Trust Me on This Read online

  “Hell, no,” Harry growled. “This isn’t a party.”

  “No, thank you, Aunt Vic,” Alec said. “It’s getting late, so I’ll just give you the basics and let Harry fill in the rest, and then we can all get some sleep.”

  Victoria sat down and smiled sweetly at Harry because she knew it would disconcert him. Harry scowled at her.

  Alec looked at both of them, confused. “Have you two met before?”

  “Oh, no,” Victoria said. “I’d have remembered Harry.”

  “Can we get on with this?” Harry said.

  “Sure,” Alec began but Harry overrode him, turning to Victoria as he spoke.

  “There’s a guy in this hotel going by the name of Brian Bondman who’s made a career out of bilking college professors,” he told her.

  “What’s his real name?” Victoria asked.

  “Forget it,” Harry said. “If you don’t know it, you can’t use it accidentally and screw everything up.”

  “Harry,” Alec said. “Be nice.”

  Victoria tried to wither Harry with a glance, but he ignored her and went on. “We’ve almost had him a couple of times, but he’s gotten away through sheer dumb luck.”

  “Dumb luck,” Victoria sniffed. “Sounds like an excuse.”

  “Aunt Vic,” Alec warned.

  “Well, he’s here now, and we’re going to get him this time,” Harry said. “And Alec’s brainstorm is to use you to nail him.” His tone of voice made it clear how he felt about that plan.

  “We want you to make contact with him,” Alec told her. “Be your usual charming self and talk about your money and your investments. You know, act rich.”

  “What if he checks me out?” Victoria said. “I’m not rich.”

  Harry looked at her gold earrings, silk blouse, and perfect hair, and snorted. Victoria ignored him.

  “Harry, knock it off.” Alec turned back to Victoria. “He won’t, Aunt Vic. You’re a professor and that’s enough for him. He’ll see your name in the conference program and figure he’s home free.”

  “He can’t be too bright if he’s targeting college professors,” Victoria said. “We’re not known for being wealthy.”

  “Depends on your definition of ‘wealthy,’ ” Harry said. “You’re sure not poor.”

  Victoria ignored him some more. “Any ideas on how I meet this man?”

  “There’s a woman,” Alec said. “Dennie Banks. She’ll introduce you to him. In fact, she can’t wait. You’re having lunch with her tomorrow.”

  Victoria rolled her eyes at him. “I can’t, I’m having lunch with Janice. I should have known you’d find a woman. Is this your blonde?”

  “Brunette,” Alec said automatically. “And you have to ditch Janice for Dennie because Dennie is going to introduce you to her partner, and he’s the one we want.”

  Victoria turned to Harry. “And after I’m introduced, then what?”

  “Then we put a wire on you, and we’ve got him,” Harry said. “That’s the theory anyway.”

  “A wire?” Victoria looked nonplussed.

  “Don’t you ever watch TV cop shows?” Harry asked.

  “No.” Victoria put her chin in the air. “I’m an intellectual.”

  “You are not.” Alec glared at both of them. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you two, but snap out of it. You’ve got work to do. Act like adults. This is no time to start a second childhood.”

  “A wire,” Harry said with palpable patience, “is a very small microphone and transmitter. What he says to you, we will hear and tape.”

  “Big deal.” Victoria sniffed. “I don’t see what’s so tough about this.”

  Harry sighed. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “In fact, we don’t even need your blonde, Alec, so I can still have lunch with Janice,” Victoria went on. “I’m already having dinner with Mr. Bondman tomorrow evening. A friend is introducing us because of the wonderful real estate investment Mr. Bondman is offering.” She batted her eyes at Harry. “And they pay you to do this. Really, it’s so simple.”

  “You’re what?” Alec said, startled.

  “It was so simple,” Victoria repeated. “You didn’t need to seduce that woman after all.”

  “I didn’t seduce her,” Alec said.

  “Not for lack of trying, I’m sure.” Victoria gazed at him with pseudosympathy. “Did she turn you down? How marvelous for you. See, you’re failing already. Do you feel any character growth?”

  “Aunt Vic,” Alec began, and Harry stood up and interrupted him.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow morning and set up a time for the wire,” he told Victoria.

  She shook her head. “Not tomorrow morning. My paper is tomorrow morning and so is Janice’s. Tomorrow afternoon.”

  Harry gave up. “Fine. But do not go near Bond until I’ve got you wired.”

  “Bondman,” Victoria said. “I gather Bond is his real name. How careless of you to let it slip.”

  “Aunt Vic,” Alec said. “That’s enough.”

  “Thank you,” Harry said to him. “I was hoping somebody would say that.”

  “You have to work with Harry,” Alec told his aunt. “And Harry is not a nice man. Do not antagonize him.”

  “He antagonized me first,” Victoria said.

  “Oh, that’s mature,” Alec said. “Listen, both of you. Try not to call each other names until after we’ve nailed Bond, okay?”

  “All right,” Victoria said. “I apologize, Harry.”

  Harry growled, and stomped out of the room.

  Alec bent and kissed her cheek. “Harry’s sorry too. Get some sleep. You’re going to be trapping a major menace to society tomorrow.”

  “Would that be Harry?” Victoria asked sweetly.

  “Good night, Aunt Vic,” Alec said sternly, and left her.

  Victoria started to laugh as soon as the door closed behind him. She’d been right. Harry was better than Donald.

  A lot better.

  Donald Compton met Brian Bond in the bar at eleven; by eleven-thirty, they were elbow-deep in a prospectus for an exclusive real estate development in the Keys. Bond felt his pulse kick up as he explained the deal and Donald nodded in agreement at every turn. The perfect mark, God bless him, and he was all Bond’s.

  “This is very hush-hush,” Bond said. “But the great thing about this investment is that there’s nobody else even interested in this property because of the environmental impact hassles. We’re getting the land at rock-bottom prices.”

  “EPA, though, Brian. That’s bad.” Donald looked owlishly wise.

  “Nah,” Bond said. “We’ve got somebody in Washington. The fix will be in by the end of the month. And the land values will shoot through the roof.”

  Donald brightened considerably, and Bond moved in for the kill. “Now here’s what I’d recommend you invest …”

  Eight miles away, Sherée got off the bus at the Riverbend bus terminal and stretched. A day of bus travel had not made her feel any better about her life. She’d find a cheap motel for the night, she decided, and then track Brian down the next day. She picked up her suitcase and headed for the neon motel sign she could see two blocks down.

  It was a hassle that she’d forgotten the name of the hotel, she thought as she trudged along, but how many places could be having a literature conference? Tomorrow she’d start calling around. And then she’d find Brian.

  And then they’d see what was going to happen, boy.

  Then they’d see.

  Chapter 4

  Dennie left the room the next morning in the good gray suit that she wore only when she wanted to impress people with her seriousness. It did double duty in that it also impressed her with her seriousness. She slipped into the back of the lecture room, feeling very focused and mature, just as the previous speaker sat down, and Janice Meredith stood to present her paper.

  It was an exploration of how the infidelity in Shakespeare might be handled by the modern scandal pulps, and D