Punish Me with Kisses by William Bayer Page A

night by a pair of gardener's shears dripping with sexy Suzie's blood. It looks like the former snuff-porn star is back to his old tricks, worming his way into this fine aristocratic family again. Be careful, Penny! Or do you know what you're doing after all?"
    "God, that's horrible," she said. "But they can't fire you for that."
    "They did. Fifty bucks and a handshake. They already had somebody lined up to take my place. I'm sick about it. Think I'll take in a movie and then go home."
    After he hung up she went down to the lobby of the B&A building to buy the paper and read the item for herself. It seemed even worse to her in print than it had sounded on the phone, the sort of venomous gossip that had been out of fashion for several years but had recently started coming back. Just before noon she phoned Jared. "How, do you feel?"
    "Not too bad now," he said. "I was kind of expecting to get the axe, and the play's no loss. It'll probably fold in a week."
    Again she was struck by his passivity, the fatalistic way he accepted so raw a deal. They talked a while, then she asked him about Denver, how the columnist had managed to connect them up.
    "Probably got a tip," he said. "They sometimes pay for that sort of stuff."
    "Who knew about us?"
    "Could have been anyone. We must have been seen jogging together a hundred times. Somebody probably recognized us and phoned the tidbit in."
    But Penny couldn't get the notion out of her head that Lillian Ryan had been Denver's source. It was too pat—first the item in Backstage , and then Denver's connecting piece about them jogging hand in hand. It was the sort of thing Lillian might do to revive interest in the case and maybe try to pressure Penny into helping with the book. After lunch, still angry at the thought, she confronted Lillian by slapping the column down on her desk.
    "Bound to come out sooner or later," Lillian said. "You can't keep a cat in the bag in New York."
    "Of course you didn't have anything to do with letting the cat out."
    "Just what's that supposed to mean?"
    "How much does the Denver office pay for this kind of crap?"
    "Now look!" For a moment Penny thought she was going to spring up and attack her, but then Lillian settled back in her chair and laughed. "Wow—you're really subtle. I don't suppose you'd believe me if I swore I didn't have anything to do with this."
    "Is that what you're saying?"
    Lillian smiled. "You wouldn't believe me no matter what I said. But one thing comes to mind, and it might be worth your thinking about. If you worked on that book with me, got your side of the story out, you'd probably be able to clear the air and be free of this sort of stuff once and for all."
    Penny shook her head. "You never give up, do you?"
    "No," Lillian said, laughing, "I guess I don't."
    "Well, I think you're going to have to now."
    "Really, Penny? Why's that?"
    Lillian was sneering. Penny thought of Robinson, the way he'd sneered and the way she'd finally found the nerve to put him down. She paused a moment, then looked Lillian directly in the eyes. "Those letters you're sending out with my initials—I think Mac would probably fire you if he knew. So just lay off, Lillian. No more little games, all right?"
    Lillian was scared. She nodded and turned away. Penny felt wonderful. She'd stood up for herself, played "hardball" the way her father did. He would have approved and so would Suzie, she thought. "Get them before they get you," they used to chant. "Kick ass today, Daddy-O," Suzie used to say when she kissed him before he left for work.
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    A memory: I'm ten years old and a real pain in the ass. All day I'm naughty and selfish and rude. French Slave Girl, the au pair mother has brought over to take care of us and teach us French, has gone to her room to pack her bags. " Elle est insupportable , " she mutters, referring to me. " Insupportable! "
    Child's building an elaborate structure out of blocks. She's been working on it for hours, and it's