heâd ⦠heâd cut my throat. I donât know where he came from, how he got into the building ⦠he was just there, waiting for me.â¦â
She paused, looking up at Runyon in a beseeching way. He said, âYou get a clear look at him?â
âNo, he was wearing ⦠you know, one of those ski masks.â
âRecognize his voice?â
âNo. Gruff, deep ⦠I donât know. I was so scared.â¦â
âThen what?â
âHe made me let him in and show him where I kept the money, the ten thousand dollars ⦠it was still in the backpack. He said he didnât come for it at Lands End because he still didnât trust me. He ⦠he made me lie facedown on the floor and threw a blanket over me. The last thing he said before he went away was that Iâd be hearing from him again. He wants more money, Jake ⦠another ten thousand. If I donât get it for him, he said ⦠he said heâd come back again and kill me for sure.â
Usually Runyon was slow to anger; it took a lot of situational pressure to build up heat, tighten his insides. Hot and tight now: it was an effort to maintain a blank-faced calm.
âJake? Whatâs the matter?â
He said, âThe Q-Phone. Where is it?â
âIn my purse. Why?â
âGet it for me.â
She hesitated, then stood and went to where her purse lay on the breakfast counter that separated the living room from the kitchenette. She found the Q-Phone, gave it to him. He shoved it into his coat pocket, and without looking at her, crossed to the table where the landline phone sat. The interface was still hooked to it and the Olympus recorder; he disconnected the wires, put both items into the same pocket with the Q-Phone.
âWhat is it, Jake? Why did you do that?â
âIâm finished here, thatâs why.â
âWhat do you mean? I donât understand.â¦â
âIâm not working for you anymore. Business terminated, as of now.â
âTerminated? But you ⦠you canât just walk out on me after what happened here tonight.â¦â
âNothing happened here tonight.â
âI was almost killed!â
âNo, you werenât,â Runyon said. âNobody grabbed you in the hallway, nobody put a knife to your throat, nobody came in here and took money from you.â
âHow can you say that? He did, he did!â
âThereâs no way an outsider could get into this building with the security as tight as it is.â
âWell, maybe he lives here!â
âThat wonât wash, either. Nobody who can afford to live in a place like this needs ten thousand dollars badly enough to run an extortion scam, or would risk picking a victim on his own turf if he did.â
Sputtering noise in her throat. Violent headshake.
Runyon said, âSecurity cameras on every floor. If youâd been grabbed in the hallway, the cameras wouldâve recorded it and the guards would have been up here in two minutes.â
âHe must have done something to the one on this floorââ
âWorking just fine. George on the desk downstairs wouldâve noticed if it hadnât been, sent somebody up to see why.â
âDamn you, Jake! Why wonât you believe I was attacked!â
âThereâs not a mark on you. Clothingâs not disarrayed, makeupâs perfect, not a hair out of place.â
âI told you, he didnât cut me, he just threatened to. I showered, changed my clothes, combed my hairââ
âAll of that even though you were so scared you couldnât stop shaking? No, lady. Somebody holds a sharp knife pressed to your throat for any length of time, thereâs bound to be nicks, scratches, you couldnât wash away. Your throat is smooth. Get grabbed, held, muscled from behind, then thrown down on the floor, youâd have bruises, carpet