Except Marcus. The fee was rather steep, and his habit was increasing.
Marcus handed over the envelope with the cash. “Why the pressure?” he coolly asked.
“No pressure, mate. Just doin’ what I’m told.” Jerry shuffled his feet.
“I believe you have something for me?” Marcus was not in the mood for games.
“Oh yeah, that. Franny says no dice until you pay up.” The kid wiped his sniveling nose with his ragged sleeve.
Marcus thought his head was going to explode. “We had a deal, damn it.”
“Maybe you and Franny did, but it seems like one of you queered the deal. Like I says, doin’ my job.” Jerry was squirmy, and it made Marcus uncomfortable. One never knew what a drug addict would do. And of all people, Marcus should know.
Trying to think quickly, Marcus suggested, “What if I get something better than cash?”
“What? Are you daft? Nothin’ is better than cash.”
“Ask Franny if he’ll take the dosh in diamonds.” Marcus knew he could pinch one of his wife’s diamond earrings without her ever knowing. Her collection would make Harry Winston blush.
“Eh, I dunno ’bout that, mate.” Jerry continued to shuffle his feet. He wiggled as if he had ants-in-pants syndrome.
Marcus tossed his cell phone to Jerry. “Buzz him. Text him. Do whatever. And make it snappy. I don’t want those nosy biddies out there wondering what’s taking you so long to deliver a coffee.”
“All right . . . all right. But I’m using my phone. I don’t want him freakin’ out from some odd phone number showing up on his mobile. Private, ye know.”
“For cripes’ sake. Get on with it, damn you.” Marcus felt as if there were steam coming out of his ears.
Jerry punched in a few numbers. “Yeah, it’s me. So I’m with the doc, and he wants to trade with diamonds.” Jerry pulled the phone away from his ear because of the yelling on the other end.
“’At’s what he said. Diamonds.” Jerry shrugged at Marcus and handed him the phone.
“What’s this? Diamonds?” The voice from the other end was cold but intrigued.
“Yes. I can get you the equivalent of what I owe you later this afternoon.” Marcus puffed up his chest, feeling a win coming on. A moment later, he handed the phone back to Jerry.
“Franny? Yeah? Well, all right.” Looking at Marcus, Jerry repeated what he had heard. “Five o’clock?”
Marcus nodded in agreement.
“Right you are.” He hit END and turned to Marcus. “I’ll be back at five.” Then he slouched out the door.
Marcus checked his watch again. Norma would be at her club for at least another hour. Depending on when the ladies started drinking, it could be much longer. Pressing the intercom button, he said softly but firmly to Gloria, “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“But, sir, you have two patients waiting.” She rolled her eyes at the nurse.
“Tell them I have an emergency. They can either wait or reschedule.” He grabbed his Stetson, raincoat, and umbrella and moved quickly out the back entrance.
Gloria looked over at the two women sitting in the sparse waiting area. “I’m terribly sorry, but Dr. Marcus had an emergency. He’ll be back in an hour, or you can reschedule.”
The women looked at each other. One got up and left; the other stayed to wait. Both were supposed to be new patients. Patients for the Live-Life-Long trials. Even if Marcus knew he was possibly walking away from another pool of money, his fix was of the utmost importance. There would always be another dupe in search of a miracle rejuvenation.
Chapter 10
Pinewood
Myra arranged for Edward to drive Charlotte to the spa. He was to phone Myra when Charlotte was finished and heading back to the farm. Myra gave Charlotte a big hug. “Enjoy your respite, my dear. We’ll have tea when you get back.”
“You are truly spoiling me.” Charlotte already had a glow about her.
As soon as the car passed through the iron gates that protected the property, Myra made a dash to Charlotte’s room to check her medication bottles. She pulled out a dozen Ziploc bags, a marker, and a pad of Post-it notes from her pocket. She wrote the names of the medications, the dosage, and the frequency for each and took one pill from each bottle. Nikki and Alexis’s law firm used a special lab when they needed to double-check toxicology reports for some of their criminal defense cases. The lab was very discreet and got paid well for its services.
Myra heard the dogs yapping as cars pulled into the driveway.