Windmills of the Gods

by Sidney Sheldon

Chapter Three

  IN HIS hotel room in New York, Harry Lantz was awakened in the middle of the night by the ringing of the telephone.

  Who the devil knows I'm here? he wondered. He looked blearily at the bedside clock, then snatched up the phone. "It's four o'clock in the morning! Who the-"

  A soft voice at the other end of the line began speaking, and Lantz sat upright in bed, his heart beginning to pound. "Yes, sir. "

  He listened for a long time. Finally he said, "Yes,. sir. I understand. I'll be on the first plane to Buenos Aires. Thank you, sir. "

  He replaced the receiver and lit a cigarette. His hands were trembling. The man he had just spoken to was one of the most powerful men in the world and was going to pay him fifty thousand dollars to deliver a message. It would be fun going back to Argentina. Harry Lantz loved South American women.

  THE 747 arrived at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires at five the following afternoon. Harry Lantz felt a surge of excitement as he stepped out of the plane, but the blast of hot air startled him for a moment. Of course, he realized. It's summer here.

  Yes, it was good to be back. Siesta was over, and the streets were crowded with people. When the taxi arrived at the Hotel El Conquistador, in the heart of the fashionable Barrio Norte sector, Lantz paid the driver with a million-peso note.

  "Keep the change," he said. Their money was a joke.

  Harry looked up an old friend. No one had ever . heard of Neusa Mufiez. Harry Lantz began to feel he might be on a wild-goose chase.

  It was at the Pilar, a small bar in the barrio of Floresta, that his luck suddenly changed. It was a Friday night, and the bar was filled with workingmen. It took Lantz ten minutes to get the bartender's attention. Before Lantz was halfway through his prepared speech, the bartender said, "Neusa Muez? S(. I know her. If she wishes to talk to you, she will come here maana, about midnight. "

  The following evening Harry Lantz returned to the Pilar at eleven o'clock and took a place at the bar, watching the room gradually fill up. As midnight approached, he found himself getting more and more nervous. If she doesn't show up, he thought, I can kiss the fifty grand good-bye.

  He wondered what she looked like. She had to be a stunner. He was authorized to offer her boyfriend, Angel, a cool two million dollars to assassinate someone, so Angel was probably up to his ears in millions. He would be able to afford a beautiful young mistress.

  The door opened, and Lantz looked up expectantly. A woman was walking in alone. She was middle-aged and unattractive, with a fat, bloated body and huge, pendulous breasts that swayed as she walked. Her face was pockmarked, and she had dyed blond hair. A hooker down on her luck, Lantz decided.

  The woman looked around the bar with vacant, listless eyes, then pushed her way over to Harry. "Wanna buy me a drink?"

  She had a heavy Spanish accent.

  She looks like a fat cow, Lantz thought. . And she's drunk. "Get lost, sister. "

  "Esteban, the bartender. He say you are lookin' for me, no?"

  "He must have made a mistake. I'm looking for Neusa Muez. "

  "Si. Yo soy Neusa Mudez. "

  But the wrong one, Harry thought. "Are you Angel's friend?"

  She smiled drunkenly. "Si. "

  Harry Lantz recovered swiffly. "Well, well. " He forced a smile. "Can we go to a corner table and talk?"

  They fought their way across the smoky bar, and when they were seated, Harry Lantz said, "I'd like to talk about-"' "You buy me a rum, s(? A double. "

  Lantz nodded. "Sure. " When the waiter left, Lantz said, "I want to meet with Angel. I have a little present for him. "

  She studied him. "St? What kin'a present?"

  "Two million dollars. "

  Their drinks arrived. She downed hers in one gulp. "Wha' for you wanna give Angel two million dollars?"

  "That's something I'll have to discuss with him in person. "

  "Thais not possible. Angel, he don' talk to nobody. "

  "Lady, for two million dollars-"

  Neusa Mufiez struggled to her feet. "I tol' you, he don' talk to nobody. Ad16s. "

  "Hey! Wait a minute! Don't go. "

  She looked down at him with bleary eyes. "What you wan'?"

  "sit down," Lantz said slowly, "and I'll tell you what I want. "

  She sat down heavily. "I need a rum, huh?"

  Harry Lantz was baffled. What kind of man is this Angel? he wondered. His mistress is not only the ugliest broad in all of South America, but she's a lush.

