Sidney shook her head. “My bargaining position is a little fragile.
First the money, then the information. Or you can just go ahead and
dial 911.”
Goldman hesitated for a moment. “Well, as you say, your position is
precarious. However, precisely because of that fact, we can be somewhat
flexible. Shall we?” He stood up and motioned to the door. Sidney
looked confused. “Now that we’ve reached agreement, I want to fully
implement the deal before I let you go. You may be difficult to find
later,” Goldman explained.
As Sidney rose and turned, Brophy put the revolver into the back of his
waistband and intentionally brushed lightly against her with his
shoulder, his lips near her ear. “After you get settled down into your
new life, you may want some company. I see myself having a lot more
free time and more money than I know what to do with.
Think about it.”
Sidney’s knee slamming into his groin sent Brophy to the floor. “I just
did, Paul, and I’m trying hard not to be sick to my stomach. Stay away
from me if you want to keep what little manhood you’ve got left.”
Sidney walked briskly down the hallway, Goldman right behind her. Brophy
finally managed to pull himself up. Clutching his privates, his face
pale, he staggered after them.
The limo was waiting for them on the lowest level of the garage next to
the elevator bank, its engine running. Goldman held the door while
Sidney climbed in. Brophy, still trying to catch his breath and
painfully bent over, entered last and sat across from Goldman and
Sidney; the darkened glass partition was fully raised behind him.
“It won’t take long to make arrangements. You may find it’s in your
best interests to maintain your present domicile until things cool down
a bit. Then we’ll fly you to an interim destination. You can send for
your daughter and live happily ever after.” Goldman’s tone was openly
jovial.
Sidney’s response was all business. “What about Triton and the firm?
You mentioned lawsuits?”
“I think that can all be taken care of. Why would the firm want to
immerse itself in such embarrassing litigation? And Triton really can’t
prove anything, can it?”
“So why should I deal?”
Brophy held up the minicassette recorder, his face still flushed.
“Because of this, you little bitch. Unless you want to spend the rest
of your life in prison.”
Sidney’s manner remained calm. “I’ll want that tape.”
Goldman shrugged. “Impossible for now. Perhaps later, when things have
returned to normal.”
Goldman looked at the glass partition. “Parker?”
The partition slid down.
“Parker, we can go now.”
The arm coming through the now open space between the front and back of
the limo held a gun. Brophy’s head exploded and he fell face down onto
the floor of the limo. Goldman and Sidney were both splattered with his
blood, among other things. Goldman’s mouth dropped open and he yelled
in disbelief as the pistol turned in his direction. “Oh, God. No!
Parker!”
The bullet slammed into his forehead and Philip Goldman’s long career as
an exceedingly arrogant attorney came to a decisive end. He jolted
backward in the seat from the bullet’s impact, blood covering his face
as well as the rear glass of the limo. Then he slumped over against
Sidney, who screamed as the gun now swiveled in her direction.
Her fingernails dug into the soft leather seat in her panic. For an
instant she stared at the face that was covered by a black ski mask and
then her eyes zeroed in on the gleaming muzzle that hovered barely five
feet from her face. Every detail of the pistol was seared into her
memory as she awaited her death.
Then the gun was pointed toward the right-side door of the limo.
As Sidney sat frozen, the arm motioned more firmly toward the door.
Trembling and unable to understand what was happening other than the
fact that she apparently was not going to die, Sidney managed to push
Goldman’s limp form off her and started to climb over Brophy’s body.
While she awkwardly made her way across the dead lawyer, her hand
slipped on a patch of blood and she fell on top of him. She instantly
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