you?â Maggie asked.
âOh, no complaints on that score. But can mere money buy loyalty, or will someoneââ
âLeo,â said Maggie Jeffson, âif I were you Iâd get that nonsense right out of my head. Iâve worked with the Doc for much longer than you, and Iâve heard other people talk like youâre talking now.â
Leo looked at her levelly, appraisingly.
âAnd theyâre now daisy-pushing?â
âYes.â
âYou have a point there,â conceded Leo, grimacing. âBut one of these days someone is going to put his nose out of joint. I feel in it my bones. Since Jessie was caught, heâs been a hell of a sight worse than he was before; this man Rollison makes him see red. Thereâs just one thing that would put the Doc in the hollow of oneâs hand, though.â
âIs there?â Maggie asked.
âJust one. Knowing who he is. Do you know, Maggie?â
âNo,â she said, and it was impossible to be sure whether she was telling the truth, âand I donât think Iâd try to find out. Youâre very young to die, Leo.â
He stared at her.
He shivered.
âYou really mean that, donât you?â
âI mean it.â
âAll right, Iâll be good,â said Leo, hastily. âIâll be very, very good.â Then he moved swiftly and, taking her by surprise, gripped her wrists and held them very tightly. He was slim and supple and very strong, an inch or two taller than Maggie, and in a sharp-featured way, good-looking. He had a tight-lipped grin which didnât seem to reflect amusement as he drew her closer, so that she was squeezed tightly against him.
âMaggie,â he breathed, âyou wouldnât tell him that I had this little tête-à -tête with you, would you? Because if you did I would in turn tell him a thing or twoânot all of them true, perhaps, but with plenty to suggest that perhaps youâd worked with him too long. He expects loyalty but he doesnât give it much, does he? If he suspected you wereââ
âI wonât tell him what a fool you are,â Maggie said. She didnât try to free herself, but stood limp and relaxed, as if a door were pressing against her, not a lean, lithe youth.
Leo laughed.
âDo you want to know something?â he said, lightly. âYou and I could go places.â
Then, from the next room, from a man who was out of sight, there came a mild chuckle and a gentle question.
âCould you, Leo? Then why donât you?â
Leo swung round, and Maggie stared towards the door, unbelieving. No one was in sight, but the echo of that voice seemed to be in their ears, with its hint of mocking laughter.
âCould you, Leo? Then why donât you?â
They kept absolutely still. Nothing moved, once the voice had stopped, it was almost as if the words had come out of the air, and had floated away through the open window. The sound of traffic came in, muted and faraway.
Leo said, abruptly: âWho wasââ and then broke off.
He put his right hand to his pocket, and drew out a gun; one exactly like that which Rollison had taken from Galloway. âYou stay here,â he said, and moved swiftly towards the door. He didnât go into the big room, but stood close to the door, and sidled nearer.
The unseen man spoke again.
âYou donât really think that gun will help you, Leo, do you?â he said.
Leo didnât answer.
Maggie Jeffson turned and looked at the sleeping child, then almost wildly at the window. She didnât pick the child up, but moved to the other side of the bed; here was another telephone, an extension of the one with the direct line. She picked it up, and dialled.
âCalling for help?â inquired the unseen man lightly. âOh, well, fairâs fair, you fetch the Doc and Iâll fetch the cops. I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. Unless,
Maggie Brendan
Barbara O'Connor
Jan Washburn
Terri Blackstock
Norah Simone
Barry Kemp
G.P. Taylor
Alan Cumyn
Linda Barnes
Lisa Jackson