"©" "©" "© P@rM!" "nder" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™ Mobile - +919815899536" "Shit." "Oh, God." "What time did you get back from Vermont?" "You don't wanna know." "Was it worth it?" "Did he sign the contract?" "Yes." "You're a genius." "How did you do it?" "I did it the old-fashioned way." "What do you mean?" "l begged." "The boss can" "Morning, Roy." "Morning, Mary." "Good morning." "Mary, what time is my doctor's appointment?" "I had no idea you had one." "Coffee, Roy?" "Yeah." "Are you sick?" "A wolf bit me." "I just asked." "What time is Mr. Randall's appointment?" "Thanks." "You going to Alden's party tonight?" "Probably." "It's a little Roman to invite everybody over to your house to let them know whether they still have a job." "Right." "You have no doctor's appointment but the doctor says he'll see you if you come in before 12." "What I came in to say is if you get the axe tonight, I go with you." "And so do I." "Now, listen." "You need your paychecks." "I forbid you." "I forbid you to take any action if I'm fired." "Right." "Maude Waggins is waiting in your office." "I cannot write for a conglomerate." "You'll have to protect me, Will." "First of all, Raymond Alden isn't a conglomerate." "He's an ordinary billionaire." "And secondly I'm not sure if I'm going to be here after the takeover." "What?" "What are you talking about?" "You're the senior editor." "Your name, your reputation...." "My reputation has been in question ever since I told Judith Krantz that no semiliterate 14-year-old would read her fiction." "Oh, bullshit." "Sit down, Maude." "The good news is the head of marketing is my friend and protégé and if I leave, he says he'll leave with me." "And since I know they don't wanna lose him it may give me some leverage." "I'll leave with you too." "How's that for leverage?" "Come on." "Let's go and see your protégé." "So go do what you do." "Willie, just the man I wanted to see." "Maude Waggins." "Do I know you?" "Not yet, but you saved my life because upon reading What About Us Grills?" "my freshman year at Yale" "You realized you had to write." "I realized I had to stop writing because I realized that if this was talent, I had none." "But how nice that that should stop you, and how rare." "I adore you." "I taught him to do that." "Yes, until I met Will, I used to punch my authors on the side of the head." "Please come in." "Maude wants to go with us if we leave." "You wouldn't know off the top of your head what her contract calls for, would you?" "She's obligated to one more book and then we get a first look at her next two." "One more book." "Good." "How about an 80-page reminiscence of all the restaurants I've loved?" "Well, whatever you say." "There are no specifications in the contract." "Perfect." "I'll start eating out right now." "You are a rarity, Mr. Swinton:" "a loyal man with a great taste in authors." "Bye, Will." "I'll see you at Jason's." "Thank you, darling." "You are such a polished ass-kisser, it takes my breath away." "Hey, I kiss them like I see them." "A wolf in Vermont?" "I don't think so, Will." "You weren't there, Ralph." "You sure it wasn't a husky or a German shepherd?" "I mean, after all, it was night, wasn't it?" "It was dark out." "Full moon." "And to answer your question, it was a wolf." "I was staring straight at it." "You don't confuse a dog with a wolf." "I see." "Whatever you say." "It's funny." "This isn't the first rabies shot I've given in the last few months." "My wife's sister-in-law up in Oneonta." "A raccoon chased her up on her porch and bit her in the ass." "Last summer, the son of a friend sustained brain damage from a snake bite." "His kid was in front of his pool." "And the next thing you know, he has brain damage." "ls he all right?" "Who?" "Your friend's son." "No, you idiot, he has brain damage." "I don't think of Time Warner as another giant multinational media conglomerate but as a bunch of decent caring people because I just don't believe money always implies ruthless ambition." "Am I insane?" "l would say so, yes." "Oh, he's such a charming man." "So supposedly because the rain forest is being destroyed so rapidly all these new viruses are going to colonize throughout the world and destroy vast segments of the population." "I'm only quoting The New Yorker, you understand." "Every upscale magazine tries to make the case that the world will end if we have no rain forests." "Well, you could make a case that the world has already ended." "That art is dead and we are exhausted." "That instead of art, we have pop culture, daytime TV gay senior citizens women who've been raped by their dentists, confiding in Oprah." "An exploration, in depth, of why women cut off their husband's penis." "Well." "Well, time to fill up the glass." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes, let's have a drink." "For God's sakes, relax." "Eat something." "At least get a meal out of this." "I didn't like the food." "All that red rare meat dripping blood." "Gee, you're fun to eat with." "Mr. Alden would like to see you on the terrace, sir whenever you're ready." "Never send to know for whom the bell tolls." "Hello." "We'll be right out." "lt toll" "We're gonna see the horses." "Will just remember who you are." "Just charm the bastard." "You can be charming when you wanna, right?" "Why is he doing it this way?" "He probably thinks it's kinder face to face." "Oh, that's the funniest story I've ever heard." "Cigar?" "Don't mind if I do." "Thank you." "I want you to think about Europe, Will." "Eastern Europe, particularly." "There's a whole new market opening up there." "I think, God and currency willing that the entire continent will eventually cohere both economically and culturally." "I want that to be your area." "I see." "Then my area will no longer be