Michael Connelly - Void Moon

"Terrill Lankford."

She took his hand and shook it. His grip was firm, his hand dry as powder.

"Cassie Black."

She looked at Ray. She didn't want to do this. Her mind wasn't on selling cars.

"Ray, is Billy in yet? Or Aaron? Maybe one of them would be – "

"Meehan's on a test and Curtiss isn't in till twelve. I need you to show Mr. Lankford a car."

Ray's tone indicated he was put out by her flaky behavior and that there was no debate allowed here. She turned her attention to Lankford. He was neat and well dressed in a set of retro clothes that went with the hat. Judging by his pasty complexion she guessed he'd be interested in a coupe. But that was okay because the Boxster didn't come in a coupe. That left only the higher priced Carreras.

"Which model are you interested in?"

Lankford smiled, showing off a perfect set of teeth. Cassie noticed his eyes were sidewalk gray, an unusual combination with the man's jet black hair.

"A new Carrera, I think."

"Well, I'll get a car ready. If you could give your driver's license and insurance card to Ray, he'll get it copied while I get a car ready."

Lankford's mouth opened but he didn't say anything.

"You do have proof of insurance, don't you?" Cassie asked.

"Of course, of course."

"Okay, then let Ray take care of that and I'll get the car. Cab or coupe?"

"Excuse me?"

"Hardtop or cabriolet – convertible?"

"Oh. Well, it's such a nice day, why don't we take the top off?"

"Sounds good to me. We've got one in stock and available. It's arctic silver. That sound good?"

"Great."

"All right, come on out to the carport when you're done with Ray."

She pointed to the glass doors at the opposite end of the showroom.

"I'll meet you there," Lankford said.

While Ray took the prospect into the finance office where the copying machine was, Cassie went into his office and got the key to the silver cab off the board. She then went to her own office and grabbed her wallet out of her backpack. She looked around and saw the playing cards all over the place and realized that if Lankford wanted to make a deal, she'd have to stick him in Ray's office while she cleaned up. There wasn't time now.

She started out of the office and then remembered something. She grabbed her cell phone off her desk and clipped it onto her belt. Just in case Leo calls, she thought to herself.

She headed out to the side lot to the car. She got in, slid her wallet into a CD holder on the dash and then started the engine. She put the windows and top down, checked the fuel level and saw there was a quarter tank, then drove the car up to the showroom door just as Lankford was stepping out.

"Let me drive it until we get out of here," she called over the sound of the engine that was over-revving as the car warmed up. "Then you'll take over."

Lankford smiled and gave her the okay sign and got into the passenger side. She pulled out onto Sunset and then turned north on Vine. At Hollywood Boulevard she took a left and went down to Cahuenga, which she took north toward the hills and Mulholland Drive.

They drove in silence at first. Cassie liked to let the prospects listen to the car, feel its power on the turns, fall in love with it, before there was any talking. She liked to hold back on the sales pitch and the particulars until the customer was behind the wheel. Besides, her thoughts weren't on Lankford and his interest in a $ 75,000 car. She kept thinking about Leo's call and the anxiety she'd heard in his voice.

The Carrera effortlessly climbed through the Mulholland curves from Cahuenga up to the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains. At the Hollywood overlook she pulled off the road, killed the engine and got out.

"Your turn," she said, her first words since he had gotten in the car.

She stepped to the railing at the edge and looked down at the shell of the Hollywood Bowl far below. Her eyes moved out from the bowl across Hollywood toward the spires of downtown. The smog was heavy and had a pinkish-orange tint to it. But somehow it didn't look all that bad.

"Nice view," Lankford said from behind her.

"Sometimes."

She turned and watched as he got into the driver's seat. She went around and got in the passenger side.

"Why don't you keep going on Mulholland for a little ways. You'll get a good idea of how this handles. We can take Laurel Canyon down to the one-oh-one and take that back to Hollywood. You'll be able to open it up on the freeway a little bit, see how it does."

"Sounds good."

He found the ignition on the left side quickly and started the engine. He backed out of the parking slot, then dropped the transmission into first gear and pulled out onto Mulholland. He drove with one hand on the stick shift at all times. Cassie could tell immediately he knew what he was doing.

"I take it you've driven one of these before but I'm going to give you the pitch anyway."

"That's fine."

She started listing the attributes of the car, starting with the new water-cooled engine and transmission and moving toward the suspension and brakes. She then moved inside the cockpit and started going over the amenities.

"You've got cruise control, traction control, onboard computer all standard. You've got CD, automatic windows and roof, dual air bags. And down here…"

She pointed down between her legs to the front of her seat. Lankford glanced down there but then put his eyes back on the road.

"… you have a passenger-side cutoff for the air bag – in case you are traveling with a small child. You have kids, Mr. Lankford?"

"Call me Terrill. And no, I don't have kids. You?"

Cassie didn't answer for a moment.

"Not really."

Lankford smiled.

"Not really? I thought that was a yes or no question for a woman."

Cassie ignored the statement.

"What do you think of the car… Terrill?"

"Very smooth. Very sweet."

"It is. So what do you do for a living?"

He glanced over at her. The wind was threatening to blow his hat off. He reached up and cranked it down over his forehead.

"I guess you could say I'm a troubleshooter," he said. "I'm a business consultant. Have my own company. I take care of things. This and that. I'm a magician, really. I make other people's problems disappear. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. These cars are expensive. You must be very good at what you do."

"Oh, I am. I am. And cost is not a problem. I pay cash. Actually, Cassie, I expect to come into a large sum of money soon. Very soon, in fact."

Cassie looked over at him and felt a sudden shiver of fear. It was instinctive more than intuitive. Lankford pressed the pedal a little harder and the Porsche started moving through the winding curves a little faster. He looked over at her again.

"Cassie. What is that short for? Cassandra?"

"Cassidy."

"As in Butch? Your parents outlaw fans?"

"As in Neal. As in my father was always on the road. Or so I was told."

Lankford frowned and hit the pedal a little harder.

"That's really too bad. My father and me, we were close."

"I'm not complaining about it. You want to slow it down, Mr. Lankford? I'd like to get back to the showroom in one piece, if you don't mind."

Lankford didn't respond at first with his voice or his foot. The car powered through another turn, its tires protesting as they labored to hold the road.

"I said, do you – "

"Yes," Lankford finally said. "You do want to get back alive."

Something about the tone in which Lankford delivered the line revealed that he was not talking about the possibility of a car accident. Cassie looked over at him and shifted in her seat so that her body was pressed against her door.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you want to make sure you get back alive, Cassidy."