considered libelous.”
“What are you
saying
? Look at your walls, the
photographs
!”
“Actually, I might suggest that you—you, Aaron—look at them again. Legally speaking, kidnapping is defined as abduction by force or coercion and holding a person or personages against their will, their being freed subject to the payment of funds. Although, as I’ve acknowledged, a preliminary strategy had been meticulously financed and was in place to implement such an objective, the strategy failed and would have been aborted but for the voluntary—I might say enthusiastic—cooperation of the subject. And those photographs hardly depict the subject in question to be under any constraints whatsoever. In fact, he appears to be content and in excellent spirits.”
“
Sam
, you belong in a room made of thick sponge rubber! Hasn’t the enormity of what you did made even a dent in your moral armor?”
“The crosses I bear are heavy, indeed, Aaron.”
“That’s not the most appropriate allusion you could employ.… I don’t really want to know, but how did you ever get—
him
—back to Rome?”
“Mac and Zio worked it out. The Hawk called it a ‘very back-channel’ mission, and Zio began singing opera.”
“I’m exhausted,” whispered Pinkus. “I could only wish this day never happened, that I had not heard a word uttered in this room and that my sight had deserted me.”
“How do you think I feel every day of my life? The eternal love of my life is gone, but I’ve learned something, Aaron. Life
must
go on!”
“How uniquely phrased.”
“I mean it, it’s
over
. It’s all in the past, and in a way, I’m glad today
did
happen. Somehow, it’s freed me. Now I have to get off my ass and charge ahead, knowing that slugworm son of a bitch can never touch me again!”
And, of course, the telephone rang.
“If that’s the office, I’m in temple,” said Pinkus. “I’m not prepared for the outside world.”
“I’ll get it,” said Sam, rising and heading for the desk as the phone rang again. “Mother’s up here—sort of—and it’s better Cora doesn’t answer. You know, Aaron, now that it’s all out in the open, I really feel better. With your support, I
know
I can charge ahead and face new challenges, find new horizons—”
“Answer the damn thing, Sammy. My head is splitting.”
“Oh, yes, of course, sorry.” Devereaux picked up the phone, greeted whoever was on the line, paused for a reply, and then proceeded to scream hysterically, with such uncontrollable frenzy that his mother bolted up from the settee, shot over the oval coffee table, and ended up splayed out on the floor.
6
“
Sammy
!” shouted Aaron Pinkus, dashing back and forth between the unconscious Eleanor and her son, who was now, in an outburst of panic, ripping down every framed photograph he could reach on the walls and smashing them down on the floor. “Sam, get
hold
of yourself!”
“
Slugworm
!” screamed Devereaux. “Maggot of the universe, the most despicable human being on the face of the
earth
! He has no
right
—”
“Your
mother
, Sammy. She may be
dead
!”
“Forget it, she wouldn’t know how,” replied Devereaux, racing to the wall behind the desk and continuing his assault on the myriad photos and newspaper clippings. “He’s sick, sick,
sick
!”
“I didn’t say sick, Sam, I said
dead
,” continued Aaron, kneeling painfully and holding the mother’s quivering head firmly, hoping his ruse might have an effect on the son. “You really should show some concern.”
“
Concern
? Has he ever shown
me
any concern? He tears my life apart then steps on the pieces, grinding them into the dirt! He rips my heart out and blows it up into a balloon—”
“I didn’t say
he
, Sam, I said
she
! Your
mother
.”
“Hello, Mother, I’m busy.”
Pinkus withdrew the beeper from his pocket and held his finger down on the signal button; then he kept pressing it in bursts. His driver, Paddy Lafferty,
“What are you
saying
? Look at your walls, the
photographs
!”
“Actually, I might suggest that you—you, Aaron—look at them again. Legally speaking, kidnapping is defined as abduction by force or coercion and holding a person or personages against their will, their being freed subject to the payment of funds. Although, as I’ve acknowledged, a preliminary strategy had been meticulously financed and was in place to implement such an objective, the strategy failed and would have been aborted but for the voluntary—I might say enthusiastic—cooperation of the subject. And those photographs hardly depict the subject in question to be under any constraints whatsoever. In fact, he appears to be content and in excellent spirits.”
“
Sam
, you belong in a room made of thick sponge rubber! Hasn’t the enormity of what you did made even a dent in your moral armor?”
“The crosses I bear are heavy, indeed, Aaron.”
“That’s not the most appropriate allusion you could employ.… I don’t really want to know, but how did you ever get—
him
—back to Rome?”
“Mac and Zio worked it out. The Hawk called it a ‘very back-channel’ mission, and Zio began singing opera.”
“I’m exhausted,” whispered Pinkus. “I could only wish this day never happened, that I had not heard a word uttered in this room and that my sight had deserted me.”
“How do you think I feel every day of my life? The eternal love of my life is gone, but I’ve learned something, Aaron. Life
must
go on!”
“How uniquely phrased.”
“I mean it, it’s
over
. It’s all in the past, and in a way, I’m glad today
did
happen. Somehow, it’s freed me. Now I have to get off my ass and charge ahead, knowing that slugworm son of a bitch can never touch me again!”
And, of course, the telephone rang.
“If that’s the office, I’m in temple,” said Pinkus. “I’m not prepared for the outside world.”
“I’ll get it,” said Sam, rising and heading for the desk as the phone rang again. “Mother’s up here—sort of—and it’s better Cora doesn’t answer. You know, Aaron, now that it’s all out in the open, I really feel better. With your support, I
know
I can charge ahead and face new challenges, find new horizons—”
“Answer the damn thing, Sammy. My head is splitting.”
“Oh, yes, of course, sorry.” Devereaux picked up the phone, greeted whoever was on the line, paused for a reply, and then proceeded to scream hysterically, with such uncontrollable frenzy that his mother bolted up from the settee, shot over the oval coffee table, and ended up splayed out on the floor.
6
“
Sammy
!” shouted Aaron Pinkus, dashing back and forth between the unconscious Eleanor and her son, who was now, in an outburst of panic, ripping down every framed photograph he could reach on the walls and smashing them down on the floor. “Sam, get
hold
of yourself!”
“
Slugworm
!” screamed Devereaux. “Maggot of the universe, the most despicable human being on the face of the
earth
! He has no
right
—”
“Your
mother
, Sammy. She may be
dead
!”
“Forget it, she wouldn’t know how,” replied Devereaux, racing to the wall behind the desk and continuing his assault on the myriad photos and newspaper clippings. “He’s sick, sick,
sick
!”
“I didn’t say sick, Sam, I said
dead
,” continued Aaron, kneeling painfully and holding the mother’s quivering head firmly, hoping his ruse might have an effect on the son. “You really should show some concern.”
“
Concern
? Has he ever shown
me
any concern? He tears my life apart then steps on the pieces, grinding them into the dirt! He rips my heart out and blows it up into a balloon—”
“I didn’t say
he
, Sam, I said
she
! Your
mother
.”
“Hello, Mother, I’m busy.”
Pinkus withdrew the beeper from his pocket and held his finger down on the signal button; then he kept pressing it in bursts. His driver, Paddy Lafferty,
Similar Books
