The Trouble With Eden - Lawrence Block [32]
Then who?
The knock was repeated. She considered who it might have been. Peter, coming to pay her the thirty dollars? It seemed unlikely that he would bother her so late at night, but if he was sufficiently stoned it might seem like a good idea to him. Whoever it was, she couldn’t imagine why she should answer the door. She had been to sleep. All right—if she left the knock unanswered she could slip back into sleep and that would be the end it. If only whoever it was would go away—
Another knock. And a voice she didn’t recognize: “Miss Robshaw?”
Oh, the hell with it. “Who is it?”
“Mr. Jaeger.”
“Who?”
“Sully Jaeger. Sully.”
“What do you want?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“It’s the middle of the night.”
“I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour but I couldn’t help it, I just closed the restaurant a few minutes ago. Could you open the door?”
What did he want at this hour? To tell her she’d have to vacate the apartment? But he wouldn’t barge in on her in the middle of the night to throw her out. Then again, he might very well throw her out if she refused to let him into his own property.
“Just a minute.”
She always slept nude. Now she grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater and got into them hurriedly. She looked like hell but she was damned if she would comb her hair and brush her teeth for his benefit. She went to the door and opened it and asked him what he wanted.
“Really sorry to disturb you,” he said. “I thought you just might be up, so many theatrical people keep late hours, and I’m going to be out of town tomorrow and it couldn’t wait. So I took a chance.” He tried a smile. “I’d as soon be in bed myself.”
Was that double entendre or was she getting paranoid?
“I’m not in the theater.”
“Well, Mr. Hillary.”
“Mr. Hillary doesn’t live here anymore.”
“I know. That’s what I heard, and this evening I had a fellow over to the place asking did I have a vacancy, and he has to know one way or the other. What I wanted to know is whether you’ll be staying on now or not.”
“I’ll be staying.”
“Well, fine. I’m glad to hear that.”
“You are?”
“I always get the rent on time and I never had the slightest bit of trouble from you. I’d much rather have you here than take a chance on somebody else, and with somebody new you’re always taking a chance.” The same smile again. “Besides, you’re prettier than he is. You do more for the place’s image, I think they call it.”
“Thank you. Is that all?”
“How’s that?”
“Is that all you wanted to know?”
“I guess that’s the size of it.”
“Well.”
He scratched his head. “I guess it’s no strain for you financially. Fifty a week is a tougher rent to pay when there’s only one person paying it.”
“I think I’ll manage.”
“You’re working for what’s-her-name over at the mall—”
“Olive McIntyre.”
“Yeah, I see a lot of her husband. Sell liquor in this town and you’ll see a lot of old Clem. What are you, working part time for her?”
Would he never leave? “That’s right.”
“She can’t be paying you a hell of a lot.”
“Pardon me?”
“I said she can’t be—”
“Mr. Jaeger, is there a point to all of this?”
He scratched his head again and flashed the smile. “Well, matter of fact, there is. I don’t want to barge right in with it—”
I’ll fucking bet you don’t.
“—but it occurs to me that working for Clem’s wife can’t pay you enough to get by on, and maybe you could use either a full-time job or some additional part-time work. I generally look to hire two extra waitresses around the first of June for the summer season, but we’ve been doing fair business the past couple weeks and it wouldn’t hurt to get another girl any time now, and I thought if you need work you might be interested.”
For a moment she felt guilty for having guessed he was dropping back to throw a pass. Then she realized she was supposed to fed guilty, and he was preparing to make a pass.
“That’s very generous of you,” she said.
“Not generous. I need a waitress and you need work. One hand washes the other, I think they call it. Just a question of being practical.”
“I’m impractical.”
“How’s that?”
“I don’t think I’d like the