editor in chief of MacLeish House after the takeover?" "Look, there's nothing personal." "Come on, you know that." "You're clearly a man of taste and individuality which I prize but these days not only in corporate America, but all around the globe taste and individuality are actually something of a handicap." "Well, just out of curiosity on what basis did you pick my successor?" "Vulgarity and conformity?" "No." "Drive." "On the basis of hustle, drive, and 52-carat ambition." "He nagged me day and night till I gave him your job." "Well, for what it's worth, here's what I've learned in 30 years:" "Treat the authors as human beings." "Don't stint on review copies." "Whoa, boy." "Don't hold them to deadlines." "They'll only turn in rough drafts." "Thank you." "Thank you, I'll remember that." "You're a nice person, Will." "Thank God I replaced you." "And I hope you give Eastern Europe a shot." "You'd better put that out." "Horses don't like it." "Why, I think I'll finish it." "Go ahead." "Good cigar, isn't it?" "Okay." "Hello." "Hi." "Raymond, they are beautiful." "Spectacular." "They're just spectacular." "Well, now, see now, I think so." "And you're right." "This is the prize." "Fort Knox." "The black is the sire." "Easy." "More the dancer, wouldn't you say?" "Easy, easy." "Look out there." "Easy." "Easy, easy, easy." "Easy, easy." "Excuse me, I...." "I'm sorry." "I guess...." "Listen, let's go back to the house, have some drinks." "Oh, God." "Drink it." "Good boy." "I'm afraid I finished your drink." "What are you, the last civilized man?" "I'm just embarrassed." "Half the people I know are on Thorazine so your little anxiety attack barely arouses my interest." "You're very kind." "No, I'm not." "I'm Laura Alden." "Alden's my father." "I'm Will Randall." "Nice to meet you." "You're not an easy guy to surprise, are you?" "Not tonight." "He just fired you, didn't he?" "Demoted, I think, is the word." "I've been offered a choice between no job and a job no one would want." "So, what will you do?" "I'll probably take the job no one would want." "I don't have the courage to be jobless at my age." "Old guy, huh?" "Yeah." "Old guy." "Well, I better get back." "Was that on purpose?" "Oh, God." "No." "You're perfectly safe." "I'm married." "And that makes you perfectly safe?" "Well, yes." "You better clean yourself up if you're gonna face the crowd." "Here, wipe your face. lt's all sweaty." "Thank you." "There you are, dear." "All ready for company." "Thank you." "How did it go?" "Come on, speak." "We've been going nuts." "Well first, let me say congratulations on being the new editor in chief." "I--?" "What?" "Alden said that?" "What did he say?" "I mean" "It happened this evening, just before the party." "He called me." "Told me he wanted me to take the job." "I said, Will Randall's editor in chief." "I mean, I didn't even know if he was serious." "Look, Will, I didn't ask for this." "I mean, it just landed in my lap." "Say the word, I'll turn it down." "What do you think I should do?" "That's up to you, Stewart." "No, Will, it's up to you." "I'll do whatever you say." "I'm afraid you're asking the one person in the world who can't advise you." "Shit." "Now I'm sorry you said that." "That son of a bitch." "Prick." "I had no idea he was offered your job." "Why would you?" "It must have been hard to turn down Alden's offer but he could have told you." "Yes." "Why didn't you say something to him?" "Why did you let him walk away with your blessing, guilt-free?" "Charlotte, please." "I can't...." "I can't talk now." "May I just say one more thing about it?" "The last thing?" "No." "Will, come on, it's 7:30." "Give me till 8." "Will?" "It's 7:40." "I asked you to give me till 8." "It's 7:40 at night, you dope." "You've been sleeping all day." "Are you all right?" "How do you feel?" "I feel good." "So I said, "Why assign me mastectomies and new trends in estrogen therapy?" "Why can't I do the article on genetic engineering and give Pete mastectomies?"" "You know what he said?" ""You'll do it so much better." "You're a woman."" "I said, "That's like telling a black food writer she can only--"" "Hey." "What are you doing?" "I have to catch up." "I haven't eaten, I haven't drunk I haven't made love in a long time." "A very long time." "You think we ought to do it right here in front of the dome of The Second Church of Christ, Scientist?" "What else can you do without hands?" "You'll see." "What was in that stew?" "Thank you." "Morning." "How the fuck can you drink tequila this early?" "How the fuck did you know?" "You kidding?" "You can smell it a mile away." "Oh, Mr. Randall, are you all right?" "Perfect." "I heard about Alden's decision." "I'm so sorry." "Yeah." "Was Stewart just in here?" "Well, not just." "About an hour ago." "That's how I found out." "Are you all right?" "I'm fine." "Never been better." "I just wanna say, I think it sucks." "Thank you, Roy." "Are--?" "What'd you do, get contacts?" "Well, I'll be damned." "You've edited about 60 pages of this manuscript since Monday." "What are you on?" "Nothing." "I just caught up on my sleep." "I got 20 hours of sleep, and I feel 20 years younger." "And so now you can see without your glasses?" "Yeah, you've got a point." "Can't trust anybody." "Even married people can't trust each other." "Oh, thank you." "We can offer $75,000 advance against foreign sales." "Nicole, Mike on 3." "You know what that prick says to me?" ""How could you drink this early?"" "I mean, I put a drop of tequila in my coffee this morning and he said he smelled it." "It doesn't make sense." "And we couldn't give them away in South America." "He's huge in Mexico and in Japan, so go figure." "It's incredible." "Fuck you." "No, I'm not gonna do it." "You hear Alden replaced Randall?" "Are you sure?" "I'm absolutely