The thickset man in the dark suit darted forward and bundled the visitor all the way inside and slammed the door after him. And Tony grabbed Marilyn from behind with a strong arm around her waist. He dragged her backward into the office. She arched forward against the pressure of his arm. She was bending herself double and fighting.
"God's sake, help us!"
Tony lifted her off her feet. His arm was bunching under her breasts. The short dress was riding up over her thighs. She was kicking and struggling. The short man in the blue uniform was staring. Her shoes came off. Then the short man was smiling. He walked forward into the office after her, stepping carefully over her abandoned shoes, carrying his grocery sack.
"Hey, I'd like to get me a piece of that," he said.
"Forget it," Tony gasped from behind her. "This one's off limits, time being."
"Pity," the new guy said. "Not every day you see a thing like that."
Tony struggled with her all the way back to the sofa. Dumped her down next to Chester. The new guy shrugged wistfully and emptied the grocery sack on the desk. Bricks of cash money thumped out on the wood. The bathroom door opened and Hobie stepped into the room. His jacket was off and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to the elbow. On the left was a forearm. It was knotted with muscle and thick with dark hair. On the right was a heavy leather cup, dark brown, worn and shiny, with straps riveted to it running away up into the shirtsleeve. The bottom of the cup was narrowed to a neck, with the bright steel hook coming down out of it, running straight for six or eight inches and then curving around to the point.
"Count the money, Tony," Hobie said.
Marilyn jerked upright. Turned to face the new guy.
"He's got two cops in there," she said urgently. "He's going to kill them."
The guy shrugged at her.
"Suits me," he said. "Kill them all, is what I say."
She stared at him blankly. Tony moved behind the desk and sorted through the bricks of money. He stacked them neatly and counted out loud, moving them from one end of the desk to the other.
"Forty thousand dollars."
"So where are the keys?" the new guy asked.
Tony rolled open the desk drawer. "These are for the Benz."
He tossed them to the guy and went into his pocket for another bunch.
"And these are for the Tahoe. It's in the garage downstairs."
"What about the BMW?" the guy asked.
"Still up in Pound Ridge," Hobie called across the room.
"Keys?" the guy asked.
"In the house, I guess," Hobie said. "She didn't bring a pocketbook, and it doesn't look like she's concealing them about her person, does it?"
The guy stared at Marilyn's dress and smiled an ugly smile, all lips and tongue.
"There's something in there, that's for damn sure. But it don't look like keys."
She looked at him in disgust. The design on his jacket read Mo's Motors. It was embroidered in red silk. Hobie walked across the room and stood directly behind her. He leaned forward and brought the hook around into her line of vision. She stared at it, close up. She shuddered.
"Where are the keys?" he asked.
"The BMW is mine," she said.
"Not anymore it isn't."
He moved the hook closer. She could smell the metal and the leather.
"I could search her," the new guy called. "Maybe she is concealing them after all. I can think of a couple of interesting places to look."
She shuddered.
"Keys," Hobie said to her softly.
"Kitchen counter," she whispered back.
Hobie took the hook away and walked around in front of her, smiling. The new guy looked disappointed. He nodded to confirm he'd heard the whisper and walked slowly to the door, jingling the Benz keys and the Tahoe keys in his hand.
"Pleasure doing business," he said as he walked.
Then he paused at the door and looked back, straight at Marilyn.
"You completely sure that's off limits, Hobie? Seeing as how we're old friends and all? Done a lot of business together?"
Hobie shook his head like he meant it. "Forget about it. This one's mine."
The guy shrugged and walked out of the office, swinging the keys. The door closed behind him and they heard the second thump of the lobby door a moment later. Then there was elevator whine and the office fell silent again. Hobie glanced at the stacks of dollar bills on the desk and headed back to the bathroom. Marilyn and Chester were kept side by