Hotline to Murder

he didn’t guarantee he’d release Tina.”
    “He’d better release Tina,” Tony said grimly.
    ***
    “The intersection he named is not far from here,” Tony said, checking a page of the map book. Let’s reconnoiter the area.” He got up and started walking back to the car.
    Shahla followed him. “He may already be there. He’ll recognize your car.”
    “Well, maybe we can park a few blocks away and walk to it.”
    “If he’s there, he’ll see us. It’s still daylight.”
    True. But Tony was running out of ideas.
    “Can we rent a car?” Shahla asked.
    “There isn’t time. By the time we drove to a rental agency, did the paperwork, drove back…”
    “Okay, what are we going to do? Call the cops?”
    “The question is, what does Nathan do when he spots a police car? Stab Tina, figuring he’s going to be taken up to heaven even if he isn’t at the exact right spot at midnight?”
    “Yeah, too risky. He’s unpredictable. What else can we do?”
    What, indeed? He certainly wasn’t going to let Shahla meet Nathan alone. They exited from the park and started driving in the direction of the rendezvous, still discussing the issue. Soon they were going slowly through a residential neighborhood. A couple of hundred feet ahead of them a man came out of his house and walked toward a pickup truck parked in the driveway.
    “Change cars with that man,” Shahla said suddenly.
    “You’re kidding.”
    “I’m not. Stop, Tony.”
    “He’s….” Tony hesitated.
    “He’s what? Black? African-American. So what? You’re white and I’m mixed and we get along. It’s all one world, remember?”
    He couldn’t do it. He drove past the driveway. Then he slammed on his brakes. He shoved the gearshift into reverse and backed up, stopping in front of the driveway. He saw the man, poised to climb into his truck, looking at him curiously. Probably thought he needed directions.
    Tony got out of the car and walked around the front of it. How did one start? “Hi,” he said to the man. That was inadequate. “Uh, I was wondering if you’d like to change cars for a few hours.”
    The man looked past him to the Porsche. If it had been an old VW beetle, the answer would have been obvious. But he looked interested.
    “What’s the deal; is it hot?” he asked.
    “No, no. I’ve got the registration inside. I’ll show you.”
    “That’s okay,” the man said, as Tony took a step back toward his car. “But I mean, are you on the level?”
    “Yeah.” He owed the man a fuller explanation. “We’re trying to find a guy, but if he sees my car, he’ll bolt.”
    “I see.” The man smiled. “I’ve always wanted to drive a Porsche. I’m leaving for work. I won’t be back until morning. And I generally sleep until noon.”
    “That’s okay. We can change back tomorrow afternoon. Do you know how to drive a stick?”
    “This is a stick.” The man indicated the truck. “If you want to do it, I’m okay with it.”
    Shahla was getting out of the Porsche. “Bring the phone and the map book,” Tony told her. “And our sweatshirts.” He walked up to the man and said, “I’m Tony.”
    “Richard.”
    They shook hands. Shahla came up the driveway.
    “This is Shahla, my, uh…friend.”
    They exchanged pleasantries. Tony and the man exchanged keys. And phone numbers. The man reached into the truck and pulled out a metal box.
    “Tools,” he said.
    He glanced at the bed of the pickup. It contained a coiled rope, a white tarpaulin and some other things.
    “Nothing there I can’t live without for one night,” he said. “Okay. It’s all yours.”
    He strode down the driveway and got into the Porsche. Tony watched apprehensively as he started it and drove away, waving as he went. He accelerated slowly, shifted smoothly, and seemed to be a good driver. Tony and Shahla climbed into the truck. It was somewhat messy inside, but appeared to be drivable. It was quite new. It had a remote for locking and unlocking the doors.
    “You need to find a better way to introduce me,” Shahla said as he backed down the driveway. “‘My, uh…friend’ doesn’t cut it.”
    “Sorry. I was going to introduce you as my sister, but then I thought there was no reason to lie.”
    “Just ‘friend’ is fine. It’s the hesitation that hurts. We are friends, aren’t we? We’ll still be friends when this is all over, won’t we?”
    “Of course.” Of course. Tony concentrated on getting to the intersection Nathan had