You've Been Warned - James Patterson [62]
“I’m leaving the gym now,” I hear her answer. “What do you want? I’m kind of busy at the moment.”
“You must be exhausted,” says Michael. He shoots me a grin. She’s not the only one with King Kong balls.
I strain to hear what Penley says next, something about why Michael is on his cell and not in his office.
“Oh, I’m just out grabbing a cup of coffee,” he replies. “You know how I hate the crap they brew at the office; it’s weak as shit. Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I need a favor.”
Penley tells him to hold on for a second.
Michael and I watch through the window as she puts her hand over the phone and says something to Stephen, who appears to be losing his patience. Poor guy. Clearly she’s explaining that she can’t ditch Michael’s call easily. A few seconds later, a frustrated Stephen marches back into the hotel.
What, does he live there?
Penley gets back on. “So what’s the favor?”
“Is everything okay?” asks Michael.
“Yeah. For a second I thought I left my keys at the gym. I found them, though.”
Pretty clever, Penley.
“So, about that favor,” says Michael. “We’ve got a client coming in from Tokyo tomorrow morning, and someone told me that store in Midtown, Takashimaya, sells this amazing Japanese coffee. I was wondering if you could pick some up for me on your way home.”
Penley sighs so annoyingly loud through the phone that a few people sitting nearby turn their heads. They probably can’t believe what a bitch she is.
“You can’t send your secretary to do this?” she whines. “I have to go buy coffee for you?”
“Honey, it would take Amanda over an hour to get there and back. I figured you were only a few blocks away. Please, Pen. Could you?”
Another sigh, even louder. “So what’s this supposedly amazing coffee called?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll recognize the name. Call me on my cell when you get there, okay?”
“Fine.”
Penley gives her phone the finger as she flips it closed. All Michael can do is laugh.
“I’m going to miss the little woman,” he jokes as Penley disappears from our view.
I smile, but only because I’m glad he can joke at all. I’ve never seen him as dark as he was a few minutes ago.
I shoot him a look. “Japanese coffee?”
“God is in the details, remember?”
I nod. “So, what now?”
Michael takes my hand. “You love me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“And you trust me, right?”
“Yes.” What’s this about? Why do I need to trust Michael right now?
“What you do,” he says, “is go back to work, get that patio in order, and pretend that everything’s fine and dandy on the home front.”
“That’s it?”
“For the time being, that’s it.”
“What about you?”
He doesn’t answer. He lets go of my hand and walks toward the door.
“Michael, what are you going to do?”
He glances back, flashes me his best smile. Then he winks. It’s my wink.
“You’ll see.”
12
Chapter 84
GO AFTER HIM! Find out what he’s up to. Now, Kristin.
But my feet won’t move.
I remain there in the Starbucks window. I watch Michael leave, hop into a cab, ride off. Gone.
“You’ll see,” he said.
Two little words that paralyze me and start me shaking again. Somehow I know that this is it: where everything has been going from the beginning. But how exactly will it end?
Or do I already know that too?
I look across the street at the Fálcon Hotel, the late-morning sun reflecting off its windows with a fierce glare. I can still picture the scene so clearly — the gurneys being wheeled out, the four body bags lined up on the sidewalk. Cops everywhere. Delmonico. Was the Ponytail there too?
First I dream it. Then I see it. Now it’s haunting me every minute of the day.
I know this is all connected; it has to be. But I can’t figure it out. Could anybody? I wonder.
Eventually, I move my feet. I rush back to Fifth Avenue and take care of the stupid patio in plenty of time before Penley returns home. When she does, sure enough, she’s sporting a shopping bag from Takashimaya with a pound of Japanese coffee inside.
Later, I pick up the kids from school and take them to the Ancient Playground in