dismissed them with a growl that started so deep in his throat, half his body seemed to rise up from the gate. And now Holden understood where the siren had learned his songs. Bibo was the best tutor in town.
âCome inside, El Presidente. But without the toy.â
Holden left the carbine against the gate and followed Bibo into the palace.
They had their coffee in Biboâs kitchen. They had pale cherries in ice water. They had a thick golden cream.
âShe is a beautiful woman, your first wife.â
âI was only married once,â Holden said. âBut who told you about Andrushka?â
âSeñor, she was in this house. More than once.â
âYou met the twig and Bruno Schatz?â
âIâve known Bruno since I was a boy.â
âGeneral, you were never a boy. But you had German connections. Thatâs what Phippsy said.â
âEl Presidente, we all worked for Phipps.â
âThen why are you keeping him here?â
âBecause he wants to rob me of everything I have. And I thought a few hours of solitary confinement might make him more reasonable.â
âIs it something to do with bearer bonds?â Holden asked, biting into a pale cherry.
âThe bonds are a guarantee for my old age. I have no other guarantees.â
âGeneral, you have a whole damned town.â
âWe have no industries, señor. And the upkeep is tremendous. I have to feed the mayor, his bodyguards, and mine. I have three hundred widows to support, sixteen imbeciles, a horse doctor, two pharmacists, three unmarried sisters, and ten cows. I need the bonds.â
âBut the old man needs them more. All his assets are leaking. And he has to plug the holes. If he starts to drown, General, Pescadores might fall into the sea.â
âThen we are at an impasse.â
âI donât think so,â Frog said. âGeneral, if you donât come up with Phippsy and the bonds in five minutes, I will have to pull off the front part of your face.â
âI have the army, señor. You donât.â
âBut your army is blowing wind on a bunch of motorbikes. And my hands are inches from your head.â
âYouâre a hired assassin,â the general said. âDo you know how many corpses Iâve pissed on, bodies I have burnt?â
âItâs one-on-one, General. Just you and me.â
Bibo looked into Holdenâs eyes. âAll right,â he said. âIâll give you the old man.â
9
âYouâre lucky to be alive.â
Theyâd returned to Bilbao, and Holden had gotten the old man on board the plane with his sack of bearer bonds.
âI said youâre lucky to be alive.â
âAnd I could strangle you, Phippsy, right in your seat, and cash in those bonds of yours.â
The old man contemplated Frogâs proposal. It seemed to calm him. âYou donât have the nerve. Youâd wilt without me. Youâd wander inside your head.â
âBut I wouldnât have to rescue you from some boy general.â
âYou didnât rescue me. I was having a long talk with Bibo. He was about to cave in.â
âPhippsy, he would have stolen your pants.â
âBig deal. He let you fall asleep on a shitload of Spanish cider. He drugged you, Sid. And he could have cut your throat.â
âThen why didnât he?â
âBiboâs fond of you. Youâre his baby brother.â
âIâm not his brother. I had paella with him once.â
âBut he sensed that youâre an exile, like him.â
âHe sensed more than that, Phippsy. He knew my whole career. Tell me about your dealings with Bruno Schatz.â
âSwiss? I hardly know the man.â
âStop it,â Holden said. âYou bought Aladdin right out from under him.â
âThatâs his misfortune. He didnât have the hard cash.â
âYou used him, didnât you? During
SJD Peterson, S.A. McAuley
K. P. Hilton
Anita Amirrezvani
Scarlet Hyacinth
Charlotte Anne
Mary Alice Monroe
Philip K. Dick
Sydney Logan
J.B. Garner
Jeffrey Shapiro