Netti tasted it. "Um, good! Have a bite."
She grasped a portion with her chopsticks, offered it to Janek. He leaned forward, took the morsel neatly between his lips, sat back to devour it. The texture was like silk.
"Best fish I've had since Cuba." she had papers for him to sign; she pulled them out of her briefcase.
"What're these?" Janek asked. He was more interested in his half of the bass.
"Your agreement with Sarah. Alimony ends next month."
Janek laid down his chopsticks. "I thought there was going to be a phase-out."
Netti smiled. "They agreed to immediate cessation."
"How'd you manage that?"
"By threatening to put Sarah under oath, then examine her about her life-style. When her attorney heard about Honolulu, he backed down real fast."
Janek stared at her. "You're a great lawyer, Netti. But why make me think I'd have to pay her for another year?"
She shrugged. "Didn't want to excite you too much. Wanted to bring you along slowly. Wanted to surprise you, then see the expression on your face." She paused. "Generally speaking, I like it when a client thinks I'm better than he thought."
Oh, that convoluted mind!
After lunch, in the midst of thanking her for her tip on Clury, he casually mentioned that he'd discovered some things that were not going to rebound to her client's advantage.
She waved her hand. She didn't want to discuss it. She mumbled something about how, if he ever told anyone what she'd done, she could get disbarred. It was then, for the first time, that he understood that she had pointed him toward Clury fully aware of the consequences to Mendoza.
That, he thought, took courage, being perhaps the most grievous sin a criminal lawyer can commit. But he respected her greatly for having committed it. She had sized her client up, and, understanding he was a killer, had violated the special ethics of her profession. By doing that she had not only put herself at risk, she had placed her destiny in his hands.
"I won't mention it again," he promised.
With dexterous manipulation of chopsticks she extracted the fish's cheek, then offered him the piece.
"Take it," she urged. "It's the tastiest bit." Her eyes expressed her gratitude.
When he signaled the waiter for the check, he discovered it was already paid.
He turned to Netti. "Why?"
"This is a celebration lunch. When a case is won, your attorney picks up the tab." She smiled. "You'll get my bill in the morning." "It'll be a pleasure to pay it," he said.
On the street, sunglasses back on, about to part, Janek asked how things were going with Carlson.
"Not good. He won't budge." Netti shook her head. "I'm going to call Gelsey this afternoon. I hate to give her the bad news, but it's time to turn herself in."
Sue called from Florida. After three days of watching Janet Clury, she'd seen no change in the woman's pattern.
"Work. Mail. Gym. Store. Home. Then she watches crap on TV.
Meantime, it's hot down here and I'm getting bored. Just give me the word, Frank-I'm ready to move in on her and squeeze."
"I'm going to send down Aaron to do that," Janek said.
Silence. "Any particular reason?" She couldn't hide her disappointment.
"I think it'll be more threatening coming from a man. But you'll still have plenty of fun."
"How's that?"
"When Aaron leaves you'll be waiting outside, ready to follow Janet when she makes her move."
"And if she doesn't?"
"She will. Or I've got this whole thing wrong." "Okay," Sue said, breathing steadier. "I can get off on that. Maybe you're right, maybe Aaron will scare her more. Still, I hope one day you'll let me show you what I can do."
He wrote up his report on Dakin, added the tape he'd made of their final conversation, addressed a covering letter to the Manhattan D.A. recommending prosecution for obstruction of justice, then sealed the package and locked it in his filing cabinet. He wouldn't send it until he captured Clury. But he wanted it ready to go.
The following morning, cloudy and raw, Aaron picked him up at his apartment. They ran into heavy traffic on the FDR, but still had time to make the flight. In the car, Janek explained what he wanted Aaron to say to Janet Clury and exactly how he wanted him to say it:
"Start out casual: ' your husband been in touch with you lately?" That should make her jump. ' the hell're you talking about?
Howie's been dead nine years!" When she says that, look her straight in the eye, then give her a half-snicker. Start in on her pension. That'll be the first thing to go. Then we'll seize all her property to pay back nine years of pension fraud. When she asks, ''s fraudulent?" explain she obviously knew Howie hadn't been blown up. Tell her there'll be criminal charges. She'll be extradited to New York for trial. Could be a lot of jail time because New York jurors don't like folks who defraud their impoverished city. Whether she plays it cool or frantic, doesn't matter, so long as you leave her with the feeling she's in terrible trouble.
Remember, you're sending a message: It's not that we think Howie's alive, we know he is. Try not to spend more than fifteen minutes with her. When you leave, you want her panicked. When you get to the door, hesitate, then say something like: ' you hear from Howie, tell him Janek might be willing to deal." Don't stick around, don't explain. Leave, drive straight to the airport, fly back here tonight."
"What about Sue?" Aaron asked. "Shouldn't I stay with her and help?"
"Sue will handle her end fine."
At La Guardia, Aaron patted the fender of his Chevrolet, then handed Janek the keys. "Take good care of her, Frank." "Right," Janek promised.
"I'll even fill up the tank."
He drove the car out to Newark to pick up Gelsey and bring her back to the city to be booked. He had promised her that it would be quick, that Netti had everything arranged. She'd be photographed, fingerprinted, arraigned and immediately bailed out. He'd have her back home right after lunch.
On their way in, he could see she was nervous. To distract her he asked questions about painting. What did she like best about it?
Creating the images? Moving around the paint? Working with her hands? Or was it the result, taking pride in what she'd achieved, reliving the feelings she'd released?
"It's all of that," she said, "and something more. I call it soothing the hurt. See, I think that's what artists do. We're injured people.
We paint, sculpt, whatever-to try and heal our wounds. At least a little bit."
A few moments later, the Manhattan skyline came into view. The towers loomed, silver forms against a dark, cloudy sky. The clouds looked almost purple, Janek thought-purple like a bruise.
He stood beside her during the booking procedure. Rain poured down outside. Stiegel, as expected, didn't show, so Janek listed himself as the arresting officer. There were papers to be signed for the bondsman.