A Tan and Sandy Silence by John D MacDonald

Author:John D MacDonald
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780307826749
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2013-01-09T08:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Though Lisa Dissat was not gone for more than ten minutes, it was full night when she came back, a velvet beach under a brilliance of stars. There were lights behind us from the Spice Island Inn cottages. The lights made a slanting yellow glow against the sand.

She sat beside me again. She had changed to tailored white shorts, a dark blouse with a Chinese collar and long sleeves. She smelled of perfume … and Off. The white fabric was snug on the round hip that pressed warm against the side of my knee.

“Took off your instant rape suit, eh?”

She pulled her shoulders up slightly, and her drink made the sounds of ice as she sipped. “I guess you made me lose interest.”

“Are you a believer now?”

“Up to a point. I can’t see any percentage in taking dumb risks. You are the loose end Paul doesn’t know about. I guess I can be the bait in the trap. But we have to be awfully awfully careful. He’s very sensitive to … what people are thinking. We can’t give him any chance at all.”

“How do you mean that?”

“If it’s like you say, if that’s what he’s going to try to do, then he’ll have it all worked out so there won’t be any risk in it, hardly any at all. So if he really wants to kill me, we have to kill him instead, darling.”

“Your very own first cousin?”

“Don’t be a stinker, please. What other choice is there?”

“Then what?”

“Then we have to get me back into the States in some safe way. I guess there’s no reason why I couldn’t go back in as Mary Broll, come to think of it. What harm would it do?”

“None, if you don’t try to keep on being Mrs. Broll.”

“If he isn’t thinking about killing me like you say, then we’ll have to play it by ear.”

“All goes well, and you and I are back in the States. Then?”

“We just go and see Harry. That’s all. I’ll tell him that unless he gives us lots and lots of money, he’s going to have lots and lots of trouble. And you can beat him up if he tries to bluff us.”

“How much money?”

“I don’t think we should make him really desperate or anything. I think we should leave him with enough so he’ll think he came out of it pretty well. I think we could ask for half a million dollars.”

“Each?”

“No, dear. He has to pay taxes on the whole thing, you know. I think with the holding period before the sale to the public, it will be long term. Yes, I know it will. He should get his money next December. Hmmm. His taxes will be a half million. That leaves him two million, and I know he owes four hundred thousand and he will have to pay back the three hundred thousand. So out of his million and three, we’ll take five hundred thousand, darling, and he’ll have eight hundred thousand left. It would

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