“I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d stop acting like a cavalier son of a bitch and tell me how the hell you even know Benton Wesley’s name, much less merit the privilege of enjoying so many little tete-a-tetes with him about me.”
“Kay.”
He set down his fork as he met my angry gaze. “I’ve known Benton longer than you have. Haven’t you figured it out yet? Do I have to spell it in neon lights?”
“Yes. Write it in big letters across the sky, Mark. Because I don’t know what to believe. I have no idea who you are anymore. I don’t trust you. In fact, at this moment I’m scared to death of you.”
Leaning back in the chair, his face as serious as I had ever seen it, he said, “Kay, I’m sorry you’re afraid of me. I’m sorry you don’t trust me. And it makes perfect sense because very few people in this world have any idea who I am, and there are times when I’m not so sure myself. I couldn’t tell you this before, but it’s over.”
He paused. “Benton taught me in the Academy long before you got to know him.”
“You’re an agent?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“No,” I said, my mind reeling. “No! I’m not going to believe you this time, goddammit!”
Getting up without a word, he went to the phone by the bed and dialed.
“Come here,” he said, glancing over at me.
Then he handed me the receiver.
“Hello?” I recognized the voice immediately.
“Benton?” I said.
“Kay? Are you all right?”
“Mark’s here,” I replied. “He found me. Yes, Benton. I’m all right.”
“Thank God. You’re in good hands. I’m sure he’ll explain.”
“I’m sure he will. Thank you, Benton. Good-bye.”
Mark took the receiver from me and hung up. When we returned to the table he looked at me for a long time before he spoke again.
“I left my law practice after Janet was killed. I’m still not sure why, Kay, but it doesn’t matter. I worked in the field, in Detroit for a while, then went under deep cover. The bit about my working for Orndorff &. Berger was all a ruse.”
“You’re not going to tell me Sparacino’s working for the Feds, too,” I said, and I was trembling.
“Hell, no,” he replied, looking away from me.
“What’s he involved in, Mark?”
“His minor infractions included his cheating Beryl Madison, tampering with her royalty statements like he’s done with a number of his clients. And as I’ve already told you, he was manipulating her, playing her against Gary Harper and cooking up a big publicity scam–again, like he’s done a number of times before.”
“Then what you told me in New York is true.”
“Certainly not everything. I couldn’t tell you everything.”
“Did Sparacino know I was coming to New York?” It was a question that had been tormenting me for weeks.
“Yes. I set it up, ostensibly so I could get more information from you and manipulate you into talking to him. He knew you would never agree to a discussion. So I volunteered to bring you to him.”
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“I thought everything was under control. I thought he wasn’t on to me until we got to the restaurant. That’s when I realized everything was going to hell,” Mark went on.
“Why?”
“Because he had me tailed. I’ve known for a long time that the Partin brat’s one of his snitches. It’s how he pays the rent while he’s waiting for bit parts in soaps, TV commercials, and underwear ads. Obviously, Sparacino was getting suspicious of me.”
“Why would he send Partin? Wouldn’t he realize you’d recognize him?”
“Sparacino isn’t aware that I know about Partin,” he said. “Point is, when I saw Partin in the restaurant, I knew Sparacino had sent him to make sure I was really meeting with you, to see what I was up to, just like he sent the so-called Jeb Price to ransack your office.”
“Are you going to tell me Jeb Price is a starving actor, too?”
“No. We arrested him in New Jersey last week. He won’t be bothering anybody for a while.”