Gene Wolfe - An Evil Guest

“The first person you’ve known who owned one? You’re sure of that?”

“Why... ?” For a second Cassie froze, her mouth open. “No. You’re right. I don’t know this man very well, but I’m sure he must own one. Maybe several.”

Aaberg grunted. “What’s his name?”

“Wallace Rosenquist. He’s backing our show.”

“So I’ve heard. Read, too. You don’t know him well?”

Cassie shook her head. “I’ve dated him a few times. I’ve accepted gifts from him. But that’s all.”

“I’m going to ask you a very frank question.” Aaberg paused to clear his throat. “Before I do I want to remind you that you promised to cooperate fully.”

“You’re right, I did. Besides, I’ve been asked a bunch of rude questions.”

“I suppose you have. Try to understand that I’ve got a good reason for asking it. Have you ever gotten into bed with Rosenquist?”

“This is the bracelet, isn’t it?” Cassie raised her arm and watched it sparkle in the light streaming through Aaberg’s windows. “All right, I can see how you might think that. No, I’ve never had sex with Wally.”

“Would you?”

“I don’t understand how this can help you find Margaret.”

“It may not. Are you going to answer?”

“I can’t. Not really. But probably not.”

“It isn’t out of the question?”

Cassie took in air. “I’m going to tell you more than you want to know. It won’t help you, but it may help me.”

“Shoot.”

“He’s older than I am, he’s kind of fat, and he’s big. I told you once that you look like my ex, Scott. Scott was big, and I’ve had it with big men. Wally’s bossy, too — the in-charge guy. But...”

“Go on.” Aaberg had leaned back in his chair. “I’m interested.”

“People say money’s an aphrodisiac, and maybe they’re right. Wally’s been very successful. Everybody says so. He’s a tough businessman, but that’s not such a bad thing. Scott was an awful businessman — so bad that even I could see he was simply awful, and I don’t know anything about business.”

“And... ?”

“Wally’s strong, really strong. We’re not supposed to like strong men, but we do. Or most of us do. I do. I know too many wimps already. Wally says he loves me, and he means it. I can tell. It’s hard not to like somebody who loves you.”

Aaberg nodded. “It is. You see, Miss Casey, I’m trying to find out why these men wanted Margaret Briggs. You saw them. How many were there?”

“Four, I think. It could’ve been three, but I think four. Of course one could have been out of sight.”

“How were they dressed?”

Cassie paused to think. “One had on a suit, I think it was a birch suit with those black stripes. I don’t know about the rest.”

“Might you recognize them if you saw them again?”

She shook her head.

“Not would you. Might you.”

“No. I barely saw them. I don’t know how long it was, but it couldn’t have been more than half a second. Probably less.”

“I’ve got it. Corby said pretty much the same thing.”

“Another detective — I’ve forgotten her name — told me Zelda and Ebony were all right. She said you had them and they hadn’t been hurt.”

Aaberg glanced at his cigarette and ground it out. “I wasn’t going to get into this now, but I will.”

Another telephone rang. He listened for perhaps two minutes, then said, “Tell them to go to hell. She’s not under arrest, and she’s not going to be. She’s cooperating voluntarily, and I’m going to send her back to Springfield in ten or fifteen minutes.” He hung up.

“That was about me, wasn’t it?”

He nodded. “Corby’s back with a lawyer. They seem to think we’ve got you in a cell.”

“You said you weren’t going to do that.”

“I’m not. I’m going to explain a few things, ask a few more questions, and let you go. You may not think you can trust me, Miss Casey, but you can.”

“That’s nice.”

“About Miss Youmans and Miss White. You’re right — they got a good look at those four men. They talked to them and heard their voices. I told them I was going to put them in protective custody unless they promised to stay in town and agree to bodyguards for as long as I felt it was necessary. Youmans agreed. She’s been released with a policewoman to look after her. White won’t agree, so we’ve got her in custody.”

“But not me?”

“No, Miss Casey. Not you. I’m sending you and Corby back to Springfield.” Aaberg paused to get out a fresh cigarette. “Corby bothers me. Why were you in that cab with him? Why not Youmans’s car?”

“Zelda must have told you.”

“I want to hear you tell me.”

“All right. It was going to be jammed with all of us in it, and Gil said he and I would take a cab. I see what you mean. It looks like he knew what was coming. I don’t believe that, but that’s how it looks.”

Aaberg nodded as he flicked his lighter. “It does. It looks like he was tipped. He says he wasn’t.”

“I believe him.”

“What did they want, Miss Casey? We know what they got. They got a sixty-year-old woman nobody ever heard of. A woman with just enough money to feed herself and rent a hall bedroom. I can’t believe that’s what they were after, so what were they?”

“You’re the detective.”

“Right, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this one. What was it? I’ve got two answers, and it seems to me it has to be one of the two. They were after your bracelet or they were after you. It’s real?”

“I don’t know,” Cassie said. “I think so...”

“So do I. I’ve been looking at it every time you hold your arm so I can see it. After the third look — ”

“Yes?”

“It wasn’t important. You thought of something just now. What was it?”

“Am I that transparent, Scott?”

Aaberg grinned. “Not to most people, Bubbles.”

“He called me Cassie.”

“Fine. So will I. What was it?”

“I told you Wally gave me this. Well, he’d given me another bracelet earlier. A big gold bracelet. I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep it, so I gave it to Margaret. Gave it to her to take care of, I mean. To hold for me.”

“So they might have thought Margaret had the one you’re wearing?”

“Yes... yes, that could be it.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. Would she know where you kept it when you weren’t wearing it?”

Cassie shook her head. “I hadn’t decided — wait, she would, sort of. Last night I put it in the little safe in my hotel room.”

“And she knew that?”

“Yes, she... Yes, she did.”

“Sweet. The other possibility is that they were after you. You think Rosenquist loves you, and maybe he does. What’s for damned sure is you’re the star of a show he’s backing. Would he pay to get you back? Hell, yes! This Margaret who works for you could tell them a lot about you, things they’d like to know. You weren’t in the car, so why not take her?”

Aaberg rose. “You live here, so you must bank here. You and I are going to your bank. You’re going to rent a box in the vault and put that damned bracelet in it while I watch, understand? They’ll give you a retinal scan and two keys. After that, a police hopper will take you and Corby back to Springfield.”

“WHERE’S Dean?” Cassie asked.

“Dean’s history.” India looked as though she might kill Dean and eat him afterward. “He found out I was thinking of replacing him and quit, effective immediately. I said what about the show tonight, and he slammed down the phone. So history. He’ll never work for me again.”

“We’re canceling?”

“Hell, no! We’re going to do the show with Gil here as the mate.”