Three Fates

employee?”
    “No.” She watched him over the sparkling edge of the crystal flute. “I pulled the trigger with a steady, easy hand. You’d be wise to remember that, and to understand how I deal with people who disappoint me.”
    She picked up the attaché case, slid the photos in as the waiter returned with the salad course. “May I keep this?”
    “Of course. I’ll tell you what I understand. You don’t consider two lives too high a price to pay for what you want. I’m sure you won’t find the price I ask out of your reach either.”
    “And that would be?”
    “Ten million, cash.”
    Anita gave a sour laugh, even as her pulse jumped. So little, she thought. The man was a complete fool. At auction she could command double that. More, considerably more, with the right publicity.
    “Do you actually think I’m going to pay you ten million dollars?”
    “I do, yes. Three for each lady and one for good measure. So you see the price Cleo asked for Lachesis before you had her friend beaten to death was a rare bargain that won’t come ’round again. Oh, and here’s the topper.” Malachi broke apart a roll. “He knew, Mikey did, where the Fate was being kept and had the means to get it. What does that say to you, Anita?”
    She laid a hand on her purse, imagined pulling out the pistol she’d put inside it—just in case—and emptying it into Malachi Sullivan’s smug face.
    “It says to me that Mr. Dubrowsky deserved what he got. I’ll be handling my own negotiations from now on.”
    “Then I should tell you straight off, our asking price isn’t negotiable, so let’s not spoil this lovely meal with wrangling. We considered asking for a great deal more, letting you counter and doing the back-and-forth business. But really, we’ve come too far for such petty behavior, haven’t we? You want them, I have them. That’s the price.”
    He bit into the roll he’d buttered. “You’ll parlay them for a tidy profit, reap considerable glory on Morningside and yourself. Everyone wins.”
    “Even if I agreed to the price, that much in cash—”
    “Cash is the currency. Or I should say electronic cash. Simpler all around, very little paperwork to contend with. I’ll give you two days to make the arrangements.”
    “Two days? That’s—”
    “Time enough for a canny woman like you. Thursday, eleven o’clock. You transfer the funds to the account I’ll give you at that time. Once it’s done, I give you Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.”
    “And I’m supposed to trust you to hold up your end. Really, Malachi.”
    He pursed his lips. “That’s a problem, isn’t it? Still, I’m trusting you to make the arrangements and not have a couple of rottweilers standing by to tear out my throat and take the prize from my cold, dead hand. That’s why we’ll make the exchange in a public and civilized arena. The New York Public Library. I’m sure you’ve heard of it? The one on Fifth Avenue at Fortieth Street. Grand marble lions out front. They have an extensive section on mythology. It seems quite apt to me.”
    “I need time to think about it. A way to contact you.”
    “You have till eleven on Thursday to think about it. As for contacting me, well, there’s no need. Those are the terms. If they don’t suit you, they’re sure to suit someone else. Say, Wyley’s. The library, the main reading room on the third floor. Excuse me a minute, won’t you, darling? I’m just going to make use of the facilities.”
    He strolled out through the doors that led to the rest rooms and the bar. And kept right on walking, leaving Anita stuck with the check.
    “That went well,” he said into the mike fixed to the underside of his lapel.
    “Well enough,” his sister agreed. “We’re circling back around. We’ll pick you up on the east corner. Cleo wants you to know she’s very disappointed you didn’t hang through it and bring back a doggie bag.”
    He chuckled, headed toward the corner. Then felt the honed point of a knife jab at his side, just along his kidney.
    “Just keep walking, pal.” Jasper’s voice was low and even as he gripped Malachi’s arm in his free hand. “And keep in mind, I can jam this into you, slice out a good chunk, and nobody but me’s going to know the difference.”
    “If you’re after what’s in my wallet, you’re going to be very disappointed.”
    “We’re going to get in a car half a block up and go to a nice, quiet place I’ve got all ready for you. Have a nice,