The birthday girl

by Stephen Leather

  Honest.'

  Mersiha looked up at him, wanting to believe him with all her heart but knowing that he was lying. She'd heard Sabatino threaten him, and she knew enough about CRW's finances to know that the company was at risk of being taken over. She impulsively hugged her father, pressing her head against his chest. Freeman patted her on the back. 'Dad, be careful,' she whispered.

  Freeman tried to laugh off her concern. 'Maury and I just lost our tempers, Mersiha. It'll all blow over by tomorrow.'

  Mersiha wanted to ask him about Sabatino, but she knew that would mean telling him that she'd been eavesdropping. Besides, he wouldn't tell her the truth, he'd lie to protect her. She closed her eyes and hugged him, and silently promised herself that she'd help him out of his predicament.

  Freeman was unloading the dishwasher when Katherine arrived home, laden down with shopping bags.

  'God, I hate shopping,' she said, leaning against the door.

  'I'd never have guessed,' he smiled. 'Shoes?'

  'How did you… ah, Mersiha told you. Hmmm, I shall have to have a word with that young lady. Us shoppers should stick together. Where is she?'

  'Upstairs, hitting the books.'

  'Have you eaten?'

  'Yup. Chicken salad.' He folded his arms and sat back in his chair. 'Maury was here earlier.'

  'Oh really?' said Katherine. 'What did he want?'

  'He brought Sabatino with him.'

  'Sabatino?'

  'The guy behind Ventura Investments. Kat, he's a gangster.'

  'You mean he's…'

  'I mean he's a gangster,' Freeman said. 'God knows what Maury's involved in.'

  Katherine put her shopping bags on the floor. 'Let me get a drink,' she said. 'It sounds like I'm going to need one.' She went into the sitting room and Freeman followed her. He sat by the fireplace as Katherine poured herself a brandy and Coke and lit a cigarette. 'Now I'm ready,' she said.

  Freeman explained how Anderson had broken the news that Ventura wanted to take over CRW, and how he'd brought Sabatino to the house. Katherine stared at Freeman through a plume of cigarette smoke as he told her how Sabatino had lost his temper and stormed out.

  'And he threatened you?'

  Freeman pulled a face. 'Sort of. I can't remember his exact words because I was seeing red at the time. But the gist was that I should watch my back.'

  'Do you think we should call the police?'

  'And tell them what? I don't think so, Kat. Maybe I overreacted.

  I'll talk to Maury tomorrow.'

  'You're not thinking of selling the company, are you?'

  'Of course not.'

  'Good.' She stubbed her cigarette out. 'The company, is it in really bad shape?'

  Freeman shrugged. 'It's critical, but not terminal. Walter's not going to pull the plug on us the way that Nelson threatened to, and we had an unexpected order today. God, yes, I forgot to tell you. The Thais have put in a seven-million-dollar order for MIDAS systems. That'll keep us going for a while.'

  'So it's not all bad news?'

  'No. But this Sabatino guy worries me.'

  'I'm sure he's just a sore loser, that's all.' She took a long drink of her brandy and Coke. 'Did you mean what you said about him being a gangster?'

  'Maury said he was connected to the Mafia.'

  'Are you sure he wasn't exaggerating?'

  'I don't know, Kat. It's hard to tell. He's been acting a little strangely lately. I'll have a word with him tomorrow, see if I can't straighten things out.'

  Katherine drained her glass and waved it from side to side.

  'You want one?'

  'No, thanks. Maybe later.'

  Katherine shrugged and poured herself another. 'It'll be all right, Tony,' she said. 'I'm sure it will.'

  Mersiha sat on the stairs, listening to her parents talk. She was filled with anger at the man who had threatened her father.

  Freeman had made light of Sabatino's visit, but Mersiha knew that he was only doing that so that she wouldn't worry. Her father might be much older than she was, but he didn't understand how evil men could be. Sabatino was capable of great evil, she was certain. And it was up to her to protect her father. She owed it to him. She'd never appreciated before how much she was to blame for the company's financial problems. If Mersiha and her brother hadn't taken him hostage, maybe the company wouldn't be struggling now. It was her fault that he was in trouble, so it was only fair that she make it right. She'd solved the problem of Dr Brown. She'd do the same with the man called Sabatino.

