The Bannerman Solution (The Bannerman Series) (82 page)

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know.”

Susan frowned as another memory came back to her.
She pushed herself up on her elbows, her arms tugging
at the IV tubes. Lesko reached to quiet her. “Caroline and Ray,” she said, squinting at him. “That wasn't a
dream. They grabbed me and
…
”

“It's okay now, sweetheart.” He eased her back to
her pillow.

“Daddy, why? Was this
…
?” She remembered
Paul and that bread knife. “Was this about Paul?”

“Don't you worry. It's all okay.”

“Why isn't he here? Did they hurt him, too?”

“Paul's fine. He went out looking for them. It's all
under control.”

“They were so
…
they must have been crazy.”
she said distantly.

“You just get better. We'll take care of them.”

“Daddy, you shouldn't have let Paul go alone. You
should have gone. Paul doesn't know about people like
that.
Or does he?”

“I don't know, I
…
.
”
He saw movement at the
glass partition. Bannerman. And the bartender. But
now a woman from down the hall was running up to them waving a little piece of paper. They stopped and
listened. They went back with her. “He's here now,
Susan. I don't think he can stay long, but he's here.”

Lesko stepped into the corridor outside Intensive Care and waited for them. He held up a hand as they
approached. When Bannerman stopped, Lesko placed
his fingertips against his chest.

“You don't want to do that,” Billy moved toward
him.

“It's all right, Billy,” Paul said softly. “I heard she's
conscious. How does she seem?”

“Mostly okay, no thanks to you,” Lesko answered,
though the Katz thing made him wonder. “What's with
the woman? Caroline
…
Lurene, whatever?”

“You won't see her again. That's over.”

“I want to know what she told you. And if she's dead
I want to see the body.”

“If that will please you. Right now I want to see
Susan.”

“Five minutes, Bannerman. That's long enough to say good-bye. I don't want you near her after today.”

Billy leaned forward again. Bannerman eased him back. “As it happens, Lesko, I agree with you.” He
stepped around him.

“You know you're a jerk?” Billy glared at him. “You
ought to learn who your friends are.”

Lesko ignored him. He was watching through the partition. Bannerman leaning over her. Hugging her.
Now touching her cheek. Come on. Get on with it.

“Helping you, we lost the Doc. He's dead now, too.*’

The Doc? Oh, yeah. The guy who got cut and his
armpit chewed up. Elena took him to Zurich. He didn't
look that badly hurt. Elena. Maybe he shouldn't have talked to her the way he did. She tried to help. She did
help. It was just that he didn't want any of this shit, none
of it, near Susan anymore. Maybe she'll come back
down, he'll apologize
.
Maybe he'll write her a letter.

“Helping you,” Billy stuck a hand on Lesko's chest as
he'd seen Lesko do to Bannerman, “even your own
friends got shot. You don't care about that, either?”

Lesko considered breaking his fingers. Except an
other fight would get him thrown out of here for
good.
“Wait a minute. What?”

“The lady who drove you. When she drove back.”

Lesko brushed the hand away. “What the hell are
you talking about?” He suddenly felt ill. In his mind, he
saw the woman who'd run after them in the corridor.
She had a message. He saw how Bannerman looked,
dead eyes like Billy's, when he came back up.

“The car they were in,” Billy told him. “It got am
bushed.”

“Today?” Susan reached for the hem of his ski jacket,
gripping it. “You have to go today?”

“There's a
whole set of problems back home. I
have to, yes.”

“Paul, what's going on?” she asked wearily, sadly.
“What's happening here?”

“Well,” he looked away, “your father and I are trying
to sort that out. By tomorrow, maybe, by the time
you're a little stronger, he'll be able to tell you about it.”

“Is he going to tell me who you are?”

Paul didn't answer.

“I keep trying to tell you I'm not stupid. You're say
ing good-bye, aren't you?”

“You weren
’
t stupid. I was.”

“Answer me. Are you saying good-bye?”

“I'm saying,” he pried her hand free, gently, “that I
will never expose you to anything like this again.”

“You told me you loved me. Do you?”

“That was selfish. It was a need.”

“Do you or don't you?”

“Susan,” he shifted uncomfortably, “if I say yes,
you're going to tell me we can work the other things
out, but there are some things
…
”

“I was going to say that?
Oh.''

“I'm sorry. What were you. . . ? Oh, heck.”

She took a long, deep breath, then let it out. “You
haven't done this sort of thing very often, have you?”

”Um, no. I haven't.”

“When you want to break off with a woman, you're
supposed to come on like a rat. You don't say ‘Oh, heck.'
You say things like ‘It's been a great ride, kid, but I'm
getting off in Chicago.’ Or something Yuppie like ‘We're just not in sync, long-haul-wise.’ That way I could decide
you're an asshole and be glad to get rid of you.”

He didn't want to smile. He turned away so she
couldn't see it.

   
“Now that I think of it, though,” she told him, “your line about it being a selfish need was pretty schmucky,
too.”

“I'm
…
glad you're starting to feel
like your old self again.”

“Paul? Who are you? There's no way you're a crimi
nal. Was Caroline right? Are you a spy? Is that what all
this is about?”

“Susan
,
I have to go.” He backed away.

“Good-bye won't end this,” she warned. “You're go
ing to tell me.”

“Talk to your father.”

He closed the curtain partway so she couldn't watch
him leave.

“Hold it.” Lesko fell in step with Paul as he strode
down the corridor. “What about Elena?”

“She's been shot. I don't know how badly.” He kept
walking. Billy had gone ahead for the car.

“Look, talk to me.” He grabbed Bannerman's arm. “Where is she now?”

Paul turned to face him, his eyes inches away from
Lesko's. “There are two dead,” he hissed. “One was a
friend of mine: The other was Elena's cousin, the one who came here to protect Susan. Mr. Lesko, I really
don't have time for you right now.”

“You're going to her? I'm going with you.”

“You're staying with Susan. The killing isn't fin
ished.” He pulled the Belgian automatic from his hip
and jammed it into Lesko's belt. “I'm sending Molly
Farrell down here to spell you.”

“I
don't need any of your damned women. And don't
you tell me what I'm going to
…”
            

He didn't finish.
Paul seized his lapels and slammed him backward
against the corridor wall. Then he stepped back, eyes blazing, and waited.

Lesko made no move. His fists went into balls and he
dropped to a crouch, but that much was reflex. Slowly,
he straightened. Paul turned for the door.

“Bannerman,” Lesko said huskily. “Wait. Wait a sec
ond.”

“Now what?” Paul slowed.

“Okay. Sometimes I can be a jerk where my daugh
ter is concerned. Not just with you. Always.”

Paul waited.

“On top of that, I was a shit to Elena. I don't even
know why, because I know inside she's a good lady. I'm
ready to break your back for putting Susan in danger
and a minute later I'm ready to leave here while I run to
Elena. I don't know. I. . . .”