Twelve Nights (14 page)

“No,” Jimmy decided. “You see her tonight.”

Richard held up his hands.

“Jimmy,” he protested, “I don’t mind being your three
hundred dollar an hour gopher and calling a few detectives, but I’m not
screwing anybody for you.”

Jimmy’s belly laugh erupted. The sound rolled around the
office and carried with it the worst of Jimmy’s tension. He certainly didn’t
want Richard to have sex with Aggie. The image was revolting. He wanted her all
to himself, he realized. If she was troubled, he would fix her problems. He
just had to find out what they were. He wanted the lunch-time Aggie back and in
his bed.

“I don’t want you to screw her,” he said as he wiped his
eyes, his laughter an echo in the room. “Just interrogate her. Like in a
courtroom. Set up a hidden camera and I’ll watch the tape later.”

“Jimmy,” Richard sounded embarrassed. “You know I’ve never
been in a courtroom.”

“You’ve seen Perry Mason. Pace back and forth and ask a lot
of questions. We’ll think up some questions before she gets here.”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“She sucks me in,” Jimmy admitted. Look what a sucker he’d
been last night. Ten thousand dollars and all they did was sleep together,
literally. “Intimidate the hell out of her, Richard, and get some straight
answers.”

“I don’t think she likes me, “ Richard admitted.

“All the better,” Jimmy growled.

As Richard left the office, Jimmy swiveled his chair toward
the window and put his hands behind his head. He was blind for once to the
panoramic view of ocean and park and distant islands. He wondered for an
instant whether any woman was worth all this effort. Then he pictured the
glimpse he had caught of Aggie outside the restaurant on Danny’s arm. He
remembered the surge of emotion he’d felt when he learned she wasn’t attached
to his brother, the pure elation of realizing she had answered his ad, could be
his for twelve nights. Eleven more nights, he thought. Ten, because tonight she
would be with Richard. Once he had found out why she had changed, once he had
unraveled the mystery of his complicated librarian, he was going to enjoy the
best ten nights of his life.

Richard waited stoically in the lobby. He was a lawyer, he reminded
himself for the tenth time. All he needed to do was ask the woman some
questions, an extension of their earlier interview. The fact that Jimmy had
chosen her after his rejection made the situation awkward, but he was still the
lawyer and she was still the woman selling herself. The difficulties of the
previous night must to some extend vindicate his objections. He could guess
what had happened, or more accurately, what hadn’t happened, last night. He had
rarely seen Jimmy so testy. He must have been frustrated to an extreme, the
kind of frustration only a beautiful but elusive woman could induce in a strong
willed man.

Richard was determined to reveal Aggie Trout as a fraud. He
had dozens of technical questions ready to trip her up. But if she wasn’t a
phony, as he had half come to believe, he would try to persuade her to
cooperate and treat his employer to the best nights she could give him. He
wasn’t really pimping, he assured himself as he adjusted his necktie. He was
protecting his client in an unusual situation.

The cab pulled to the curb and Aggie emerged. She looked
eagerly through the lobby windows. She didn’t look cool, as Jimmy had described
her. She looked hot, in every sense of the word. Her outfit sizzled, Richard
smiled to himself at the unfamiliar word that had popped into his head. But she
did sizzle. A full patterned skirt draped her hips and legs to mid-calf and
swirled with her every movement. Her coat was open in front and revealed a
sheer black blouse with a richly embroidered vest for modesty. She looked like
a princess in a Hungarian movie, or maybe a gypsy.

Richard opened the door of the lobby. As he did, he saw
recognition in Aggie’s eyes, and dismay.

“Where’s Jimmy?” she asked. She held onto the open door of
the cab.

“He asked me to ask you a few questions,” Richard responded
calmly. He didn’t want her to bolt back into the cab.

“Is he upstairs?”

“Yes.” The answer was the truth. Jimmy waited in his
apartment for Richard’s report and the video. “Come inside.”

Though it wasn’t raining, the evening was damp and cool.
Richard was surprised to feel a platonic need to get Aggie out of the chill. He
took a step toward her, holding out his hand. Perhaps she sensed his concern,
for she shut the door of the taxi and walked toward him. She ignored his hand
and walked past him into the lobby.