positive." "It's official." "Will Randall's out." "Stewart Swinton is in." "I can't take it anymore." "I just can't take it." "We'll take care of it." "See you later." "I mean, who did he think he was?" "Simon House or something?" "I mean...." "Get me Gary on the phone." "You mean, like, a manual on owning animals?" "No, no, not animal possession." "Animal possession." "Demonic possession." "The possession of the spirit by an animal." "Give me a minute." "How many do you want?" "One." "The top one." "The most respectable." "Vijay Alezais." "Wrote Something Wild, 1948." "Old but breathing." "He's not some kind of mystic out of the jungle, is he?" "No, no." "He has a string of letters after his name." "In fact, he's Dr. Alezais." "All right." "Thank you." "Can you give his number to Mary, please?" "All right." "And Gary?" "Yeah?" "Don't tell people that you had a drop of tequila with your coffee this morning." "You didn't have coffee this morning." "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "©" "©" "© P@rM!" "nder" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ" "Hi, I'm just letting you know I got to New Haven in one piece." "I'll be home tomorrow, after the seminar." "If you get hungry, there's still some stew left over from last night." "Let's see if it still works, you animal." "Yes?" "lt's Will." "I'll come down." "Hey, Will." "What's going on?" "What is it?" "Hey, what the fuck's wrong--?" "Jesus Christ." "Fuck." "What did he--?" "I'm sorry." "Yeah." "I'll get dressed." "Morning, Mr. Randall." "Get out your Rolodex, Mary." "I've moved to the Mayflower." "Okay." "Is that permanent?" "Yes." "Call Legal and find out if the deal with Alden is really closed or if they're still dicking around on points." "Then get Roy to come in here and bring a list of every name author he's ever worked with in this house." "Then get me a list of every name author that I've ever worked with." "Then call Alden." "See if you can get me an appointment this afternoon at his house." "Yes, sir." "Is the worm turning, Mr. Randall?" "The worm has turned and is now packing an Uzi, Mary." "It's about fucking time, sir." "What do you want me to do?" "I'll do it." "Resign today?" "Promise never to see Charlotte again?" "Just tell me what to do." "I want you to resign today." "Well, I can't do that." "So why did I say it?" "I guess it's just a way of telling you how bad I feel about being such a shit." "I love you, Will." "I know how that sounds, but I do and I know how much I've hurt you, and it kills me." "I know I can't...." "You'll never forgive me, will you?" "No." "Okay." "But still I'd like your permission to ask Alden to forget about the Eastern European thing and keep you on as senior editorial consultant." "Will you let me do that for you?" "I'm gonna get you, Stewart." "Well, I have my offer to" "The deal with Alden is not completely closed." "What a fucking brilliant guess." "Mr. Alden will see you today at 12:30." "Roy, get on the phone with your list of authors and ask them if they'd like to form a partnership with us in a publishing house of their own." "Tell them we're leaving MacLeish House because we've heard that the new unofficial policy is to push everything that sells and" " This will get them." "Bury everything that doesn't take off like a rocket." "Tell them we've got enough investors to get it off the ground." "Two things." "Go." "How many investors do we have?" "I don't know." "I haven't called anybody." "But you want me to say it anyway?" "Yes." "Second thing:" "Is any of this true?" "Not yet." "You're my god." "Mary, we'd better start calling writers." "We'll begin with Maude." "Mr. Randall." "Hello, Mr. Randall." "Excuse me." "Don't get up." "I just wanted to tell you that I'm turning down Eastern Europe." "Well, I more or less thought you would." "Nice seeing you again, sir." "Come on." "Thattagirl." "Whoa, baby." "You all right?" "You all right?" "Are you crazy?" "Don't you have enough brains to stay away from animals when you know they're frightened of you?" "I didn't know it was me they were frightened of." "Are you an idiot?" "You nearly stampeded the horses last Monday." "Can't you see that animals are disturbed by your presence?" "Hey, sorry." "I just wanted to say hello." "You're not hurt, I hope." "You haven't fallen since you were 1 2." "I'm fine." "Well, here you still are." "You get lost?" "No." "We were talking." "Yes." "Yes, of course." "Henry and Caroline are coming to lunch." "I told them you'd join us." "Did you?" "What a pity." "I'm having lunch with...." "Will." "Will." "It doesn't really matter to Laura what your name is, Mr. Randall." "What is important to her is that you're unemployed and inappropriate, and I don't approve of you." "Well, we're gonna miss your company, my dear." "Yes, I know." "Shall we start cooking?" "Your little place?" "It's one of the guest houses." "I only stay here when I'm in town." "I'm sorry but I just realized I have nothing but peanut butter and jelly and a carton of milk." "I'm afraid we'll have to cancel lunch." "Are you serious?" "Peanut butter and jelly is mother's milk to me." "Listen, whatever you think is going to happen isn't." "Please don't take anything for granted because we exchanged a few words the other night." "I don't take anything for granted, Ms. Alden except perhaps some small measure of civility from my hostess." "So, what do you do?" "Why do you care?" "I don't." "I was just making polite conversation." "I'd rather not discuss what I do." "You know, I think I understand what you're like now." "You're beautiful." "You think men are only interested in you because you're beautiful." "But you want them to be interested in you because you're you." "The problem is that, aside from that beauty you're not very interesting." "You're rude." "You're hostile, You're