Genuine Lies

in Delrickio’s living room. He didn’t feel like sitting, not with the ice-faced goon watching his every move. Though he had to admire the dude’s threads. Yes, indeed. He’d bet his next paycheck that coal-black crisply tailored suit was pure silk. And this guy was just an underling. It made him wonder how much the big guy himself pulled in every year.
    Wanting to show his nonchalance, Lyle pulled out a cigarette. He’d taken out his genuine gold-plated Zippo when his watchdog spoke.
    “Mr. Delrickio don’t allow no smoking in this room.”
    “Yeah?” Lyle tried hard for a sneer as he clicked the lighter closed. “No sweat, man. I can live with them, I can live without them.”
    He was whistling under his breath when the phone on a dainty inlaid table rang. The guard answered it, grunted.
    “Upstairs,” he told Lyle after he’d replaced the receiver.
    Lyle figured his brisk, unsmiling nod was Bogie-like. They’d already deflated his ego by patting him down the minute he’d pulled through the gates. He’d wished he’d been packing a gun. Wished he’d had one to pack. It would have made him seem tougher.
    With what he figured he’d be paid for his information, he could buy himself an arsenal.
    The guard knocked lightly on the door at the top of the stairs, then jerked his head in invitation, and Lyle walked through.
    Delrickio gestured for Lyle to sit. “Good evening,” hesaid mildly. “I believe we had agreed that I would contact you, when and if I chose.”
    The gentle, friendly voice had sweat springing to Lyle’s palms. “Yes, sir, we did, but—”
    “Then I must assume you felt compelled to go against my wishes.”
    A lump had formed in Lyle’s throat the size and texture of a tennis ball. He swallowed gamely over it. “Yes, sir. That is, I came by some information I knew you’d want right away.”
    “And you couldn’t find a telephone in working order?”
    “I—that is, I thought you’d want to hear it face-to-face.”
    “I see.” Delrickio let the silence drag out until Lyle had moistened his dry lips twice. “I find I must remind you that you were paid to observe, to pass along information, but not, as I recall, to think. However, I’ll reserve judgment on whether you’ve thought well until after I hear what you’ve come into my home to tell me.”
    “Julia Summers was in a plane yesterday that nearly crashed.”
    At this outburst, Delrickio merely lifted his brows. Christ in heaven, how had he ever been deluded into believing this idiot could provide him with anything remotely useful? “You bring me information I already have. I’m never pleased to have my time wasted.”
    “They think the plane was fuck—tampered with,” he corrected himself quickly. “I heard her and Winthrop talking. She was a mess when I picked her up at the airport. See, what I did was, I waited until they sent the kid along, and went in the house. I listened outside.” Because Delrickio was tapping his fingers against the desktop, Lyle hurried on. They think someone was trying to kill her. There was this note, and—”
    He broke off when Delrickio raised a hand. “What note?”
    “Something she found on the plane. From the way she talked, it wasn’t the first one she’d gotten. He tried to talk her into leaving, but she wouldn’t go.”
    “What did the note say?”
    “I don’t know.” Lyle paled a bit and cleared his throat. “I didn’t really see it. I only heard them talking about it.” Hewondered if he should bring up the notes he’d found in Eve’s bedroom, and decided to bide his time.
    “This is all very interesting, but hardly worth taking up my time on a beautiful morning.”
    “There’s more.” Lyle paused. Throughout the night, he’d gone over and over how he would play this card. “It’s big, Mr. Delrickio, bigger than what you’ve been paying me for.”
    “Since I’ve been paying you for very little of interest, that makes no impression on me.”
    “I guarantee you, you’ll want this. I figure it’s worth a bonus. A fat one. Maybe even a permanent job. I got no intention of spending the rest of my life driving a car and living over a garage.”
    “Is that so?” Delrickio’s distaste showed only briefly. “Tell me what you have, then I’ll tell you what it’s worth.”
    Lyle licked his lips again. He knew he was taking a chance, but the payoff could be incredible. Visions of cold money and hot women danced in his head. “Mr. Delrickio, I know