"What's happening?" she demanded in a low/ trembling voice.

"Nothing much," Max answered cheerfully. "He's dying, that's all."

Oh, Max, I thought. Son.

Harry was now too groggy to speak. He tried to sit up. It was impossible. His body was a dead weight, uncoor- dinated.

"What have you done to him?" Ca.s.sandra shrieked.

Max smiled.

"Ah, there's the lovely irony, you see," he told her. "I haven't done a thing."

The smile vanished in an instant, leaving his face a mask of implacable venom.

"You did," he said.

The smile again, now-terribly-accompanied by a chuckle.

"And he asked you to," he finished.

Her gaze jumped to the empty gla.s.s.

"Right on," said Max.

Ca.s.sandra strained to pull Harry to his feet. "I'll get you to a doctor," she muttered.

"You'd only be driving a corpse into town," Max told her.

She looked at him, appalled. "You b.a.s.t.a.r.d," she said.

"You absolute b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

She saw the impossibility of getting Harry up and, with a

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sudden movement, she pushed to her feet and strode quickly toward the entry halL

Max leaned back and reached beneath the desk. My G.o.d, it isn't over yet! I thought in dismay. (How little I knew.)

The door swung shut, slammed hard into its frame, and locked itself.

Ca.s.sandra stopped in front of it. She tried to open it, men turned, a look of fury on her face.

"And now-" said Max.

Sliding off the desk, he circled it and moved to the man- telpiece/ taking down the African blowgun.

"-me coup de main," he finished me sentence. "Surprise attack."

He lifted me blowgun to his Ups and pointed it at Ca.s.san- dra.

She shrank back against the door, a look of panic on her face.

Max blew.

Ca.s.sandra jolted and gasped. (Inside, I did the same.) She looked down at her chest.

A small feathered dart was protruding from her right breast.

With a sickened noise, she jerked it out and looked at it in disbelief.

A sudden numbness struck her and she dropped it, wa- vered, slumping back against the door-

Both of them. Max? I thought in horror across me room.

Harry was emitting tiny, breathless sounds.

Max set the blowgun back in place above the mantel- piece, men looked at Ca.s.sandra.

" wanted born of you together when I did this," he told her. "Terrorize Harry first, of course. I needed that for my soul's sake.

92 Ric-rd Mttiesm

"But the two of you together for this moment. This most rewarding and fulfilling..."

His voice trailed off; he didn't look rewarded or fulfilled.

He looked completely desolated.

"... and tragic moment," he finished in a broken voice.

Ca.s.sandra tried to remain erect, but couldn't.

As though her limbs had been reduced to jelly/ she slid downward on the door and landed in a crumpled heap, eyes staring, mouth ajar; a hideous sight. Despite my feel- ings toward her, I would never have wished this for her.

Harry made a gagging noise, and Max and I looked over at him.

Max walked around the desk and moved to where his agent lay, slowly writhing, eyes-like Ca.s.sandra's-staring gla.s.sily, breath a failing sibiiance.

"So, dear friend," said Max.

Harry tried to lift his head-could not. He stared up sighdessly.

Then his head fell back, thumping on the floor, his eyes closing.

Max knelt to check for a heartbeat.

Satisfied, he stood and moved to where Ca.s.sandra half sat, half lay against the door, eyes now dosed.