sullen." "You're withdrawn." "I know you want someone to look past all that at the real person underneath." "But the only reason that anyone would bother to look past all that is because you're beautiful." "Ironic, isn't it?" "In an odd way, you're your own problem." "Sorry, wrong line." "I am not taken aback by your keen insight and suddenly challenged by you." "Shall we have the rest of our milk in the living room?" "Are all of these you?" "Yes." "My father keeps this cottage empty just for me, so when I show up I'll have a place to stay that's as far away from him as possible." "Pictures were thrown in by the decorator." "He had a mawkish side." "Is this you?" "My mother." "She died when I was 1 2." "I'm sorry." "And this?" "My brother." "He died last year." "Yes I remember." "He had some kind of an accident." "No, he killed himself." "He was diagnosed borderline schizophrenic and, well, I guess he got tired of the title." "He lived with me on and off." "Nice face." "Yeah." "Well, he was pretty nice for a little brother." "This is really something." "Isn't it?" "This is where I used to come to bury my pets." "And this is where l realized that one day I would die." "Standing right here, on this spot, I realized that one day I would be over." "I wanna tell you something." "A few days ago, something happened to me." "I was driving in New England, and I hit an animal." "Oh, God." "A wolf." "In New England?" "Are you sure?" "I'm absolutely positive, and when I tried to touch it, it bit me." "Did you get checked for rabies?" "Yes." "No, I'm fine." "But this is really gonna sound insane." "Since it happened, I feel as though the wolf passed something along to me." "A scrap of its spirit in my blood or something." "I don't know." "Suddenly, my senses are all incredibly acute." "I feel just so great." "I'm just not the kind of person who walks around feeling great." "I don't know. I'm different." "More alive." "Stronger." "Well, it sounds strange, but- lt's better than living in Bosnia." "No, no, I wasn't going to say that." "I was going to say that whatever it is, if you feel great maybe you should just accept it as a gift." "Well, I'm afraid it will have a price." "There is that." "Would you like to stay for dinner?" "If it's not peanut butter and jelly, and I don't tell my father?" "Yes." "Well." "Let's get back before it gets dark." "Are you cold?" "No, but we will be." "What is it?" "I don't know." "Here, sit down." "No." "I think I wanna get inside." "Well, all right, all right." "Sorry." "It's not that far." "Lean on me." "No." "Come on, don't be silly." "You are talking to an almost-professional psychiatric nurse." "Elevated, but you'll live." "Is this the same kind of attack you had the other night?" "I don't know." "Don't be upset with me if I tell you this, okay?" "You are beautiful." "And the nicest girl." "Are you hungry?" "Can I get you something to eat?" "l can't eat." "Then go to sleep." "Next thing you know, it'll be morning, and I'll be at your door with coffee and eggs and toast." "And bacon." "Oh, you think I can't get bacon?" "Well, I just may surprise you." "I don't know where I'm going." "Someplace nice." "Any idea how this happened?" "None." "Well, you ever sleepwalk?" "Not that I know of." "It sounds like you took a walk in your sleep fell down, and knocked yourself out." "Now, I feel some scalp lacerations back here, Will." "And, you know, nothing bleeds like the scalp." "Okay." "I'm gonna make some arrangements for you to have an EEG and a CAT scan, which means you'll have to spend the night." "Out of the question." "What?" "You could have a concussion or a possible blood clot." "No one feels this good with a concussion and a blood clot." "Mr. Alden." "So good to see you again so soon, sir." "It's nice to see you too, Will." "Robert Keyes, my counsel." "Counselor, nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Randall." "Sit down, Will." "Sit down." "Thank you." "You're deliberately goading the top writers of this house to leave and become part of some totally improbable scheme that hasn't a hope of succeeding." "And being writers, they're too goddamn stupid to know it." "Well, you may very well be right, Mr. Alden." "They might not succeed, but it won't hurt them to try and if they fail, any publisher will be glad to get them." "And you with them?" "Yes." "That will be part of the deal." "But it doesn't matter whether we start a new publishing house or go to another publishing house." "At least seven first-rate writers are going to leave MacLeish House because they don't like its policies." "And when I issue that press release, which I intend to do in the morning the reputation and value of this firm will take a giant nosedive." "Well, you're a worse son of a bitch than Stewart." "Yes." "But I still have those two big drawbacks:" "taste and individuality." "Maybe I can overlook them." "All right." "Call it off." "Keep your job." "I'd never have fired you if I'd known you were this ruthless." "Thank you." "But before I do anything, I want a deal memo granting me additional powers and additional monies and I want it by tomorrow morning." "I won't agree to that." "Oh, yes, you will." "I'd do it anyway." "What do I know about publishing?" "l'll tell Stewart." "Don't." "Don't tell anyone until the deal is signed." "Then I'll tell Stewart." "Okay." "Were you able to reach Ms. Alden?" "Not yet." "Any appointments?" "Dr. Vijay Alezais at 4." "He's called three times to make certain you're coming." "He sounds like he's over 1 00." "If you wanna cancel, you'll have to do it yourself." "I was just boiling water for tea." "Perhaps you will join me." "Come." "I won't take much of your time." "No." "Take." "I am not a busy man." "So you were bitten by a wolf in Vermont on March 8th." "Very auspicious." "Very