Harlan Coben - Play Dead

‘Smoke away.’

He lit it. ‘Okay, let’s do this step by step. First, someone breaks into your house. Is he a burglar? No. If he was, he would have taken the money. Second, is he a fan who wants a few souvenirs of David? No. If he was, he would have taken David’s NCAA ring or pictures of his playing days.’

‘We know all this.’

‘Just humor me for a minute.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Whoever broke in decided to remove a photograph of David’s father.’

‘And he looked in our diary,’ Laura added.

‘Right. Now what’s the connection? What would make a person want to rip up a photograph of David’s father and how is that related to looking at your schedule?’

‘Beats me.’

T.C. paused, his hand rubbing his chin. ‘What do we know about David’s father?’

‘He committed suicide,’ Laura replied.

‘Right. I can semi-understand someone wanting a picture of him.’

‘Huh?’

‘Well, that part of David’s life has been pretty much kept quiet. Maybe someone was doing an expose on David and couldn’t dig up a picture of his father.’

‘You’re reaching.’

‘I know. Plus, he didn’t take the picture. He tore it up.’

‘So where does that leave us, T.C.?’

T.C. took a deep puff and blew the smoke straight up over his head. Earlier, he thought he had understood why someone had broken in, why they had needed to see the schedule diary. That part had semi-made sense. But ripping up a picture of David’s father? He shook his head.

‘That leaves us,’ he replied, ‘very confused.’

The man watched the surgeon closely. He had seen him do this several times before, but he had never watched with anything more than idle curiosity. Now he studied the surgeon’s movements closely, the way he slowly cut away the bandages, the way he unwrapped them, the way he removed the gauze. This time, the man was interested in seeing the end product.

‘Just stay still,’ the surgeon told the patient, ‘and I’ll be done in a minute.’

The man tried to glance over the surgeon’s shoulder to see the face, but there were still too many bandages. With painstaking care, the surgeon peeled back the white tape. Layer by layer came off. He dipped chunks of cloth in alcohol and wiped the man’s face with them. When he was finished, the surgeon stepped back so the man could see the patient.

‘Jesus,’ the man uttered.

The surgeon smiled. ‘One of my better jobs.’

‘You’re not kidding, Hank. It’s fantastic.’

For the first time since the operation, the man heard the patient speak. ‘Can I have a mirror please?’

‘And that voice. It’s really incredible, Hank.’

‘The mirror?’

The surgeon named Hank signaled to the nurse. ‘Before I give this to you, young man, let me warn you: this is going to be a major shock. Do not panic. Many people feel disoriented when they first see the change. Many suffer an identity crisis.’

‘Thank you,’ the patient said tonelessly. ‘Can I have the mirror now?’

It was the nurse who brought it over. The patient took it in his hands and gazed at his reflection. The man, the surgeon and the nurse all watched for his reaction. But there was none. The patient looked at his reflection as he would on any normal day. His expression remained unchanged.

‘How do you like it?’ the surgeon asked.

‘You do very good work, Doctor. I assume your bill has been taken care of.’

‘It has, thank you.’

‘When can I get out of this bed?’

‘Another day of rest is all I think you’ll need.’

‘And how long before I can start strenuous exercise?’

‘Strenuous exercise? But why, if…?’ He caught himself, remembering the danger in asking too many questions. ‘If all goes okay, another week or so.’

Stan found a pay phone near Filene’s Basement. He dug deep into his pockets and pulled out a roll of quarters. He dropped a few into the slot and dialed. After three rings, a receptionist answered the call.

‘Charles Slackson, attorney-at-law. May I help you?’

‘Let me speak to Charlie.’

‘Whom shall I say is calling?’

‘An old friend,’ Stan snapped.

‘I’m sorry. I’ll need – ’

‘Just put him on, sweetheart, or I’ll rip your tongue out of your air-filled head.’

There was a stunned silence. Stan listened to the click as she put him on hold. A few seconds later, a man picked up the line.

‘Hello?’

‘Charlie? It’s me, Stan.’

‘Jesus, Stan, did you have to scare my secretary half to death?’

‘Sorry about that. I didn’t want to give my name.’

‘I don’t blame you, old pal.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The B Man is looking for you. And he is not in a very good mood about it.’

‘So I figured.’

‘Where the hell are you, Stan?’

‘Don’t worry about that. I need to ask you a legal question.’

‘A legit one?’

‘Yes.’

‘I normally don’t do legit cases. Scams are my specialty.’

‘As I am well aware.’

‘Don’t tell me you’ve come up with a legitimate way for us to make some money, Stan. I prefer you as the sleazy con man that you are.’

‘I’ll try not to change.’

‘Okay, what’s the question?’

‘You know of course that my brother kicked off in Australia.’

‘Are you kidding? It was all over the news for weeks.’

‘My question is about his estate. He didn’t have a will so who gets his dough?’

‘It depends. Is it true that your brother eloped with that Laura Ayars a few days before he drowned?’

‘Yup.’

‘Man, is she gorgeous or what? I used to have one of her calendars in my kitchen.’

‘Super, Charlie. Now what about my brother’s money?’

‘Right. I got off track a little there. So they were officially married before he died?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then the news isn’t too good for you, Stan.’

‘What do you mean? I’m his only living blood relative.’

‘Courts don’t care much about blood. It’s what we call the intestacy statute.’

‘In layman’s terms, Charlie.’

‘In your case, it’s simply this: no will and the widow gets everything.’

‘Everything?’

‘Everything.’

‘Even if she’s already loaded?’

‘Even if she’s the Aga Khan.’

‘Shit!’

‘Sorry, pal. How deep you in the hole to B Man this time?’

‘Six feet under,’ Stan muttered.

‘You better think up a good scam in a hurry or learn how to become invisible. B Man doesn’t like those who owe to hide from him.’

‘I know, Charlie.’

‘You held up well?’

‘Well enough I suppose. All I need is a few more days. Listen, Charlie, there’s a sure thing today at Aqueduct – ’

‘I’ve heard that before.’

‘No, really. Just place this bet for me and – ’

‘No way, Stan. B Man has spread the word. No one is going to cover you.’

‘But, Charlie – ’

‘Look, Stan, just keep me out of this. You’re on your own. I gotta go now.’

Charlie hung up the phone. Stan thought for a moment. Then he smiled. He took out another quarter and made a second call.

Gloria Ayars felt light-headed as she walked down the stairs. She couldn’t help it. For the first time since David’s death, there was a reason to smile. True, she and her family were still in mourning. She still wanted to cry constantly for their loss. But something nice had finally happened and there wasn’t anything wrong with being happy about it.

Stan had just called her and asked her out for tomorrow night. It was not really a date, she kept reminding herself. It was just a friendly dinner. Nothing more. There was absolutely no reason to build it into something that it wasn’t.