  Maury Anderson's Corvette was already in the car park when Freeman arrived at CRW's offices. Freeman wasn't looking forward to talking to his partner, though he knew he wouldn't be able to put it off indefinitely. He went straight to his own office, where Jo had his early-morning coffee ready for him.

  'Maury's phoned for you, twice,' she said, handing him the mail.

  Freeman walked up the stairs to Maury's office, figuring that he could probably do with the exercise. He took his coffee with him because he was certain he could do with the caffeine.

  Anderson was at his desk, looking like death warmed up. His eyes had almost disappeared into black holes either side of his nose, he hadn't shaved, and his hair was greasy and unkempt as if he'd been running his hands through it. 'Tony. Hi.'

  Freeman raised his mug in salute. 'You look like shit.'

  Anderson grinned, and there was something manic about the gesture. 'Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm sorry about what happened.'

  'That Sabatino guy worries me.'

  'He worries me too, Tony. Have you thought about what he said?'

  'I haven't changed my mind. If he wants to make a formal approach to the board, that's his right, but I for one will vote against it. Guaranteed.'

  Anderson continued to grin, but he shook his head. 'Big mistake.'

  'Fine. But it'll be my mistake.'

  'Okay. Okay. But I'll speak to him. I'll put him off. If you don't want Ventura taking us over, that's the end of it.'

  Freeman sipped his coffee. Anderson seemed totally stressed out, as if he'd crack at any moment. And he didn't think for one moment that Anderson believed what he was saying. 'Maury, are you all right?' he asked.

  'I'm fine,' he replied. His hands were trembling. Freeman noticed that Anderson's nose was running. He had an urge to offer the man his handkerchief, but before he could Anderson wiped his nose with his sleeve. 'I'm fine, really. Really, I'm fine.' He nodded rapidly, his eyebrows raised, trying to elicit agreement from Freeman, who shook his head sadly. 'What?'

  Anderson said. 'What?' He grinned again. 'I'm fine, honest.

  Look, I'll talk to Sabatino, I'll fix it. I got us into this, I'll sort it out. Okay?' Freeman shrugged. He didn't care either way.

  'About what you said last night. About my job. Did you mean it?'

  'I think we should both take time out, Maury. Consider our positions.'

  Anderson nodded, a little too quickly to be natural. 'Okay.

  Okay. That's good.'

  Freeman frowned at his financial director. 'You need help, Maury. Counselling. Something.'

  Anderson rubbed his nose with the flat of his hand. 'Yeah.

  Whatever you say, Tony. Whatever you say.'

  Mersiha climbed off the bus and waved goodbye to the driver.

  It was a bright, sunny afternoon but there was a chill in the air and she had the collar of her coat turned up against the wind.

  She hadn't been able to concentrate on her classes all day. Part of her was thrilled at the prospect of the vacation with her father, but she was also worried about Sabatino. She'd run countless scenarios through her mind as she sat at her desk, but none seemed even remotely realistic. Scaring a wimpish psychiatrist was one thing; it was quite another to threaten a gangster.

  Whatever she decided to do, she'd have to make sure it was foolproof. Buffy saw Mersiha walking towards the house and she came running over, all tongue and tail.

  Freeman
saw the black limousine when he was just a mile from his home. It was about a hundred yards behind his Lumina, matching his speed. The tinted windows prevented him from seeing into the back of the car but he knew exactly who was on his tail. Sabatino. His heart began to race. At first he couldn't understand why they were following him because Sabatino already knew where he lived, but then he realised that they were trying to intimidate him. The fear evaporated and was replaced by anger.

  There was nothing he could do on the freeway so he kept his driving at just below the speed limit, watching the limousine in his mirror. He had a phone in his car but Freeman knew that calling the police wouldn't solve anything. The limousine wasn't threatening him, he was in no apparent danger, and no matter how sympathetic the police might be, they wouldn't be able to take any action.

  He slowed down and left the freeway. The limousine followed.