suspicious?" "Auspicious." "Very auspicious." "On March 8th the moon was the closest it's been to Earth in a hundred years." "Well, that is auspicious." "What I'm curious about is if my symptoms could be related to the release of a chemical caused by an animal bite." "Something that medical science has overlooked but that tribal lore might possibly" "Well, among my people, there is only one explanation for your symptoms is that you are becoming a wolf." "But you don't believe that." "Why not?" "We must remember that man has only been out of the jungle for 25,000 years." "Please, sit down." "Thank you." "Life is mystical." "It's just that we are used to it." "Catholicism itself." "A religion so mystical that even primitive tribes can be converted to it." "The stigmata, the return after death, the Day of Judgment, heaven and hell." "All so incredible and so ordinary." "But we are used to it." "Honey, sugar, Sweet'N Low?" "Yeah, anything." "Honey." "Honey." "Yep." "I don't have honey." "I just asked out of habit." "You should be visiting a shaman who will tell you the rules." "I can only tell you the theory." "©" "©" "© P@rM!" "nder" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ" "Well, do you know any of the rules?" "Very few." "Only that the wolf rests by day and prowls by night." "But is always present." "That he grows inside a man he's entered until the first full moon." "And then he consumes him killing all but his nature and his heart." "Not a great prognosis." "But, of course, not all who are bitten change." "There must be something wild within." "An analog of the wolf." "Well, that lets me out." "Among my people I'm known as the guy least likely to have an analog of the wolf." "Your people are wrong, Mr. Randall." "Sometimes, one doesn't even need to be bitten." "Only the passion of the wolf is enough." "Dr. Alezais what I would like to know, and not that I subscribe to any of this" "Neither do I, really." "Only to the possibility." "But out of curiosity is there supposed to be any way to stop this metamorphosis?" "Supposedly, there are herbs and rites and amulets." "I don't know the rites." "I don't have the herbs." "But I did find something for you when you called." "Yeah, it's here." "This is one of the most powerful amulets." "It must be worn next to the skin and never taken off." "If it works, there is said to be a great pain and weakness while the wolf struggles to emerge and the charm holds him at bay." "Sometimes drives him out." "I have no idea if any of it is true but it's yours." "Oh, no, I...." "It's a gift." "And, in return, I would like a favor from you." "If it's in my power." "I was recently told that I'm dying." "Speaking of mystical and terrifying experiences." "I would like you to bite me." "What?" "I would like you to bite me." "I can't ask you to transform me with your passions so I ask you to honor me with your bite and I, too, will become a demon wolf." "You'd rather be damned than die?" "Damnation is not a part of my system of beliefs." "The demon wolf is not evil unless the man he's bitten is evil." "And it feels good to be a wolf, doesn't it?" "Power without guilt." "Love without doubt." "Excuse me I just can't." "Okay." "I understand." "Okay." "You keep the amulet and if you decide to believe perhaps you will give me your gift." "It has been a privilege." "I've never seen one like you." "Hello?" "Laura." "I've been trying to call you" "Don't hang up." "Will you let me explain?" "No." "Why?" "Because, first of all, I'm not a fan of men who mysteriously disappear." "And second of all" "Hey, listen to me." "I had an accident." "I sleepwalked last night." "I hit my head and knocked myself out." "And I drove to the doctor's at 6:00 this morning." "But it didn't occur to you to come back to the cottage and tell me?" "No." "No, it didn't occur to me to come knocking on the door of your cottage at 6:00 in the morning with a scalp wound and ask you to take care of me again." "And finish drying." "The sound of that towel is driving me crazy." "Are you telling me that you hear what I'm doing over the phone?" "Yes, it's one of my new gifts." "Laura please, can I see you?" "Can we have dinner tomorrow?" "I'm at the Mayflower." "Laura?" "I'll be at your hotel tomorrow evening at 6." "You better be there." "And you better look like you fell." "I will be, and I do." "Room 825." "What did you make--?" "Make me for breakfast?" ""I'm not only the president of the Hair Club for Men." "I'm also a member."" "For Christ's sakes." "Hold it right there." "Hold it right there." "Put your hands on the cage." "Hands on the cage." "Spread them." "Spread your legs." "Spread them." "All right." "He's clean." "He's clean." "What?" "Clean." "All right, put your hands behind your back." "Hands behind your back." "Give them to me." "Hey." "Did you see that?" "He got my cuffs." "Hey, wait up." "We ain't got any money." "Well, we wanna borrow some money." "Hey, wanna loan us some money?" "All of you?" "Yeah." "We all need some money." "I've got about $1 000 in my wallet." "How much would you like to borrow?" "Five dollars?" "Ten?" "Cut the bullshit and give me the wallet." "Shit!" "Oh, shit!" "Oh, shit!" "Good morning, Mr. Randall." "This is Alice with your 8:00 wake-up." "You must've been a bad boy last night." "I've been ringing you forever." "Mr. Randall?" "As a matter of fact, Alice, I was a very good boy last night." "I went to bed so early, I don't even remember." "Big boys here yet?" "Yes, sir." "Conference room." "Deal memo in hand." "Don't even pretend to have any doubts." "It's a pleasure doing business with you, sir." "Will, I was just about to come see you tell you I talked to Alden about the senior consultant position." "It's yours if you want it." "It's less pay, of course, but so is Eastern Europe." "Well, thank