‘I wondered how long it would take you to get around to me,’ Manda Dempsey said when she opened the door to her penthouse apartment.
She’d had a little time to prepare for my arrival on her doorstep. The glossy Manhattan apartment building had uniformed security who took their role more seriously than simply being a human doorstop with gold braid. They’d valet-parked the Navigator and called up to see if Miss Dempsey ‘might be willing to receive me’, seeming almost disappointed when she said yes.
Now, Manda led the way into the split-level living area. The room occupied a corner of the building, and faced partly north up Fifth Avenue, and east to catch the light. It was dominated by glass, as with Caroline Willner’s house in Long Island, but here the view was of the Empire State and the Chrysler Building, their outlines hazy in the afternoon sun.
‘Quite a place you have here,’ I murmured.
She paused by a low sofa, following my gaze as if the view was something she looked at so rarely she’d forgotten it was there.
‘I like it,’ she said, and sat down. There was a bottle of wine open on the table by her elbow and she picked up her half-drunk glass, but didn’t offer one to me. ‘Any news of Dina?’
Only that she’s now been gone twenty-nine hours …
‘They’ve asked for ten million,’ I said, noting the way her eyebrows climbed a little as she drank. She held the gesture a fraction too long for it to be entirely genuine. ‘But you knew that, didn’t you, Amanda?’
‘No,’ she said evenly. ‘I was just thinking that they’re getting kinda ambitious. They only asked one million for me.’
‘Ah, well, now they have experience on their side,’ I said, sitting down without an invite, as it didn’t look like she was going to extend one.
I debated on telling her about the kidnappers’ claims over the authenticity of the Eisenberg Rainbow, decided against. Parker was still trying to verify that information, and Brandon Eisenberg was proving evasive to say the least. ‘Lennon and his pal got away clean with those jewels last time. Maybe it’s double or quits.’
‘Ah,’ she said, giving me a smile that made her cheeks dimple, ‘so you know his name. Very good.’ She paused. ‘Or were you hoping that alone might shock me into a full confession?’
‘Everyone should have a dream,’ I said dryly. ‘You don’t deny you know him, then?’
‘Not much point in that.’ She snorted into her wine, put the deep-bowled glass down on the side table. ‘You already know Lennon and Ross were doing the kidnappings for us – the fake kidnappings, that is.’ The smile grew broader. ‘And I was the one who gave them Dina’s schedule, told them when she’d be at the riding club. I even told them she had a bodyguard called Charlie who was a tough customer. I completely overlooked the fact they’d automatically assume you were a guy. I mean, what a laugh!’
‘Oh yeah, hilarious …’ I muttered, remembering again the crunch Raleigh’s arm gave out as his bones splintered. ‘So, you recruited Lennon at a party? How did that come up in conversation?’
She shook her head, wagged a finger. ‘Uh-uh, not guilty. Maybe I should warn you, Charlie, I’ve had some very dour detectives here all afternoon, and they didn’t succeed in beating a confession out of me, either. Can’t get what isn’t there, honey.’
‘You sound disappointed. But then, you paid to have Lennon and his mate rough you up, didn’t you, Amanda?’
She shrugged. ‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘It’s a free country, and I kinda like it.’ She leant forwards, checking my face for signs of shock, and reached for her glass again. ‘Maybe you should loosen up and give it a try. Pleasure and pain are very closely related, after all. All those endorphins rushing around your system! Until you’ve had the experience, how do you know you won’t like it?’
I fought to hold down a sudden memory that threatened to burst loose. A dark bitter night, four distinct male shapes, the rancid fear, and the huff of expelled breath from the effort they were putting into working me over. It was a long time ago but it might have been only last night for all its vivid flavour. ‘Been there, done that, thanks all the same,’ I said calmly. ‘Didn’t think much of it.’
Another sideways little smile. ‘Maybe they simply weren’t very good.’
‘Trust me, they were experts.’
Her smile faded to a frown, but she refused to give me the satisfaction of asking more. Which, in turn, saved me the trouble of telling her to mind her own bloody business. I reckoned that made us even.
‘Is that what happened to Torquil?’ I asked. ‘You were trying to broaden his horizons as far as the enjoyment of pain went, and it all got a bit out of hand?’
‘Nice try, Charlie, but for once you’re way off base. Torquil wasn’t in the game plan. Personally, I didn’t want anything to do with him. Can’t blame us if he looked elsewhere and wasn’t careful enough about who he talked to.’
‘So you’re saying he bypassed your exclusive little club and did a deal direct with Lennon, is that it?’
‘Lennon?’ Her eyes were positively sparking. ‘Lennon and his friend couldn’t plan their way out of a paper bag, honey. Why do you think we had to spoon-feed them every scrap of information?’
‘But since then Lennon’s found himself another partner, hasn’t he? And this guy is playing for real. You aren’t calling the shots anymore, Manda.’
‘Who says I ever was? I told you that you were off base, Charlie, but I wasn’t the first one kidnapped, now was I?’ She toed off her shoes and tucked her feet up on the sofa underneath her, for all the world relaxed. Only the tightness of her fingers around the stem of her wine glass gave her away. ‘If you want answers about Lennon and who he might have gone to, you’re going to have to speak to the person who knows him – the one who first recruited me, in fact.’
‘And that is?’
‘Oh come on – Orlando, of course.’ She smiled again. ‘But I reckon you’re gonna have your work cut out getting to her. Good luck with that.’
‘Yeah,’ I agreed, ‘she hasn’t even told Hunt where she is.’
‘Well, then.’ She raised her glass in mock salute. ‘From what I’ve seen of that pair, they’re besotted. If she hasn’t told him where to find her, you’ve no chance.’
I left soon after that. There wasn’t much more I was going to get out of Manda, and the urge to smack her around was beginning to get the better of me.
As I waited for the valet to retrieve the Navigator from wherever they’d stashed it nearby, my cellphone began to buzz in my pocket. When I pulled it out and saw Parker’s number on the display, my heart gave a sudden lurch in my chest.
‘Hi,’ I said sharply. ‘What’s happened?’
‘I think I should … tell you when I see you.’
Oh, shit! Please, not another body … ?
I checked my watch for the hundredth time. It was after four in the afternoon. Dina had now been held over thirty hours. A lifetime, but surely too soon for Lennon and his new partner to have killed their hostage?
‘Is she—?’
‘No, we think she’s still alive.’ I heard the cautious note, and the strain, and could have screamed at his refusal to speak plainly over an open line.
‘You think? Parker! What the fuck does that mean?’
The valet pulled up smartly at the kerb and hopped down out of the Navigator’s driving seat, a cheery comment dying on his lips as he caught sight of my face. He stuffed the valet ticket into my numb fingers and scurried away without waiting for a tip.
‘Look, just … you better get back here, Charlie,’ he said, and I heard his shaky sigh. Whatever it is, it’s bad. ‘Fast as you can.’