. Have you ever sailed?”

“Only on the Staten Island Ferry.”

“I think you’ll like it. I’m also the largest stockholder in Bob’s company and on the board, and I have the use of the corporate jet, so we don’t have to bother with the airlines. Have you done any traveling?”

“Almost none.”

“Let’s take a look at Paris, London, and Rome—for a start.”

“You talked me into it.”

“I’ve checked—we need to go to the courthouse and get a license, then there’s a three-day waiting period, and then anybody who’s a notary public can marry us. I thought my lawyer could do it.”

“That’s fine with me. Let’s ask Winston and Elizabeth to stand up for us.”

“Yes, of course. My apartment is so much bigger than yours—will you move in with me?”

“Of course.”

“The sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Great.”

“I haven’t felt so good in years,” she said.

“I’ve never felt so good,” he replied.

“You know when I knew?” she asked.

“When?”

“When you bought the Bentley. I liked it that you included me in your decision, and especially that you had no problem taking my advice. A lot of men wouldn’t want a woman’s opinion.”

“I will always want your opinion, and I’d be a fool not to follow your advice.”

“That’s it, then.”

“Yes,” he said, “that’s it.”

“Would you like to play another round after lunch?”

“I’d love it.”

Two women in golf clothes got up from a table on the other side of the restaurant, and Hillary waved them over. “Hi, girls,” she said. “Let me introduce you to my fiancé, Jack Coulter. Jack, this is Nikki Seybold and Gail Barley, both of whom I’ve known since college.”

Everyone shook hands.

“Would you like to join us and make a foursome?” one of the women asked.

“Thanks,” Hillary said, “but I want Jack all to myself.”

They laughed and went on their way.

“They’re jealous,” Hillary said.

53

Stone had managed to doze off. He awoke slowly and kept his eyes closed, so as not to inhibit their conversation.

“Looks like we’re making good progress now,” Hank said.

“Yeah, we’ve cracked four million. We’ll be there in another hour. Let’s take a break.”

“What for?”

“I’m starved,” he said. “It’s five-thirty, and I haven’t eaten since five o’clock this morning.”

“All right,” she said. “Let’s get these four bags into the van, then we’ll get something to eat and come back and finish.”

“Deal,” Parese said.

They zipped up the four suitcases, stood them on their wheels, and began rolling the first two out of the office. A minute later, they came back for two more.

“Is one more bag going to be enough?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got less than seven hundred grand to go, then we’ll be done.”

“Okay, let’s go. Stone!”

Stone appeared to jerk awake. “Huh?”

“We’re going to get some dinner. We’ll be right back.”

“Just a minute,” Parese said. He picked up a roll of duct tape and walked over to Stone. He passed three lengths around the sofa and across Stone’s chest, pinning him there, then he ripped off a short strip and slapped it over Stone’s mouth. “There, that’ll hold him.”

The two left the office by the street door.

Stone waited a full minute to let them clear the block, then he started his struggle. He leaned as hard as possible against the tape across his chest, trying to stretch enough to give him some wiggling room. It seemed to work, but he remained taped to the sofa. Then he started thrusting his feet and pelvis forward, to get more stretching and to make it possible for him to slide under the tape and onto the floor. This took a good ten minutes, but he remained stuck to the big piece of furniture. He had his old handcuff key from his cop days somewhere in his desk, but he couldn’t get up and walk over there to get it. He was huffing through his nose and sweating. Half an hour after they left, they came back with cartons of Chinese food.