find where I live, then waited for me to show up.”
“Why follow me? You’re right there in the phonebook, easy to find.”
“Right. If he knew my name, somehow,” I said. Then, “I got a good look at the guy tonight. I have no idea who he is.”
“He’s still out there,” she said.
“You bet he is. And he may want me. He may want you. Or Ingo or Hector. Or all of us. No way to know yet. This is a dangerous guy. I saw him pacing around in the front yard after he shot out the window. A wild man. You should have protection.”
“And you?”
I held up the gun. “I’ve got this.”
“In your bureau drawer, under your shorts.”
“No, it’s in my hand now, and I intend to keep it close.” I pulled myself out of the chair and walked unsteadily to where she sat. “Any reasonable person would bring the cops in. But if I do, Ingo will blame Empire Security for letting bad news get out and screwing up the IPO. He’ll fire us, and I’ll spend the rest of my life in poverty and desperation”
“What are you talking about, Seidenberg?”
“Just the ramblings of a man who’s been shot at twice in one day. Look, I can’t simply do nothing about all this. It’s my ass getting shot at, too — my fat ass, as you put it so delicately.”
“A figure of speech,” she said. “Nothing personal. Your ass isn’t that fat.”
“Whatever.” I offered her my hand. She took it and got to her feet. “Ingo doesn’t want to listen to me because he’s afraid I’ll rock his corporate boat,” I said. “Go tell Hector what happened to you tonight. Tell him I want to put some Empire people on the scene, here, and in New York, too. People who carry guns. We’ll do it discreetly, tell him, and Ingo won’t know they’re around. Will you do that?”
“I’ll tell him.”
I checked my watch. “The ferry is going to stop running for the night. You’d better not go back to Shelter by yourself, and walking alone is out of the question. So I and my revolver are going to drive you onto the ferry and deliver you directly to Ingo’s door.”
She put her hands on my shoulders. “Are you as good as Hector says you are? Smart and strong? What do you think?”
“Look, Iron Lady, I’d be flattered to have you kiss me again, but it complicates the hell out of my established relationship. Nothing personal. So you can adore me if you must, but mostly from afar.”
“In that case, I take back what I said about you.”
“What?”
“That your ass isn’t that fat. Let’s be honest. It really is.”
CHAPTER VI
The autumn fog that hung across the bay was so heavy I could barely make out the contour of Shelter Island from Wally’s Marina, a distance of three quarters of a mile. If I were going out fishing, I’d play it cautious, keep the Elysium safe in the slip and drink coffee for an hour, until I was sure the morning sun was well on its way to burning off the mist. The sun’s supposed to do that, but sometimes it refuses. I don’t like fog, anyway, not since it unexpectedly descended on me in Plum Gut one afternoon, and the New London ferry coming across Long Island Sound passed Elysium’s stern with fifteen feet to spare.
But the fog was no threat today because the Elysium wasn’t going fishing, or anywhere. When I arrived at the slip, a mechanic was busy cementing a new piece of glass into the windshield frame, and hadn’t yet started on the broken gas line.
Wally stood next to me looking into the boat, his thumbs hooked into his belt. “He’s got another hour, maybe two.”
“At seventy-five bucks an hour,” I said.
“Eighty-five. Plus parts.” He pointed to the stern. ”You know the bullet tore out a plug of fiberglass? Not all the way through, though. Way above the waterline. No big deal. We’ll patch it when we put her away for the winter.” Wally turned and walked up the ramp to the yard. I followed. “Listen, amigo, I asked everybody here if they
“Why follow me? You’re right there in the phonebook, easy to find.”
“Right. If he knew my name, somehow,” I said. Then, “I got a good look at the guy tonight. I have no idea who he is.”
“He’s still out there,” she said.
“You bet he is. And he may want me. He may want you. Or Ingo or Hector. Or all of us. No way to know yet. This is a dangerous guy. I saw him pacing around in the front yard after he shot out the window. A wild man. You should have protection.”
“And you?”
I held up the gun. “I’ve got this.”
“In your bureau drawer, under your shorts.”
“No, it’s in my hand now, and I intend to keep it close.” I pulled myself out of the chair and walked unsteadily to where she sat. “Any reasonable person would bring the cops in. But if I do, Ingo will blame Empire Security for letting bad news get out and screwing up the IPO. He’ll fire us, and I’ll spend the rest of my life in poverty and desperation”
“What are you talking about, Seidenberg?”
“Just the ramblings of a man who’s been shot at twice in one day. Look, I can’t simply do nothing about all this. It’s my ass getting shot at, too — my fat ass, as you put it so delicately.”
“A figure of speech,” she said. “Nothing personal. Your ass isn’t that fat.”
“Whatever.” I offered her my hand. She took it and got to her feet. “Ingo doesn’t want to listen to me because he’s afraid I’ll rock his corporate boat,” I said. “Go tell Hector what happened to you tonight. Tell him I want to put some Empire people on the scene, here, and in New York, too. People who carry guns. We’ll do it discreetly, tell him, and Ingo won’t know they’re around. Will you do that?”
“I’ll tell him.”
I checked my watch. “The ferry is going to stop running for the night. You’d better not go back to Shelter by yourself, and walking alone is out of the question. So I and my revolver are going to drive you onto the ferry and deliver you directly to Ingo’s door.”
She put her hands on my shoulders. “Are you as good as Hector says you are? Smart and strong? What do you think?”
“Look, Iron Lady, I’d be flattered to have you kiss me again, but it complicates the hell out of my established relationship. Nothing personal. So you can adore me if you must, but mostly from afar.”
“In that case, I take back what I said about you.”
“What?”
“That your ass isn’t that fat. Let’s be honest. It really is.”
CHAPTER VI
The autumn fog that hung across the bay was so heavy I could barely make out the contour of Shelter Island from Wally’s Marina, a distance of three quarters of a mile. If I were going out fishing, I’d play it cautious, keep the Elysium safe in the slip and drink coffee for an hour, until I was sure the morning sun was well on its way to burning off the mist. The sun’s supposed to do that, but sometimes it refuses. I don’t like fog, anyway, not since it unexpectedly descended on me in Plum Gut one afternoon, and the New London ferry coming across Long Island Sound passed Elysium’s stern with fifteen feet to spare.
But the fog was no threat today because the Elysium wasn’t going fishing, or anywhere. When I arrived at the slip, a mechanic was busy cementing a new piece of glass into the windshield frame, and hadn’t yet started on the broken gas line.
Wally stood next to me looking into the boat, his thumbs hooked into his belt. “He’s got another hour, maybe two.”
“At seventy-five bucks an hour,” I said.
“Eighty-five. Plus parts.” He pointed to the stern. ”You know the bullet tore out a plug of fiberglass? Not all the way through, though. Way above the waterline. No big deal. We’ll patch it when we put her away for the winter.” Wally turned and walked up the ramp to the yard. I followed. “Listen, amigo, I asked everybody here if they
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