"First off I should tell you who I am," he says. "As I said on the phone, I am a private detective. My business is my ownI work entirely freelance. People come to me to find loved ones, to research risky investments, to provide protection, when necessary, and to get hard-to-find background information on certain individuals."
I smile. "And to spy."
He blinks. "I do not spy, Miss Perne."
"Really." My smile broadens. I lean forward, the tops of my breasts visible at the open neck of my black silk blouse. "It is late, Mr. Riley. Tell me what you want."
He shakes his head. "You have a lot of confidence for a kid."
"And you have a lot of nerve for a down-on-his-luck private dick."
He doesn't like that. He taps the open folder on his desk. "I have been researching you for the last few months, Miss Perne, ever since you moved toMayfair.
You have an intriguing past, as well as many investments. But I'm sure you know that."
"Really."
"Before I begin, may I ask how old you are?"
"You may ask."
"How old are you?"
"It's none of your business."
He smiles. He thinks he has scored a point. He does not realize that I am already considering how he should die, although I still hope to avoid such an extreme measure. Never ask a vampire her age. We don't like that question. It's very impolite. Mr. Riley clears his throat again, and I think that maybe I will strangle him.
"Prior to moving to Mayfair," he says, "you lived in Los Angelesin Beverly Hills in factat Two-Five-Six Grove Street. Your home was a four-thousand-square-foot mansion, with two swimming pools, a tennis court, a sauna, and a small observatory. The property is valued at six-point-five million. To this day you are listed as the sole owner, Miss Perne,"
"It's not a crime to be rich."
"You are not just rich. You are very rich. My research indicates that you own five separate estates scattered across this country. Further research tells me that you probably own as much if not more property inEuropeand theFar East. Your stock and bond assets are vastin the hundreds of millions. But what none of my research has uncovered is how you came across this incredible wealth. There is no record of a family anywhere, and believe me, Miss Perne, I have looked far and wide."
"I believe you. Tell me, whom did you contact to gather this information?"
He enjoys that he has my interest. "My sources are of course confidential."
"Of course." I stare at him; my stare is very powerful. Sometimes, if I am not careful,, and I stare too long at a flower, it shrivels and dies. Mr. Riley loses his smile and shifts uneasily. "Why are you researching me?"
"You admit that my facts are accurate?" he asks.
"Do you need my assurances?" I pause, my eyes still on him. Sweat glistens on his forehead. "Why the research?"
He blinks and turns away with effort. He dabs at the perspiration on his head. "Because you fascinate me," he says. "I think to myself, here is one of the wealthiest women in the world, and no one knows who she is. Plus she can't be more than twenty-five years old, and she has no family. It makes me wonder."
"What do you wonder, Mr. Riley?"
He ventures a swift glance at me; he really does not like to look at me, even though I am very beautiful. "Why you go to such extremes to remain invisible," he says.
"It also makes you wonder if I would pay to stay invisible," I say.
He acts surprised. "I didn't say that."
"How much do you want?"
My question stuns him, yet pleases him. He does not have to be the first to dirty his hands. What he does not realize is that blood stains deeper than dirt, and that the stains last much longer. Yes, I think again, he may not have that long to live.
"How much are you offering?" he ventures.
I shrug. "It depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you tell me who pointed you in my direction."
He is indignant. "I assure you that I needed no one to point me in your direction. I discovered your interesting qualities all by myself."
He is lying, of that I am positive. I can always tell when a person lies, almost always. Only remarkable people can fool me, and then they have to be lucky. But I do not like to be fooledso one has to wonder at even their luck.
"Then my offer is nothing," I say.
He straightens. He believes he is ready to pounce. Then my counteroffer, Miss Perne, is to make what I have discovered public knowledge." He pauses. "What do you think of that?"
"It will never happen.""
He smiles. "You don't think so?"
I smile. "You would die before that happened."
He laughs. "You would take a contract out on my life?"
"Something to that effect."
He stops laughing, now deadly serious, now that we are talking, about death. Yet I keep my smile since death amuses me. He points a finger at me.
"You can be sure that if anything happened to me the police would be at your door the same day," he says.
"You have arranged to send my records to someone else," I say. "Just in case something should happen to you?"
"Something to that effect." He is trying to be witty. He is also lying. I slide back farther into my chair. He thinks I am relaxing, but I position myself so that my legs are straight out. If I am to strike, I have decided, it will be with my right foot.
"Mr. Riley," I say. "We should not argue. You want something from me, and I want something from you. I am prepared to pay you a million dollars, to be deposited in whatever account you wish, in whatever part of the world you desire, if you will tell me who made you aware of me."
He looks me straight in the eye, tries to, and surely he feels the heat building up inside me because he flinches before he speaks. His voice comes out uneven and confused. He does not understand why I am suddenly so intimidating.
"No one is interested in you except me," he says.
I sigh. "You are armed, Mr. Riley."
"I am?"
I harden my voice. "You have a gun under your coat. You have a gun on your desk under those papers. You are taping this conversation. Now, one might think these are all standard blackmail precautions, but I don't think so. I am a young woman. I don't look dangerous. But someone has told you that I am more dangerous than I look and that I am to be treated with extreme caution. And you know that that someone is right." I pause. "Who is that someone, Mr. Riley?"