Jack was startled. “You mean my open-mindedness alone is a threat to
you? ”
Lavelle didn’t answer the question. He said, “All right. If you won’t
step out of the picture, then at least stop your research into voodoo.
Handle this as Rebecca Chandler wants to handle it-as if it were an
ordinary homicide investigation.”
“I don’t believe your gall,” Jack said.
“Your mind is open, if only a narrow crack, to the possibility of a
supernatural explanation. Don’t pursue that line of inquiry. That’s
all I ask.”
“Oh, that’s all, is it?”
“Satisfy yourself with fingerprint kits, lab technicians, your usual
experts, the standard tools. Question all the witnesses you wish to
question-”
“Thanks so much for the permission.”
“-I don’t care about those things,” Lavelle continued, as if Jack hadn’t
interrupted. “You’ll never find me that way. I’ll be finished with
Carramazza and on my way back to the islands before you’ve got a single
lead. Just forget about the voodoo angle.”
Astonished by the man’s chutzpa, Jack said, “And if I don’t forget about
it?”
The open telephone line hissed, and Jack was reminded of the black
serpent of which Carver Hampton had spoken, and he wondered if Lavelle
could somehow send a serpent over the telephone line, out of the
earpiece, to bite him on the ear and head, or out of the mouthpiece, to
bite him on the lips and on the nose and in the eyes…. He held the
receiver away from himself, looked at it warily, then felt foolish, and
brought it back to his face.
Lavelle said, “If you insist on learning more about voodoo, if you
continue to pursue that avenue of investigation . . . then I will
have your son and daughter torn to pieces.”
Finally, one of Lavelle’s threats affected Jack. His stomach twisted,
knotted.
Lavelle said, “Do you remember what Dominick Carramazza and his
bodyguards looked like-”
And then they were both talking at once, Jack shouting, Lavelle
maintaining his cool and measured tone of voice:
“Listen, you creepy son of a bitch-”
“-back there in the hotel, old Dominick, all ripped up-”
“-you stay away from-”
“-eyes torn out, all bloody?”
“-my kids, or I’ll-”
“When I’m finished with Davey and Penny-”
“-blow your fuckin’ head off!”
“-they’ll be nothing but dead meat-”
“I’m warning you-”
“-dog meat, garbage-”
“-I’ll find you-”
“-and maybe I’ll even rape the girl-”
“-you stinking scumbag!”
“-’cause she’s really a tender, juicy little piece. I like them tender
sometimes, very young and tender, innocent. The thrill is in the
corruption, you see.”
“You threaten my kids, you asshole, you just threw away whatever chance
you had. Who do you think you are? My God, where do you think you are?
This is America, you dumb shit. You can’t get away with that kind of
stuff here, threatening my kids.”
“I’ll give you the rest of the day to think it over.
Then, if you don’t back off, I’ll take Davey and Penny.
And I’ll make it very painful for them.”
Lavelle hung up.
“Wait!” Jack shouted.
He rattled the disconnect lever, trying to reestablish contact, trying
to bring Lavelle back. Of course, it didn’t work.
He was gripping the receiver so hard that his hand ached and his muscles
were bunched up all the way to the shoulder. He slammed the receiver
down almost hard enough to crack the earpiece.
He was breathing like a bull that, for some time, had been taunted by
the movement of a red cape. He was aware of his own pulse throbbing in
his temples, and he could feel the heat in his flushed face. The knots
in his stomach had drawn painfully tight.
After a moment, he turned away from the phone. He was shaking with
rage. He stood in the falling snow, gradually getting a grip on
himself.
Everything would be all right. Nothing to worry about. Penny and Davey
were safe at school, where there were plenty of people to watch over
them. It was a good, reliable school, with first-rate security. And
Faye would pick them up at three o’clock and take them to her place;
Lavelle couldn’t know about that. If he did decide to hurt the kids