There was a long silence. Finally Bauer said, "I just don't understand it."
"For God's sake, what now?"
"The way they fought. Williams and that old gook. Christ, he must have been as old as the man in the moon. And Williams is supposed to be dead. It just gives me the creeps, that's all."
"Look, he's not a ghost, okay? Take my word for it. Somebody screwed up somewhere. And the other guy might have looked a lot older than he really was. There's nothing supernatural going on. Now will you leave me alone? I have to think."
"Sure, boss," Bauer said. He chewed on his thumbnail to pass five minutes. "You're sure it's going to work?"
"Shut up," Quantril said stonily. "I'll just say it one more time. Those two might be good fighters, but they can't fly, got it?"
"Can't—" Bauer smiled. "I guess not."
"Now, we'll just watch for a while until the fun starts. Then we'll be on our way. My office already thinks I'm on vacation in the Alps."
Bauer looked up in surprise. "Is that where we're going?"
Quantril gave him a sly look and shook his head. "No. We're going to a place about three hundred miles south of here called Bayersville."
"A town? You sure it's safe?"
Quantril chuckled. "More than safe. Believe me, you've never seen a town like Bayersville before."
There was a knock at the door. Bauer pulled out his Magnum and walked softly to the wall. Quantril headed for the door. "Who is it?"
"Special delivery." The voice was nasal, with a thick Mexican accent. Quantril nodded to Bauer and opened the door.
Immediately a knife was at his throat. "Throw down your gun, Bauer," Wally Donner said.
"Do it," Quantril rasped.
The Colt clattered to the floor.
Wally Donner edged Quantril into the apartment and slammed the door shut with his foot. "Now, look, I don't want any trouble, Mr. Quantril. I just want my money."
"What money?" Quantril managed, looking wildly toward Bauer.
"The money for keeping quiet about you. Have you seen the papers?"
Bewildered, Bauer picked up the newspaper on the floor and opened it. On the front page was a picture of Karen Lockwood, along with the photos of the now-empty monastery in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
"She spilled the beans to the police," Donner said. "Described your little setup to a T. She described you, too, Bauer, and I recognized the description from the times I'd seen you at the rendezvous point when I delivered the women. Only she didn't know your name. I do."
"What's this got to do with me?" Quantril gasped, straining against the blade at his throat.
"I just used my head. All this time I've been wondering about the girls. Who would want two hundred and forty-two women bad enough to lock them up in the hills, I asked myself. And then, after I saw the papers, I asked myself another question. Why here, near Santa Fe? And then it came to me. Dream Date. It had to have something to do with Dream Date. So I watched the building until Bauer came out. And guess who was with him?"
Quantril attempted a laugh. "That's ridiculous. There's no evidence to link me to any of this."
"Hey, maybe you're forgetting, big shot. I'm not a cop. I don't need evidence. I need money. A million bucks, nothing less—"
Deke Bauer slammed into Donner's head with his elbow, sending him crashing into a wall. Then, before Donner came to enough to pick up the knife, the military man stepped on his right hand. He dug in his heel, feeling the small bones break with satisfying little snaps. While Donner howled in pain, Bauer picked him up by the scruff of the neck and the back of his belt and dragged him to the balcony. Then, with a powerful heave, he tossed Donner over the railing.
There was a sharp wail, followed by a strange bouncing sound. Bauer looked out.
Donner had not fallen on the street below. Instead, he was hanging suspended by one arm and one leg from a flagpole halfway down the building.
"Incredible," Quantril said hoarsely behind the soldier.
Bauer rushed back into the room to retrieve his Magnum, but Quantril stopped him.
"I'll just finish him off with one shot," Bauer explained.
"Don't be a fool. There are already pedestrians on the sidewalk watching."
From the street, they could hear a woman scream, "Look at that!"
"We've got to get out of here," Quantril said. "Now."
"What about him? He'll talk."
"He'll fall first."
"The cops—"
"They'll be busy. Remember?"
?CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"I think we take a right here," Remo said as he peered up at the street sign in downtown Santa Fe. "Yeah, this is it." He nodded toward a modern glass building up the block. "And that's the headquarters of Dream Date."
"What a loathesome name for a business enterprise," Chiun said.
"It's Quantril's operation. And if that soldier was right, he does a lot more than play matchmaker."
The building's lobby, as seen from the street, was brightly lit and ultramodern, with a massive steel-and-bronze sculpture as its centerpiece.
"There are no valets here," Chiun complained.
"It's Sunday evening. The building's closed. I figured it was the best time to check Quantril's records." He peered through the window. "Still, there ought to be someone here."
He leaned against one of the large glass doors to judge its weight, but to his surprise, they swung open. "I don't get it," Remo said. "There's not a security guard in sight."
Their footfalls echoed through the empty, cavernous lobby. Remo strode silently across the gleaming marble floor to consult the building directory. Dream Date occupied the entire penthouse floor. Across the way he noticed an elevator marked "Penthouse Only."
The unlocked door and the absence of a guard made Remo more than a little suspicious. He couldn't help thinking that their arrival had been anticipated. He wondered what kind of surprises Quantril and his friend. Major Deke Bauer, had in store for them.