  It got closer to the Lumina. Sabatino clearly wanted Freeman to know that he was being followed. The closer Freeman got to his house, the closer the limousine got to the rear of his car, as if deliberately trying to provoke him. He considered stamping on his brake but realised that wouldn't solve anything. The Freeman house was at the bottom of a cul-de-sac, but the limousine wasn't deterred. It followed the Lumina right up to the driveway and sat at the entrance like a stalking leopard as Freeman drove into his garage. He climbed out of his car and stood staring at the limousine, his hands on his hips. He half expected it to drive away, but it sat there, immobile, though the engine was still running.

  He walked towards the limousine. As he got closer he could see his reflection in the darkened glass, his hair dishevelled, his mouth open, and he slowed down and composed himself. This wasn't the time to be losing his temper. The rear window wound down with an electronic hum and expensive cologne and cigar smoke wafted out. Freeman could see that Sabatino was about to speak, but before he could get a word out Freeman grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. 'What's your problem, Sabatino?' he shouted.

  Sabatino grinned back. He was holding a tumbler filled with red wine and he raised it in salute. 'Care for a drink, Tony?' he said.

  'I want you away from my house,' Freeman said, his hands on the roof of the limousine.

  'It's a public highway,' Sabatino countered. He looked at the driver. 'Hey, have we got our registration and insurance?'

  'Sure have,' the driver said laconically.

  Sabatino smiled at Freeman. 'Looks like we're legal, then.'

  'You don't scare me, Sabatino.'

  'Great. Because you don't scare me either, Tony. Now, how about we sign these papers before I don't scare your family.'

  Freeman's eyes narrowed. He banged his hands down on the roof. Sabatino jumped, spilling red wine on his trousers.

  Freeman smiled with satisfaction. 'You leave my family out of this.'

  'Sign the papers. Sell the company.'

  'No.'

  'You will, sooner or later.'

  'I don't think so.'

  'You should have a word with your partner. Ask him why he thinks you should sell.'

  'I don't know what you've got on Maury, but it's not going to influence me one way or the other. The company's not for sale, and even if it was, I wouldn't sell it to you. At any price.'

  Sabatino smiled, his eyes as hard as toughened glass. 'Looks like we'll be going on a picnic real soon, Tony. And I'm looking forward to it.'

  'What?' Freeman said, his brow furrowed. 'What are you talking about?'

  Sabatino leaned over and pulled the door shut. Freeman stood glaring through the open window until Sabatino closed it. The car slowly drove away, leaving Freeman staring after it.

  Mersiha stood at her bedroom window, her arms clasped around her chest. She'd seen the black limousine following her father's car and known immediately that it was Sabatino. Her heart had been in her mouth when she saw her father walk up and open the door. She'd half expected to hear a gunshot and see him fall to the ground. She wondered what her father had said to Sabatino.

  He'd obviously been angry because she'd seen him slap the roof of the limousine, and he stood glaring after the car when it drove away. Sabatino was tightening the screws. Mersiha realised that she was going to have to act, and to act soon. Next time the man confronted her father, there might well be a gunshot.

  She sat on her bed, chewing on a pencil and studying the notebook on her lap. She tapped the pencil against her front teeth as she compiled a list of what she planned to do. Getting to a man like Sabatino was going to be a lot harder than dealing with Dr Brown. But she was prepared to try. She had no choice.

  Freeman walked into the kitchen, still fuming. 'What's wrong?'

  Katherine asked.

  'Sabatino followed me home. He's still trying to get me to sell the company.'

  Katherine put down the carrots she was peeling and smiled.

  'Persistent, isn't he?'

  'This isn't funny, Kat. He sort of threatened me.'

  'Sort of? What do you mean, sort of?'

  Freeman shrugged. 'Well, he didn't actually put a gun to my head. But I got the drift.'

  Katherine washed her hands under the cold tap. 'That's exactly what you said last time you two met. So I'll say again what I said then. Do you want to call the police?'

  Freeman put his head on one side as he looked at her. 'He's very clever. He didn't really say anything that they could use against him, even if I had recorded it. But I know what he meant.'

  'And Maury's no help?'

  'Maury's on Sabatino's side, there's no question of that.

  Maybe I'll speak to our lawyers, see about getting an injunction or something.' He sat down at the kitchen table. 'Where's Mersiha?'