Aggie’s eyebrows spoke for her when Richard pushed the
button for the office floor. She remained silent as they entered the deserted
lobby and walked down the hall to Jimmy’s office. Richard helped her off with
her coat and placed it on a sofa. She walked to a chair in front of the desk
and sat down.

“I’m not going to see Jimmy tonight, am I?” she asked
bluntly.

She sounded disappointed, Richard noticed. He wondered if
the emotion would register on film.

“He was not happy with last night’s…” he searched for a
word.

“Non-performance?” Aggie supplied. “I told him I’d be ready
tonight and I am.”

Richard groaned internally. Though he was convinced she was
lying about something, she sounded genuinely eager to see his employer. He
wondered what had been Jimmy’s problem last night. She talked and looked as if
she couldn’t wait to hop into bed with him. He returned to the agenda and
picked up a sheaf of papers.

“I need to ask you some questions.”

Aggie looked at the pile of papers and sighed.

“Go ahead.”

“What street do you live on in Cincinnati?”

“Beechmont.”

“Is that ‘ee’ or ‘ea’?

“It’s ‘ee’. What on earth is this about? I’m really Aggie
Trout. I really am a librarian in Cincinnati.”

“Please be patient, Miss Trout. Does Beechmont run
north-south or east-west?

“If you looked on a map, you won’t get this one right,” she
commented. “Right where I live it runs to the northwest, but most of it is
east-west. It wanders.”

“What cross street is near your home?” Richard persisted,
though he was one hundred percent certain she was telling the truth.

“The closest major street is Hunley Road. Look, I resent
this. I agreed to twelve nights of sex with a man I basically like, not twenty
questions with a man who frankly…” she stopped.

“You don’t like,” Richard completed her sentence. “Jimmy
asked me to question you. This was not my idea. He helped make up the list of
questions.”

If he had hoped to mollify her, he hadn’t succeeded.

“Look, Mr. Urbano,” Aggie flared.

“Calm down,” Richard interrupted.

“I’m about this close,” she continued as she stood and
pinched her thumb and index finger together, “to calling off the whole
contract.”

Suddenly the path cleared in front of Richard. He played his
hunch.

“I’ll tell you what the problem is, Aggie,” he had decided
to tell her the straight truth. “Jimmy said you were a different person last
night. He was attracted to you at lunch. He thought you were in his words,
‘hot’. Then last night he thought you were, again in his words, ‘cool’. So what’s
going on, are you two people, or did something happen between three and six
o’clock last night?”

Aggie sat back abruptly in her chair. She sagged down,
deflating like a spent balloon.

“Tell me what’s going on, Aggie.” Richard tried to make his
voice as friendly and persuasive as he could.

“I can’t,” she defied him.

“Why not?” He stood and leaned both fist on the desk; time
for the tough cop.

“I can’t tell you,” Aggie repeated.

“Do you want to call off the contract?” Richard asked, his
voice harsh.

“No.” Aggie’s eyes were moist though no tears escaped.
“Look, Mr. Urbano. Something did happen yesterday, but I can’t tell you what.
I’m ready to see Jimmy tonight. We’ll do whatever he wants.”

“He doesn’t want to see you,” Richard began. A tear spilled
out of Aggie’s eye. He remembered that this woman was Jimmy’s inexplicable
choice. His voice softened
He hurried to
explain
. “He said you bewitched him at lunch yesterday.”

Richard was rewarded with a small smile that tugged up the
corner of Aggie’s mouth.

“You don’t like me, do you?” Aggie asked.

“Actually,” Richard admitted, “I do. But you’re lying about
something. Jimmy wants me to ask you these questions, to be sure you really are
who you say, that you’re on the level.”

“Does he want to end the contract?” Aggie asked.

“No,” Richard smiled. “I think he wants the lunch time Aggie
back.”

“I’m here.”

“Then can I ask you these questions?”

“Go ahead.”

Women, any women, but most particularly this woman, baffled
Richard. He was troubled by the diminished Aggie that sat across the desk from
him. He agreed with Jimmy; he liked her better fiery and arguing. Still, Jimmy
would see the transformation on the videotape. Maybe it would help him
understand her. He asked the rest of his questions about Cincinnati and Aggie
answered in a monotone. She didn’t know everything about the city, but that
would have been suspicious too. She admitted readily to the information she
didn’t know, like any honest person.

