Bannerman's Law by John R. Maxim Read Free Book Online Page B

those sandwiches ?”
    Two hours passed. Weinberg heard a car. He motioned his wife to the window where, carefully, she moved one slat of the blinds. A white Mercedes. A man in a dark suit climbed out of it.
    “ It's Ca r leton ,” she said. She watched as two men in blazers came out to meet him. One was limping badly. “ Someone released those guards. Which means they must have found Henry .”
    The guard with the limp was gesturing in her direction. He was agitated. Now he was cocking his head vaguely in the direction of the surgery. His hands came up to his e yes. He made a gouging motion toward one of them and a ripping motion toward the other.
    Carleton D u nville the younger winced, possibly for ef fect. His half-brother's overall condition was no longer news to him although Barbara had omitted certain details. He raised his own hands, waggling his fingers in a calming manner. No, the guards would not be blamed. She watched as he asked several questions, once checking his watch, twice glancing down the driveway in the direction from which he'd come. Then, as if on signal, another car ap peared. A white Fiero, dented front left fender. It squealed to a stop behind Ca r leton's Mercedes. The driver, a squat, coarse-looking man, long hair bunched behind his head, started to get out but Carleton waved him back and, with words and gestures, seemed to be sending him to the rear of the building.
    “ Who is this ?” She motioned Luisa Ruiz forward.
    Ruiz reached the window in time to see the car drive off. “ His name's Hickey .” She said. “ Henry uses him for this and that .”
    “ Such as burglaries ?” Barbara asked.
    Ruiz shrugged, then nodded.
    “ And disposing of bodies ?”
    “ Not until now ,” she lied.
    Another hour passed. The phone rang. Ruiz, upon Weinberg's nod, picked it up.
    “ It's Mr. Dunville ,” she said.`''He's outside. May he come in ?”
    “ Certainly. It's his office .”
    Weinberg, standing behind Ruiz, leveled his weapon at the door. His wife, her back to it, covered the two windows. Carleton Dunville knocked, then entered.
    He was an elegant man. Mid-thirties, slender, erect, dark hair going prematurely gray. His features showed little resemblance to those of hi s half-brother. If he were an actor he would have been cast in sophisticated drawing room comedies. A touch of David Niven, a little Tony Randall, even down to the black double-breasted suits he f avored. Were it not for the eyes, he might be dismissed as a fop. But the eyes were alert, intelligent, and their usual expression, i n repose, was one of detached amuse ment. Now they were cold.
    Ignoring the weapons, they fell first on the open safe, then on the ruined fax machine, then on the sprays of dried blood that stained Barbara Weinberg's white bathrobe.
    Luisa Ruiz coughed. She had picked up the two cover sheets and the small stack of files that Weinberg had transmitted.
    “ May I ?” she asked Weinberg, gesturing with them toward Dunville.
    “ By all means ,” Weinberg nodded.
    Ca r leton Dunville ’s expression barely changed as he sorted through the pages. “ Did you open the safe for them ?” he asked Ruiz.
    ”I opened it .” Barbara Weinberg said, her attention still on the windows.
    Dunville found he r biography at the bottom of the stack. Her credentials. “ Ah, yes ,” he said. He tilted his chin in the direction of the fax machine. “ And the point of that vandalism, I assume, is to keep me from printing out the number you dialed .”
    “ Until you've had time to ... regain your perspective. Yes .”
    Almost a smile. “ About what was done to Henry, you mean ?” A small shake of the head. “ You over-estimate my attachment to him. This, however, is another matter entirely .”
    “ Nothing will come of it ,” Weinberg said, “ if no harm comes to us .”
    Dunville returned to the first cover sheet. “ And if it does, I gather, a person named C J P is to hunt down and kill Miss Ruiz and myself