  'Upstairs in her room. Tony, do you think you should go ahead with this holiday, considering what Sabatino's doing?'

  Freeman sighed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. 'I can't cancel now. She's really looking forward to it.

  Besides, what can he do? He can't get really heavy, can he? This isn't Chicago in the thirties.'

  Mersiha reined her horse back as she watched Allison take the jumps. Allison was technically good, but she was always a little nervous and it showed. Her horse, Bonny, could tell that she wasn't one hundred per cent committed and took every opportunity to refuse a fence. Mersiha could see that Allison was also pulling the reins too hard while kicking with her heels, sending conflicting messages that only added to the horse's confusion. The result was a sloppy performance, one that Mersiha knew she could better. She might not be as technically proficient as Allison but she was much more confident and could exert far more control over her horse.

  Allison approached a three-bar fence at a canter, but Bonny's ears went back and she snorted and made a dash to the left.

  Allison tried to pull her back on course but the damage was already done. Bonny bucked and slammed into the side of the fence, almost throwing Allison. 'Calm her down!' shouted Sandy McGregor, the instructor, waving his crop in the air for emphasis.

  Allison regained control of her horse, her face red with embarrassment. 'Sorry,' she said.

  'You were doing fine,' he said reassuringly. 'Next time ease off on the reins a bit, and make sure you take the fence head on. You came in at an angle and she wasn't sure where you were going. You've a good horse there, Allison, you've just got to tell her what you want.'

  'Yes, Mr McGregor. Sorry.'

  Allison walked Bonny back to the starting area and brought her to a halt next to Mersiha. Both girls were wearing white shirts and beige jodhpurs with black riding boots and hats. Mr McGregor insisted that all his pupils dressed that way. He was a kindly old man, grey-haired with ruddy cheeks from years spent outdoors, and was one of the best riding instructors in the state. He'd been teaching Mersiha since soon after she'd arrived in America, and though he was always sparing with his praise, Mersiha knew that she was one of his best pupils.

  'Okay, Mersiha,' he called. 'Let's see what you can do.'

  Mersi
ha gave a slight touch with her heels and her horse moved forward. She eased him into a rising trot and then went smoothly into a canter. 'Good boy,' she whispered, knowing that he liked to hear her voice. His name was Wilbur and she'd been riding him for almost two years. He was a brave jumper, eager to tackle any obstacle, though he sometimes had a tendency to rush.

  They approached the first jump, a low wall, and Wilbur went crisply over, grunting as he landed. Mersiha turned him to the left and took a series of three jumps which got progressively higher.

  'Good girl,' Mr McGregor said. 'Keep him going. Keep him going.'

  Wilbur seemed to be spurred on by the instructor's shouts and Mersiha had no trouble getting him around the course without disturbing a single fence. Allison cheered her support as Mersiha joined her in the starting area. 'You were great,' she said.

  'Wilbur's on form. He could have got around without me,'

  Mersiha said.

  'I wish I could jump like you.'

  'I've been riding longer, that's all. Anyway, you beat me hands down at dressage, you know you do.'

  The two girls watched the next rider go around the jumping course under Mr McGregor's watchful eye. 'Allison, I need a favour,' Mersiha said.

  'What?' she asked.

  'I sort of need you to cover for me.'

  'Oh my God, what are you up to?' Allison asked, intrigued.

  Mersiha eased Wilbur closer to Allison's mount. The two horses stood together, nuzzling noses. 'I need to go out tomorrow night, but I don't want my parents to know.'

  'Oh my God,' Allison repeated. 'Who is it?'

  'You don't know him. He's not from school.'

  'Oh my God,' Allison said, for the third time.

  Mersiha tried to smile coyly. If Allison thought that she needed to slip away for a few hours with a boyfriend, she'd be happy to help, even if it meant telling a white lie or two. Allison had been able to get practically anything she wanted from her mother ever since her father had run off with a dental hygienist two years previously.

  'Who is it? You just have to tell me who it is,' Allison gushed.

  'I can't,' Mersiha said.

  'Why not?'

  'He's a bit older than me.'

  'Oh my God! Oh my God! How much older?'