Gene Wolfe - An Evil Guest

Something savage had crept into the tall man’s face. He reached behind him; and his hand emerged with a pair of handcuffs, still shiny but not quite new. “Here — or the quiet spot. Which is it?”

Cassie motioned for Margaret to leave, and Margaret did.

“Thanks.” The tall man was replacing his handcuffs.

“I could sue you for false arrest,” she told him, “and if you arrest me, I’ll do it.”

“You could sue the federal government, Cassie.” His grin was almost a snarl. “Not me. It’s your right as a citizen — if they let you — and I wouldn’t deprive you of it.”

“But it doesn’t worry you, Marty?”

“Hardly. The Department of Justice has billions of dollars and a thousand lawyers, including me. Let me get to the point.”

“I wish you would.”

“You’re on good terms with a college professor from Rhode Island, a Ph.D. named Gideon Chase. That’s public knowledge. Do you know where he is now?”

Cassie shook her head. “I wish I did.”

“I hope you’re telling the truth, Cassie. There’s a law against obstructing an investigation. Did you know that? Most people don’t, but you can be sent to prison. Want to try again?”

“If I knew where he was, I don’t think I’d tell you,” Cassie said, “but I don’t.” The telephone rang, and she added, “All right if I get that?”

The tall man nodded, and she picked up the handset and said hello.

“This is Gid. Can you talk?”

Cassie looked annoyed. “Not now, Norma. I’m busy. I’ll meet you for a drink later if I can, but I may not make it. Don’t wait for me.”

“Our friend is back in the U.S. I think you’ll be seeing him soon.” There was a click as Gideon hung up.

“Don’t worry about that — it’ll be all right. See you later.” Cassie hung up, too.

“I won’t keep you,” the tall man said. “We can get through this in two or three minutes. What do you know about William Reis?”

“I’ve heard of him.” Cassie looked thoughtful, and felt the same way. “Very, very rich. He used to be our ambassador to that planet. The one that’s got people on it.”

“Woldercan.”

“Right. Wasn’t he the ambassador there for a while? Other than that...” She shrugged. “He’s a big financier and knows politicians.”

“He’s a master criminal,” the tall man told her. “His legitimate businesses — and you’re right, he’s got a lot of businesses, construction, shipping, and God only knows what else. He has those businesses to launder his money. We want to get him, and now we think we’ve finally got enough evidence to put him away for life. It’s taken us years to collect it.”

“I wish I could help you.”

“I wish you could, too, Cassie. Did you know he’s trying to kill your friend Professor Chase?”

Cassie’s mouth opened, and closed again without a sound. At last she said, “I knew somebody tried. They shot him and he called the police and reported it. He wasn’t there when they came, though. Sharon Bench told me, and I saw it on the news later. Most people seem to think he’s dead.”

“But you don’t.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t.”

“Why not?”

Suddenly she smiled. “Because they tried to kill him and screwed it up, Marty. He got away, and he was still alive and safe enough to make that phone call. Have you ever met him? Met Gideon Chase?”

“Not yet. I’d like to.”

“He pulls rabbits out of hats. Sometimes I like him and sometimes I want to strangle him, but he wouldn’t be easy to kill.”

“He’s not easy to find, either, Cassie. I know it because I’ve been trying to find him. Either the man who tried to kill him was working for William Reis, or it was William Reis himself. If it wasn’t Reis, we think it was one of his top aides. Dr. Chase’s testimony could be helpful in both cases.”

“You said you had enough on this William Reis to get a conviction, Marty. Why don’t you arrest him?”

“Two reasons.” The tall man cleared his throat. “I’m going to open up for you and give them both. The first is that there’s no such thing as too much evidence in a case like this. Reis is as slick as they come and rich enough to hire the top legal talent in the country.” The tall man hesitated. “Maybe I shouldn’t have started talking about this, Cassie. I don’t want to scare you.”

“I’m not scared.” She grinned to prove it. “What’s the second reason?”

“We can’t find him. He’s seen here and he’s spotted there, but when we get there he’s gone. We’d love to pick him up and sweat him, but thus far we haven’t been able to do it.”

“You can’t find Gid either.” Cassie switched on a small black fan, wishing she could take off her costume instead. “Maybe they’re together.”

“Chase and Reis? I doubt it. Reis is seen all over, as I said. Chase isn’t seen at all.”

“You want me to tell you if I see him.”

“Exactly. Where you saw him and where you think he might be going. I’ll be out of the office pretty steadily this week and next, so I’ll give you my cell phone number.” The tall man scribbled on the back of a business card and handed it to her.

By the time she had found her purse, Margaret had returned. “Miss Dempster’s auditioning understudies for Mr. Heeny.”

“At this hour?” Cassie cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes, Miss Casey. She and Mr. Pfeiffer. I thought you might want to watch.”

“I do. I’ll be there as soon as I get into my street clothes. What about you?”

Margaret nodded.

The last set was still in place on the darkened stage. Before it a young man bobbed and spun to the music of Jules Pfeiffer’s Hyper-Deeper iPod.

Cassie took the seat next to India’s. “Understudies?”

India nodded and said firmly, “Understudies.”

“In case something happens to Dean?”

India nodded again. “Right.”

“Like he might get fired? Something like that?”

“Holy snot, Wanton Woman!” Cramped in the narrow theater seat, India turned enough to face Cassie. “I hadn’t thought of that. But yeah, he might. Like, the first time Wally sees him onstage. Even sooner than that. Could be. You never know.”

“Would it help to see them dancing with me?”

“It might.” India turned to Ebony. “Go ask Pfeiffer. Tell him Cassie’ll dance with them so he can see it.”

When it was over, India said, “You must be ready for a teddy, but if you’d like a drink, I’m buying.”

“No drink, I’m swearing off. What I’d really like is some hot tea.”

“Yeah.” India licked her lips. “You know, I could go for coffee and a cheeseburger.”

Ebony said, “There’s a little place down the street that’s open all night.”

It was all white save for polychrome plastic stools, and self-consciously old-fashioned. “Pfeiffer didn’t like any of them,” Ebony said as they found places around a small white table.

“We know.” India sounded gloomy.

“Well, what about you? What about Cassie?”

The counterman said, “What about four Doubleburgers?”

Cassie and Margaret asked for hot tea, India a Giant Doubleburger and coffee, and Ebony a grilled cheese on whole wheat with bacon and a glass of milk.

“I’m swearing off grilled cheese sandwiches, too,” Cassie announced. “I just decided. No more grilled cheese. Nothing but cooked veggies, raw veggies, bottled water, and maybe a little fruit.”

“You look great,” India told her. “Tired, sure. But great otherwise.”

“No more ice cream.” Cassie sounded pensive. “Hit me over the head, Margaret, anytime I look like I might order ice cream.”

“You’re not fat, Miss Casey.”