The Bannerman Solution (The Bannerman Series) (56 page)

Her face fell. She said nothing, only staring for a
brief moment and dropping her eyes.

”Oh-oh,” he said. “What's wrong.”

“It's okay. Three minutes.”

“Susan,” he leaned backward against the door.
“What just happened?”

Her lips moved, haltingly, as if trying out words and
rejecting them. “You're going to case the joint, aren't
you? See who's next door. See if anyone new got on at
Boulogne.”

“And bribe Andrew to show me their passports?”

“Are you?”

“Actually, I was going to the bathroom. It's down the hall.”

Susan brought her hand to her face, but she couldn't
stop the laugh. “I'm sorry. I don't believe I said those
things.”

“I thought we settled all that. I'm not mysterious. I'm boring.”

She stepped toward him, put her arms around him,
and leaned her face against his chest. “Can I say just a
couple more things?”

He answered by holding her.

“There's something about you, Paul. It's a very spe
cial quality that I've never seen before except in my
father. I know what made him that way. Whatever
made you that way, it's more than what you've told me,
and I hope someday you'll feel you can.”

“Are you sure I even know what it is?”

“Yes. I'm sure.”

“You're not just letting your imagination run wild?
After all, you're a reporter. You're also your father's
daughter.”

“Paul?” He felt her chest rise. “Paul, I think I love
you.”

“I love you. I don't have to think.”

She fell silent. He could see the beginning of a tear at
the corner of her eye. “That's the first time you've said
that.”

“I know. It felt good.”

She held him, listening to his heartbeat. “Maybe love
comes faster than trust. I guess I can wait.”

“Thank you.” He knew that was the wrong thing to
say. It implied acknowledgment. He said it anyway.

Susan heard it. She eased herself away from him,
looked about their compartment, and then up into his
eyes. “Paul,” she said, “this is all very heady stuff for me.
These trips, being on the Orient Express, finding out I love you. I'm not especially sophisticated. I'm pretty
easy to dazzle for a while. But I'm proud. And I'm not stupid.”

“I know. I know all that.”

“I guess I want you to know that I'm not just some
empty-headed plaything who's along for the ride.”

Paul's expression became cool. “You're not stupid,
Susan. But that remark was.”

She didn't blink. “Tell me why.”

    
“For openers, it's just
as offensive
as
if
I
told
you
I'm
not some stud who's along to pick up the tab.”
 

    
Susan winced. “Oh damn,” she said.

   
“Oh damn, what?”

   
“It's more polite than 'Oh shit.' ”

   
“How do we get out of this?”

   
“Would it help if I tore off my clothes?”

   
“Hold that thought for later.”

Back in Queens, it was a morning for cops.

It started, as usual, with Katz. Lesko had drifted in
and out of sleep after that crazy dream that had every
body including Elena turning up in his bedroom. There
were a whole string of small dreams after that, about
Susan, about Elena, about the barbershop. That one
woke him up. Mostly. He lay there, eyes closed, think
ing about his last conversation with Loftus.

There was no question in his mind by now that Lof
tus knew, or at least strongly suspected, who had killed
Burdick. The look on his face had said so. Lesko knew
that
Bannerman had to be somewhere behind it. Be
cause, besides himself, no one but Bannerman would
have a revenge motive after the killing of Donovan. But
Bannerman was in Europe. Therefore, friends of
Bannerman must have done it. Lesko's instincts told him, and this is where the logic became shaky, that
Bannerman's friends were at least two, and maybe four,
of the people he'd chanced upon in Westport.

It was more than shaky, Lesko knew. If he'd hap
pened to take an entirely different route during his
Westport visit he would have seen or met an entirely
different group of people. True, the ones he met had
this
look
that kept bothering him. But so what? Lots of people have a look. Ex-cops, ex-cons,
combat
 
veterans, even priests and nuns dressed in civilian
clothes.

“Ask me, it's nothing.
“Katz was there with the Dan
ish.

”l guess,”
Lesko muttered.

“What it is,”
Katz was clanking around the kitchen,
looking for a clean cup,
“they just stick in your mind
when you think of Westport because they're all you saw
there.”

“Probably.”

“Except you know what?”
Katz came in squinting.
“Maybe it's logical you saw those people.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“If you want to look over a town like Westport, you
do what you did, right? You drive around, you stop at
the library, you look through the local paper, then you
go check out the places where people hang out. ”

“Okay. So what?”

“Maybe they know that. ”

“I don't get you. ”

“Maybe they got it set up so they spot anyone who
comes snooping around because they know just like us where people are likely to snoop. ”

“Maybe,
“
Lesko said doubtfully. It might make sense
but it was an awful lot of trouble to go to. And it would
take more than four people to do it right.

“And I'll tell you something else,
“Katz said brightly.
“When Susan started looking that town over, I bet she
went to all the same logical places. And they caught on
to her. And Bannerman worked out a way to get to
know her to see what she was up to. ”

“Up to what? You mean all that suicide and fatal
accident crap?”

“I don't know. It could be. ”

“Which reminds me. ”
Lesko opened one eye.
“How
come you never see any dead people except maybe
Buzz? How come you don't go find some from Westport
and settle that once and for all?”

“Come on, Lesko.”
Katz began an instant pout.

“What come on? T
h
at's a logical question. ”

”l already told you I don't know how. Anyway, I
don't hang out with stiffs ”

“Well now, David, ”
Lesko's teeth bared against his
pillow,
“as a rule, I don't either. Except you don't give me the same choice you have
.”

“Anyhow it wouldn't do any good. If they're all like
Donovan you can't talk to them because they don't
even
think they're dead. Donovan still thinks he's in fucking
Gallagher's.”

“David . . . are you listening to yourself?”

“Don't say it.”

“Not that I begrudge you, David, but one of these
days we really ought to face facts here.”

“You want to face facts? You really want to make
sense out of me coming here?”

“I can 't say it's at the top of my list, but I guess,
yeah. ”