|
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Gene raised an eyebrow. "She works? You mean she doesn't spend her whole life shut up in that house at. Merriam?" "Of course not. Why should she do that?" "I don't know," said Gene. "The way that place is guarded, it seems like they lock themselves in there and never come out." Maggie stubbed her cigarette out. "That's a typical chauvinist attitude. If they won't swoon at your feet and beg you to take them to bed, they must be living some kind of mysterious existence locked up in a weird old house. I mean, it's the only explanation." "You didn't see the size- of those goddamn guard dogs. They were this big." 42 "They were probably friendly St. Bernards coming to rescue you. If you hadn't panicked, they might even have given you a tot of brandy." Gene checked his watch. If he took a cab, he might get up to the Franco-African Bank before it opened, which meant that he could catch Lorie in the street. "Listen, Maggie," he said. "I'm going out. I won't be long. If Walter calls, or if Mark starts sniffing around, just say that I'm out on an urgent diplomatic call. I'll be back in half an hour." "Gene," said Maggie, warningly. "Don't let this business go to your head. If the lady really doesn't want to know you, don't go making a fool"of yourself." "Maggie," he said, shucking on his coat, "did I ever make a fool of myself?" "Only once," she said tartly, and went back to her desk. He stepped out into the street and hailed a cab. The driver was a silent black with a huge, pungent cigar, and by the time they reached K Street, Gene was glad to get out into the chilly October air. He paid the driver, tipped him, and then walked over to the wide stainless steel doors of the Franco-African Bank. A small delegation of Algerians was waiting there, too, shuffling their feet and talking to each other In thickly accented French. Gene couldn't catch everything they said, but he gathered that they'd been disappointed by the Page 19 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Jefferson Memorial. One of them said it reminded him of a sports pavilion. A few minutes before the bank was due to open, two girls came walking down K Street and joined the waiting customers. They looked to Gene like tellers, and so he stepped across with a hesitant smile. "Ladies?" he said. They turned and stared at him blankly. One of them 43 had upswept spectacles,. and the other was chewing gum with such relentless energy that every muscle in. her face was working away like a rubber mask. "Excuse me," said Gene, "but do you ladies work here?" "What's ft to you?" said the one with the gum. "Well," said Gene, feeling embarrassed, "it's just that a friend of mine works here, and I was wondering if you knew her. Her name's Lorie Semple." "Lorie? Sure. She's in the foreign exchange department." "Do you know if she's coming in to work today?" asked Gene. "Never known her to miss a day," said the girl with, the gum. "She's real fit, you know. Exercises a lot. Isometrics, all that." "Are you her boyfriend?" asked the girl with tipswept spectacles. Gene shook his head. "Oh, no, nothing like that. Just a friend." "She could do with a boyfriend," said the girl, knowingly. "Why?" said Gene. "Do you think she's lonely?" "Oh, I don't know. She's kind of wistfuL You know what I mean by wistful? She talks about getting married a lot, and she's a cute looker but she never has any boyfriends. Maybe there's something in her personality, you know. Also, she's very tall. I don't think boys really go for girls that tall." "My Sam says dating her would be like dating the New York Nets. You know?" said the girl with the gum. Gene continued; "I know it seems kind of personal to ask you this, but do you like her?" "Oh, sure," said the girl with the gum. "Lorie's a 44 sweet kid. Real sweet. You couldn't dislike her if you tried. But then she's pretty hard to get to know. I mean, I don't even know where she lives. How can you dislike someone if you don't know anything about them?" As the girl was talking, Gene glimpsed a black Cadillac limousine drawing hi to the curb. Instinctively, he guessed it was Lorie, and he bent his knees slightly so that he was hidden from sight behind the chattering group of Algerians. "Is there something wrong with your knees?" asked the girl with the upswept spectacles. Gene grinned. "No, no. Just doing my on-the-spot exercises. Hold still for a moment, would you?" He heard the limousine stop, and then the back door opened, paused, and slammed. Footsteps came tapping across the sidewalk, and the limousine pulled away and joined the honking K Street traffic. He stood up to his full height, and there she was. In her working clothes, she looked, if anything, more beautiful. She was wearing an immaculately tailored black suit with a high-shouldered jacket and a pencil skirt, and a black 1950s-style hat. Her golden-brown, hair was severely pinned back, but that only emphasized the classic slant of her cheekbones and her bright green eyes. When she saw him she stopped at once, and held her black, snakeskin pocketbook close to her chest. "Hello, Lorie," he said gently. The two tellers looked from Gene to Lorie and back again, and the one with the gum gave the one with the upswept spectacles a quick nudge in the ribs. Lorie said nothing at first, but stepped a few paces nearer, her eyes lowered, and her lips slightly parted. "So you found me," she said, in that deep husky 45 voice of hers. "I suppose I knew that you would. Who told you?" He shook his head, and smiled. "You're not that hard to find. My secretary's been working on it." "Well," she said, "I suppose I should be flattered. An important man like you, taking so much trouble over someone as insignificant as me." "Don't be Page 20 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html ridiculous. I wanted to see you." She looked up. Her green eyes widened. This girl is incredibly beautiful, he thought. She's like some kind of fantasy. How can a girl be this beautiful and so stand-offish at the same time? It simply doesn't make sense. "After Saturday night, I didn't think you'd want to." Lorie said. "Of course I did. The one animal that intrigues me is a girl that bites. I was 'round on Sunday, ringing at the bell, but I don't suppose Mathieu told you that." "You came yesterday?" "Sure I did. You think Saturday night's little misunderstanding would put me off?" "I don't understand. I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to see you any more." "About as clear as Mississippi mud. One minute you said you liked me, and the next minute you were treating my tongue like a Big Mac." "I didn't mean to hurt you," she said. "Is it still sore?" "Only when I lick." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
Podobne
|