you, Stewart, but I've had a better offer." "Really?" "That's wonderful." "What house?" "This one." "I don't understand." "It's fairly simple." "I did the same thing you did." "I nagged Alden until he gave me your job." "When?" "I don't understand." "When?" "In my spare time." "I've had a lot of it lately." "Well, I've...." "I guess...." "I mean, I guess I owe you some congratulations." "Yeah." "I guess the best man won." "Good." "I'm glad, in a way." "I mean I couldn't have given it up, and I didn't like the way I got it." "I hope we can work together without rancor." "You're fired, Stewart." "Don't." "Don't do it to me, Will." "It will ruin me." "I know but it's best for the firm." "Give me a few months." "Let me say I quit." "No." "It wouldn't be best for the firm." "You vindictive son of a bitch." "The best thing for the firm is me." "I'm the best thing this firm has, and you fucking know it." "This is fucking rev" "What are you, crazy?" "No." "I'm just marking my territory, and you got in the way." "Gee, that's funny." "Nice." "Real nice." "Suede shoes." "Asparagus." "Oh, God." "I'm sorry." "Will?" "Please, can I talk to you for a moment?" "Just a moment of your time for 1 6 years." "That's pretty cheap." "What do you want?" "I want to come back." "No. -l have no excuse." "I deserve anything you do to me." "I'm just begging you to be kind." "Stewart become unlovable now that he's out of my job?" "I never loved Stewart." "It was a mistake, Will." "I'm going to talk to him." "Stewart never, for one moment, meant anything to me." "And you think that makes it better?" "That you betrayed me over and over again with a man that meant nothing to you?" "To know that you betrayed me for nothing?" "Don't be such a smug ba" "Don't touch me." "And keep away." "Hi. I thought I'd just come on up." "Have you been waiting for me?" "I can't see you." "Come on, Will, open the door." "You can't do this to me twice." "Open it." "Excuse me." "I wonder if you could do me a favor." "Please go." "Why?" "What's happened?" "What have you done?" "Where did you get those?" "I want you to go." "No." "Tell me why you've done this." "It's getting late." "And I think I'm dangerous especially at night." "And you're afraid that when it gets dark, you'll attack me?" "Yeah." "I think I'm turning into something else." "Into the thing that bit you?" "Into the wolf?" "Yes." "Tell me where the key is." "I don't have a key." "I don't even know where l got the handcuffs." "You don't have a key?" "What was your plan?" "To sit chained to the radiator till you grew paws?" "God." "You almost make this seem like it isn't happening." "I don't" " I didn't...." "I don't have a plan." "I didn't think past not hurting anyone." "I don't think there's any way to open these." "Well, you don't know who you're dealing with." "You see when you're a druggie and a delinquent and you wanna get Daddy you get arrested." "You come in contact with the criminal element of society and, well, you pick up shit that you think you're never going to need." "And then you meet a guy who chains himself to the radiator and it all falls into place." "I don't...." "Why do you want any of this nightmare?" "You mean, instead of the gaiety and warmth of my normal life?" "I don't know." "Because I like you." "Because you're a good man and that's very exotic to me." "I never thought I'd meet a good man who looked at me the way you do." "You don't know I'm a good man." "Oh, yes, I do." "Then why is this happening?" "I thought only the evil were cursed." "Oh, no, not at all." "I could have told you that." "No, the worst things happen to the best people." "I almost had it." "You know you might consider that you're not cursed at all, that you're sick." "I mean, there are brain tumors that can cause all of your symptoms." "Tumors?" "What are you saying?" "Are you serious?" "Oh, yeah." "Yeah." "Oh, God, if only that could be true." "How we lower our sights." "I say we get you examined for physical causes before we take for granted that you're becoming" "There we go." "Okay, on your feet." "Let's get you re-handcuffed." "Well, maybe it isn't necessary." "Hands behind your back." "There." "Well, you seem pretty helpless now." "Yes." "Great." "It's interesting." "What is it?" "It's a good-luck charm." "Really?" "Does it work?" "Well today isn't turning out too bad." "Laura." "Yes?" "Nothing." "Not a thing." "Who is it?" "Police." "Detective Sergeant Bridger, NYPD." "Yes?" "ls William Randall here?" "Why?" "What's wrong?" "I'd rather tell Mr. Randall, ma'am." "He's in the shower." "Is it okay if I come in and wait?" "Will." "Yeah?" "There's some kind of a problem." "I understand." "I'm Will Randall, and I'm renting this apartment." "If there were any complaints about the noise last night" "No, Will, stop." "He's not the hotel manager." "He's a police detective." "Could I have a word with you in private, Mr. Randall?" "Well, that won't be necessary." "This is Ms. Smith, my fiancée." "She can hear anything that you have to say." "Your wife was found dead this morning, Mr. Randall." "I'm sorry." "She was murdered sometime late last night." "Her body was found in the park." "How was she killed?" "Her throat was torn up." "Sit down." "No, I wanna stand up." "Would you mind telling me when you saw your wife last, Mr. Randall?" "Last night." "Last night, here in the lobby." "About 6." "Did you argue?" "Don't answer anything else, Will." "I'm just trying to clear up a fact, Ms. Smith." "The clerk who was on last night said Mr. Randall and his wife had argued." "So you already know they argued." "These are not straight questions." "Just refuse to answer." "Well, I would like to ask Mr. Randall's whereabouts last night." "Certainly that's a straight question." "Mr. Randall was with me last night." "All night." "I arrived at 6:30, and