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"But, honey, you confirmed the rumor that Southway was going to sell out to
Calitron for a nice price, if a fellow up there by the name of LaFrance could
assemble the rest of the acreage."
"But what are you trying to do to me?" she asked.
"Say! If I've spilled the beans and gotten you into some kind of trouble or
anything... I guess we didn't talk about it up in the offices. That was later,
honey."
"We never talked about that!"
I shook my head. "But you told me how Bannon got through to you, and you had a
drink with him at the airport, and he told you how he was being squeezed and
wanted Santo's help, and you decided you couldn't take a little thing like
that to Mr. Santo and waste his time with a little guy who got caught in the
middle."
She caught her little lip in her teeth the same way she had when talking to
Tush.
I continued. "Remember, honey? You said that you thought Mr. Santo had
mentioned how, up in the hotel penthouse in Atlanta, LaFrance had tried to get
Santo to buy Bannon out and Santo told LaFrance that it was his problem and he
should handle it? That was the same night you told me you'd give me a clean
bill with Santo."
I moved just fast enough. Santo got up and got over to her and got his hand
back for a slap that would have loosened her teeth. I caught his wrist. The
position gave me very nice leverage. I swung the wrist back and over and down
and ended up in about the same position as a pitcher after letting go of his
best fast ball. Santo boomed into the yellow couch hard enough to snap his
head back and then bounced forward onto his hands and knees on the rug.
"Now just a minute. Gentlemen! Just a minute?" Spartan said.
Santo shook his dazed head. I picked him up by the nape of the neck and sat
him on the couch.
I stood in front of him and said, "Fun time is over, Gary baby. I didn't get a
damned word of this from pretty-bit over there. She's devoted. She's
energetic. She just never got a chance to get close to me. I made sure of
that. Tush Bannon was a damned good friend. Your pressure, second-hand, drove
him into the ground. And it went a little wrong up there and they went further
than they had to and killed him." He stared up at me, very attentive.
"I squashed LaFrance. I would have squashed you too if I could have figured a
way. But you're too big and too spread out. All I could do was sting you a
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little."
"A little?" he said wonderingly. "A little? You cut my venture capital right
down to the nub, friend. You fixed me so I'm associated with any new stock
issue and it never gets off the ground. Sting me a little! God damn you, I
might never take up the slack you put in me. And all of this was over some...
dreary little smalltime buddy of yours?"
I leaned over and slapped his face sideways and backhanded it back to center
position.
"Manners," I said.
I moved back to give him a chance to come off the couch. He thought it over.
Then he took out a frostywhite handkerchief and patted the corner of his mouth
and examined the dappling of blood.
I turned to Spartan. "Tell him how he stands if it checks out that I've never
owned a share of Fletcher."
"Well... it would eliminate one possible way to ease the present situation."
I turned back to Santo and looked for that tinge of gray under the barbered,
lotioned, international complexion. Saw a little. Not like LaFrance. Saw
enough of it, and enough slump of resignation. He dabbed at his mouth again
and got up.
"Come on, Spartan," he said. He stopped so close in front of Mary Smith's
chair there was not room for her to get out of it.
"You're fired, you stupid bitch!"
"But you heard him say I didn't-"
"You didn't do what you're overpaid to do, which is to stick close and check
every little thing out. You could have saved me going into the tank for enough
to buy five thousand of you for a lifetime. And that makes you too damned
expensive. I'll have your office stuff packed and dropped off at your place.
I'll have your check mailed. I couldn't look at you again without feeling
sick."
"Gary, you just don't know how mutual that feeling is."
His arm came halfway up. "Uh uh!" I said. He lowered it and left swiftly.
Spartan hurried behind him, and gave me a single despairing glance as he left.
She slumped in the chair. "Hooo, boy." she said wearily. "They told me there'd
be days like this." She gave me a look through the emerald lenses. "Thanks
heaps, McGee."
"I didn't exactly intend it that way Mary Smith."
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