  Lantz did not like dealing with drunks. On the other hand, he hated the thought of losing his fifty-thousand-dollar commission. He summoned the waiter and ordered the drink, then smiled and said reasonably, e Neusa, if I can't talk to Angel, how can I do business with him?"

  "Ess simple. You tell me what you wan'. I tell Angel. If he say sf, I tell you s(. If he say no, I tell you no. "

  Lantz distrusted using her as a go-between, but he had no choice. "You've heard of Marin Groza?"

  "No. "

  He patted her fat hand. "Angel will know who Groza is. You just say Marin Groza. He'll know. The people who sent me want him blown away. Killed. "

  "Oh. I'll ass' Angel. Wha' you say the man's name is?"

  He wanted to shake her. "Groza. Marin Groza.

  "Yeah. My baby's outa town. I'll call him tonight an' meet you here tomorrow. Kin I have 'nother rum?"

  Neusa Muez was turning out to be a nightmare. How could a man who was supposed to be as smart as Angel get hooked up with such a rum dummy?

  THE following night Harry Lantz was seated at the same table in the Pilar, intermittently chewing peanuts and his fingernails. At two a. m. he saw Neusa Muez stumble through the door and make her way over to him.

  "Hi," she mumbled, and slumped into a chair.

  "Neusa, did you remember to talk to Angel?"

  She looked at him vacantly. "Angel? Si. Kin I have a drink, huh?"

  He ordered a double rum for her and a double Scotch for himself. He needed it desperately. "What did Angel say, Neusa?"

  Angel? Oh, he say yeah. Ess okay. "

  Harry Lantz felt a surge of relief. "That's wonderful!" He no longer cared about his messenger-boy mission. He had thought of a better idea.

  Lantz prided himself on being a pro. He was too smart to walk into a deal like this without first checking it ou. t. Before leaving the States, he had cautiously asked around about Angel, and what had impressed him most was that the Israelis had put a price of a million dollars on his head. This drunken floozy was going to lead him to Angel. He was going to collect that one million dollars.

  He watched her slop down her drink, spilling some of it on her already soiled blouse. "What else did Angel say?"

  "Angel say he wanna know' who your people are. "

  Lantz gave her a winning smile. "You tell him That's confidential, Neusa. I can't give him that information. "

  She shrugged. "Then Angel say to tell you to get lost. "

  Harry Lantz's mind started working at top speed. "Neusa, I'll telephone the people I'm working for, and if they give me permission, I'll give you a name. Okay?"

  She nodded, indifferent.

  "You tell Angel I'll have an answer for him by tomorrow. Is there someplace I can reach you?"

  "guess so. "

  He was making progress. "Where?"

  "Here. "

  He made the call collect from a telephone booth so it could not be traced. It had taken him one hour to get through.

  "No," the Controller said. "I told you, no r -mmes.

  "Yes, sir. But there's a problem. Neusa Mufiez, Angel's mistress, says he's willing to make a deal, but he won't move without knowing who he's dealing with. "

  "What is this woman like?"

  "She's a fat, ugly moron, sir. "

  "It's much too dangerous for my name to be used. "

  Harry Lantz could feel the deal slipping away from him. "Yes, sir," he sa
id earnestly. "The only thing is, sir, Angel's reputation is based on his being able to keep his mouth shut. If he ever started talking, he wouldn't last five minutes in his business. "

  There was a long silence. "Very well. You may give Angel my name. But he is never to divulge it and never to contact me directly. He'll work only through you. "

  Harry Lantz could have danced. "Yes, sir. I'll tell him. Thank you, sir. " He hung up, a big grin on his face. He was going to collect the fifty thousand. And then the million-dollar reward.

  WHEN Harry Lantz met Neusa Muez late that evening, he immediately ordered a double rum for her and said happily, "Everything's set. I got permission. "

  She looked at him indifferently. "Yeah?"

  He told her the name of his employer. It was a household word.

  She shrugged. "Never hearda him. "

  "Neusa, the people I work for want this done as quickly as possible. Marin Groza is hiding out in a villa in Neuilly, and-"

  "Where?"

  "It's a suburb of Paris," he said patiently. "Angel will know. "

  "I need 'nother drink. "

  An hour later Neusa was still drinking, and this time Harry Lantz was encouraging her. When she's drunk enough, he thought, she's going to lead me straight to her boyfriend. The rest will be easy. "When is Angel coming back to town?" he asked.