I didn't leave." "You can check that with the desk." "I will." "We've taken some blood and tissue samples from your" "The victim." "We're trying to match them with known offenders and it would really help if you would submit some samples" "Forget it." "Not without a court order." "Just a request." "Okay." "Well...." "Here's my number in case you wanna reach me about anything." "Here." "I would appreciate it if you came down to the station later today and gave a statement." "Both of you." "All right." "And thank you for your cooperation." "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ ™" "©" "©" "© P@rM!" "nder" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ" "He's got an alibi." "The girl says she was with him all night long." "Airtight?" "Depends on who the girl turns out to be." "with her throat torn open." "Charlotte Skyler Randall wife of the senior editor of MacLeish House the publishing company recently purchased by Raymond Alden." "Police have no suspects in custody at this time." "Elsewhere in the city" "My God." "Yeah, stunning, isn't it?" "I just hope they don't go after Will." "Will?" "Go after Will?" "Why would they go after Will?" "The husband." "That's who they go after when there are no suspects and they were separated." "That would not be great for the stock." "Well, you don't know that, sir." "It could be a bonanza for the stock." "It's heat." "It's gossip." "That's what I think publishing is all about." "Well, you handle it any way you think best." "You're back in marketing." "Thank you, sir." "If they do go after Will and I hope to God they don't, but if they do I'd like to put in another bid for the job." "Randall's contract gives him the right to name his own replacement and he's named Roy Macallister." "I see." "Well...." "Would that contract still hold if Will was arrested?" "Yes, unless, of course, he was convicted so I guess you'll just have to keep your fingers crossed." "I didn't mean...." "Really?" "What did you mean?" "I mean that I love Will, and I hope to God that he's innocent and if he is, screw the job but if he's guilty screw Roy Macallister." "It's not much farther now." "What if I killed her?" "What if you killed her?" "Excuse me, but aren't you the guy I spent the night with?" "I mean, you look so much like him." "I could have gone out after you fell asleep and not remembered it." "God damn you, Will." "Why does it always have to be the worst news?" "The worst pain?" "The worst defeat?" "Because what if it is?" "lt's not." "It's not." "Well?" "They've left the hotel." "The night clerk identified the girl." "Who is she?" "Laura Alden." "How's that for an airtight alibi?" "Where are we?" "We're almost home." "Jesus." "Where did the day go?" "You better duck down." "Hi, Ms. Alden." "Hi, George." "Stay down." "Hi, Tom." "I'd be careful of the woods, Ms. Alden." "Think we may have some wild dogs getting past the fence." "What do you mean?" "We found a deer." "Something brought him down." "Thanks." "I'll be careful." "Good night." "Good night." "I want you to lock me up before it gets dark." "Then what?" "Then maybe it won't happen." "I don't know where else to put you but the barn." "Everything else has windows." "The barn sounds good." "The barn sounds great." "I'm gonna beat this, Laura." "I'm gonna beat this." "Your phone is ringing." "How do you know?" "I can hear it." "I'll be right back." "Hello?" "Laura Alden?" "Yes?" "This is Detective Carl Bridger, NYPD." "Yes, I know who you are." "And, as you see, we now know who you are." "Did you just dial?" "About how long have you been ringing?" "About two minutes." "I've been trying to reach you since you left the hotel." "What can I do for you?" "You can come in tomorrow with Mr. Randall and give me the statement that I asked for today." "All right." "Do you still want blood and tissue samples from Mr. Randall?" "Well, I'm afraid they'd be useless." "We seem to have messed up the tissue samples that we took from the body." "Why?" "What happened?" "There was canine DNA found in all the tissue samples." "So that could mean that the victim was attacked by some kind of animal after she was killed or it may mean that one of the lab assistants pet a dog and she forgot to wash her hands." "So...." "You scared me." "You were right." "The phone was ringing." "It was that detective, Bridger." "Well, he traced me, and he...." "Now he's threatening to subpoena the entire state of New York if I don't give him a statement tonight." "Will you be all right if I go in?" "Yes." "Don't look so scared." "Maybe there's happy endings even for people who don't believe in them." "Yeah." "I want you to know something." "I've never loved anybody this way." "I've never looked at a woman and thought:" "If civilization fails if the world ends, I'll still understand what God meant if I'm with her." "Laura Alden just called." "She's coming in tonight." "It sounds like she's been crying." "Interesting." "I just got a call from a guy who says he's Randall's best friend." "He wants to see me tonight." "You got a busy night, pal." "The entire family of the kid whose fingers were torn off is out there." "We got five new murders." "What is there about a full moon?" "More light." "If a rich white boy had had his fingers torn off somebody would be in jail by now." "l know." "l don't know anything about that." "You're gonna have to call uptown." "Laura Alden for Detective Bridger." "He's running behind." "Can you sit down?" "Here, Ms. Alden, take my seat." "No, that's all right." "Please." "No, I wanna stand." "You don't know me, do you?" "I'm Stewart Swinton." "No." "l've been known to visit your father but we never met." "I'm a friend of Will Randall's." "He's the husband of-- -l know who he is." "Oh, you've met?" "No, I just know the name." "Well, this is such a