Richard started in then on the details of running a library.
Jimmy had suggested that he talk to someone at the Vancouver Public Library,
and he had.

“The primary system used in Canada isn’t the same as the
main one used in the United States,” Aggie offered after the first question. “I
studied the Canadian system briefly in a college course once, but I don’t
remember much.”

The fact that she had recognized his ignorance of the
national differences from his first question impressed Richard. More and more,
he was convinced she was telling the truth, at least about her identity. She
was from Cincinnati and she was a librarian. Maybe her personal life held a
clue to the mystery of her identity.

“Where did you grow up, Aggie?”

She seemed startled and possibly upset by the question.
Could she have had a difficult childhood? Was that the source of her seeming
dual personalities?

“In Auburn, Alabama.”

The answer came reluctantly.

“I’ve never been to Alabama,” Richard offered, trying to
warm her up. “Tell me about it.”

“Auburn is pretty. It’s a university town.”

“Auburn University,” Richard nodded. “A good school.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Everyone thought I was crazy to move to
Cincinnati.”

“Why did you?”

Aggie’s hesitation was visible. Was there a rape or a
teenage pregnancy in her past?

“I wanted to get away,” she admitted.

“From what?” Richard probed.

“From my father.” The admission came from between tight
lips. “He drinks.”

Richard blanched. Her words bound him in instant sympathy.
He carried his own alcohol-induced wounds. Still, this was information that
might help Jimmy.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized inadequately. He turned to a more
neutral topic. “What made you decide to become a librarian?”

“I love books,” Aggie answered simply. Richard nodded and
she continued. “I love the feel of them and the smell of them and the look of
them. Most of all, I love the contents. The written word is the best guarantee
of freedom, Mr. Urbano.”

Passion shone is Aggie’s voice and the lawyer felt her
bewitching spell.

“Richard,” he reminded her absently.

“Ever since I was a child,” she continued, “I’ve loved books
more than anything. My mother used to laugh when I made my Christmas list
because all that was on it were book titles.”

“Do your parents still live in Auburn?”

“My mother died.” Aggie’s face stilled.

“Jimmy has a lot of books,” Richard commented, hoping to
return her to her precious enthusiasm. His comment worked.

“I know,” Aggie’s eyes lit up. “His library is wonderful. He
has a great book on Modigliani.”

“You like art?” Richard’s interest piqued. Where Jimmy was a
book lover, his own taste ran to paintings.

“Of course, who doesn’t?”

The commonplace answer didn’t convey boundless enthusiasm.
Like Jimmy, Aggie obviously preferred books.

“I’d like to see Jimmy now,” Aggie interrupted his thoughts
politely.

“He doesn’t want to see you tonight.” Richard spread his
hands apologetically. He didn’t understand what Jimmy’s problem was. Richard
didn’t feel bewitched. He was sure Aggie was on the level. He would try to
persuade Jimmy to proceed with the contract. Despite all the odds to the
contrary, he sensed that Aggie and Jimmy were a good match. Then Aggie blew up.

She stood up calmly enough, then she smashed her fist down
on the desktop.

“You can tell your fucking Mr. Jimmy Buko just where he can
put his fucking cock!”

Her angry voice bellowed rather than screamed and was more
effective for its low timbre. Richard’s mind flashed to Jimmy. He had heard him
rant similarly, though without the profanity, only that morning. He smiled. His
expression must have annoyed Aggie.

“What are you smirking at, you pimping whoreson lawyer?”

“Whoreson?” Richard echoed, puzzled.

“It’s Elizabethan,” Aggie stated calmly, then began to
giggle. “Sorry.”

Her giggles threatened to become hysteria.

“The Elizabethans knew how to swear,” she gasped.

Richard handed her a tissue.

“Thanks.” She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I’m sorry I
blew up. I have a hot temper.”

Richard puffed out a breath and shook his fingers in the
familiar gesture. “Whew!”

“Yeah,” Aggie admitted. “Don’t tell Jimmy, okay?”

Richard considered admitting to the videotape, then decided
that discretion was the better route. Let Jimmy deal with the hot temper, not
him.