  She focused her watery eyes on him. "Nex' week. "

  Harry Lantz took her hand and stroked it. "Why don't you and I go back to your place?" he asked softly.

  "Okay. "

  He was in.

  NEUSA MUez lived in a shabby two-room apartment that was as messy and unkempt as its tenant. When they walked through the door, Neusa made straight for the little bar in the corner.

  Lantz watched as she poured a drink and downed it. She's the most ugly, repulsive pig I've ever met, he thought, but the million dollars is going to be beautiful.

  Lantz walked over to her and put his arms around her huge, flabby waist. "You're cute, do you know that?"

  "Wha'?" Her eyes were glazed.

  He was getting nowhere. He had to think of an approach that would get this amazon into bed. But he knew he had to make his move carefully. If he offended her, she might report him to Angel, and that would be the end of the deal.

  As Lantz was desperately trying to think of a clever gambit Neusa mumbled, "Come on 'n the bedroom. "

  He grinned in relief. "That's a great idea, baby. "

  She stumbled as Lantz followed her into the small bedroom. In it was a large unmade bed and a bureau with a cracked mirror above it. It was the open closet that caught Harry Lantz's attention. He glimpsed a row of men's suits hanging on a rack.

  He went into the bathroom to undress, and when he returned, Neusa was propped up in bed like a leviathan. He sat down beside her. She was drunker than he had thought. Th:It's good, he said to himself. It will make things easier. "You're a very pretty woman, honI like you a lot. " He began to caress her. "I'll bet you live an exciting life being Angel's girlfriend. That must be really interesting. Tell me, baby, What's Angel like?"

  There was a silence, and he wondered if Neusa had fallen asleep. "Don't go to sleep, sweetheart. Not yet. " He felt her stir. "What kind of man is Angel? Is he handsome?"

  "Rich. Angel, he's rich. "

  Lantz continued to caress her. "Who are his friends?"

  Her voice was drowsy. "Angel got no fren's. I'm his fren'. "

  Neusa closed her eyes. "Hey, I'm sleepy. Let's go to sleep. "

  Lantz stayed there quietly until he was certain Neusa was asleep. Then he carefully arose from the bed, padded over to the closet, and switched on the closet light.

  There were a dozen suits hanging on the rack and six pairs of men's shoes on the floor. Lantz opened the jackets and examined the labels. The suits were all custom-made by Heffera, Avenida la Plata. I've hit the jackpot! Lantz gloated. They'll have a record of Angel's address. I'll go and ask a few questions. Then all I have to do is tip off my friends in Mossad and collect the reward.

  Lantz thought he heard a sound from across the room. He quickly turned out the closet light and walked over to the bed. Neusa's eyes were closed, 'and she was snoring lightly. He tiptoed to the bureau and began looking through the drawers, hoping to find a photograph of Angel. No luck. He crept back to bed.

  WHEN Harry Lantz awoke in the morning, he heard Neusa singing off key in the bathroom.

  She was standing in front of the mirror. Her hair was done up in fat curlers, and she looked, if possible, even more unattractive than before. She pointed to the bathtub full of water. "I fix a bath for you. When you're finish', I fix breakfast. "

  "Sounds great," he lied.

  "You like omelets? I make good omelets. Angel teach me. "

  Neusa plugged in an electric hair dryer and began to dry her hair.

  Lantz stepped into the bathtub and lay back in the warm water, thinking, Maybe I should get a gun and take Angel myself. If I let the Israelis do it, there'll probably be an inquiry into who gets the reward. This way there won't be any question. I'll just tell them where to pick up his body.

  Neusa said something, but Harry Lantz could barely hear her over the roar of the hair dryer.

  "What did you say?" he called out.

  "I got a presen' for you from Angel. "

  She dropped the electric hair dryer into the water and stood there watching as Lantz's body twitched in a dance of death.

  PRESIDENT PAUL ELLISON looked down at the last security report on Mary Ashley and said, "Not a blemish, Stan. "

  "I know. I think she's the perfect candidate. Of course, State isn't going to be happy. "

  "We'll send them a crying towel. Now Let's hope the Senate will back us up. Would you like another drink, Stan?"

  "No, thanks. Unless you need me tonight, I'm taking Barbara to an opening at the Kennedy Center. "

  "You go ahead," Paul Ellison said. "Alice and I are due to entertain some relatives of hers. "

  "Please give my love to Alice," Stanton Rogers said. He rose.

  "And you give mine to Barbara. "