terrible, terrible thing." "I'm just in shock over it." "I mean, Will Randall was more than a friend and a colleague." "He was my mentor." "And you were his protégé?" "Yes, a better word." "It's a true pleasure." "What an interesting scent you have, Ms. Alden." "At once new and familiar." "Very familiar." "Thank you." "Were you bitten?" "What?" "Were you bitten?" "What an odd question." "What a very odd question." "What made you ask such a question?" "I don't know." "People, you know...." "When people are bitten, oftentimes, it's on the hand." "What are you here for?" "I...." "They want information about the publishing house." "I'm standing in for my father." "Stewart Swinton." "Come on in." "Would you have a drink with me?" "I'd really like to get to know you, and perhaps tell you a little bit about Will." "Thank you, that's very sweet." "Of course." "I'd love to." "Wonderful." "Well...." "Don't break our date, now." "Oh, I won't." "This is not easy." "Will Randall is a very close, very dear friend of mine." "And I'm not proud of what I'm going to say." "Charlotte Randall and I...." "This is hard." "Charlotte Randall and I were having an affair." "It just happened." "And Will found out." "Yes." "Going with two pilots?" "Yes." "Will there be anyone else with you?" "There will only be the two of us." "Great." "Just the two of you." "And I'll be flying with a sick friend so if you would please have it as near the gate as possible?" "That's no problem." "Yeah." "In about an hour." "Very good then." "Thanks." "He was like a madman." "He was a madman." "I mean, he bit me." "He actually urinated on my shoe." "Urinated." "He told me he would kill her, and I didn't listen." "I didn't believe him." "I blame myself." "I mean, if you have any idea of pinning a first-degree murder rap on Will, forget it." "This was true temporary insanity and if Will is arrested, I'll testify to that in his defense." "I understand." "Yeah." "Is he...?" "He's staying at the Alden place, isn't he?" "With Ms. Alden?" "I really must find him right away." "Why don't you ask her?" "She's outside." "Yes, of course." "Laura Alden?" "Alden?" "Laura Alden?" "She's gone." "She left right after Mr. Swinton went in." "Excuse me." "We don't need her." "Wake someone up, and get a warrant for Randall." "This is our case." "Did he say "on his shoe" or "in his shoe"?" "George." "No one gets through without a call." "No one." "All right, Ms. Alden." "Just wanted to let you know you had some pretty restless horses in the barn tonight." "Yes, yes, I know." "It's all right." "Steer clear of the barn tonight, Tom." "And will you tell the others?" "Yes, ma'am." "Can I help you, sir?" "Oh, Mr. Swinton." "I didn't recognize you." "George, I'm here to see Ms. Alden, George." "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to call." "May I ask your business with Ms. Alden?" "My business is pleasure, George." "Does she look like the fuck of the decade or what?" "Back up." "Alrighty." "Hey." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey." "Excuse me." "Excuse me, sir." "Can I help you?" "Hello." "I'm here to see Ms. Alden." "Can you tell me where to find her?" "Gate didn't call to say you were coming." "Really?" "Well, I have a card and an appointment." "Here." "Hello, Ms. Alden." "May I call you Laura?" "Laura, if you scream, I'll kill you." "I'll just break your neck, okay?" "Okay." "This is a surprise." "How did you get in?" "I smooth-talked the guard." "Well, if anyone could do it...." "Now, Laura, don't play any more games with me." "You know, don't you?" "Know what?" "What's happening to me." "No." "You're playing games and I asked you not to." "You pretended not to know Will, and now this." "Don't." "Don't pretend anymore." "You know what happened to Charlotte don't you?" "All right, I do know Will and I do know what's happening to you." "Will told me, but only after I asked if there were any more at home like him." "I'm not a fool, Laura." "I know that." "If you find me so attractive how about my fucking you to death right now, darling?" "How would that be?" "I don't know." "I'd have to try it first." "You're very good." "Thank you." "Why, hello, Will." "Locked you up, did she?" "Will!" "Is my daughter all right?" "Have you found my daughter?" "I thought she was with you." "Laura?" "What's happening?" "I heard gunshots." "I was afraid to come out." "Are you with Will Randall?" "Where's Randall?" "I'm not sure." "I just hung up on him." "As far as I know, he's on his way to Teterboro Airport." "I told him I wasn't going with him and he hung up on me." "We'd like to check the cottage." "Of course." "What's happening?" "They think Tom shot Stewart Swinton." "What?" "Laura, Tom's dead." "And George too." "He was run down." "With Stewart Swinton's car." "He was after Will." "I knew it." "At the police station, he kept asking me where Will was." "There's a plane at Teterboro chartered by Laura Alden." "Swinton was looking for Will Randall." "Do you remember this?" "He asked us if Randall was on the Alden estate." "When he found out that Laura Alden was gone, he took off." "He just bolted." "All this might not have happened but I was so dead-set against Will Randall because he was after my daughter." "You were just trying to save me from a disastrous relationship." "I would have left him within a week." "He was much too tame for me." "Yeah." "That's what I thought when I saw you together at the Mayflower." "Well, I hope this time you will come in and give us a statement." "It would be my pleasure." "Could I send you something to drink, detective?" "Another vodka-tonic?" "Ano--?" "No, thanks." "Let me know if you change your mind." "How the hell would she know what we've been drinking?" "I can smell it." "I can smell it a mile away." "©" "©" "© P@rM!" "nder" "© P@rM!" "nder M@nkÖÖ"