Partners in Crime Read Free

someone of Jimmy the Stoolie’s ilk, and the experience was novel enough to be entertaining.
    He should have told her, of course. He’d meant to, but she’d looked at him with such wonderful awe and distrust that he couldn’t resist stringing her along. For the first time in months the deadly lassitude had left him. That odd little encounter might be enough to make his trip to the Canary Islands entertaining after all. Anytime he got bored he could think back to little Ms. Jane Dexter and laugh.
    She would wonder about him when he didn’t show up for dinner tonight. They were supposed to meet at the steak house in the mall, the most anonymous place he could think of, and there she’d outline her plan. He almost wished he could make it. His flight was at ten o’clock tonight—if he missed it he’d have to go back to New York and that was the last thing he wanted. If they’d picked a decent restaurant he could have sent her flowers and a graceful note of regret. He couldn’t see managing that in the cafeteria-style steak house he’d assiduously avoided in the past.
    No, she was going to have to wonder about Jimmy the Stoolie. She’d probably figure he went back to his life of crime in the bowels of New York. He wondered if the paper would correct its error. He wasn’t about to bring it to their attention, and he doubted Jimmy would. So Ms. Jane Dexter would have to make other arrangements, always wondering what happened to her first-choice felon.
    Sandy stripped off his clothes and headed for the rusty shower stall. He should be delighted to get away from his self-imposed exile, to immerse himself in the luxurious surroundings that would be provided for him. The memory of Jane Dexter’s offer of employment would keep him going. Who knows, when he got back he’d probably find she needed a lawyer. Maybe he could offer his services.
    Now if he had even an ounce of decency left in him, he would fight his way through the hordes of teenagers that crowded into the mall and meet Madame X long enough to tell her the truth. If he had any conscience at all he’d warn her against committing the felony of arson, or even conspiring to. They’d laugh over her misunderstanding, admit to the error of her ways, and he’d head off to Newark Airport in plenty of time to get his flight, secure in his own nobility.
    He cursed as the hot water turned abruptly icy, and jumped out of the shower, banging his elbow and knee as he went. That’s what he’d do. He’d make the time to stop there and meet her, out of pure decency and love for his fellow man. And he’d do it because if he didn’t, he’d go absolutely crazy wondering why a conventional-looking creature like Ms. Jane Dexter wanted to commit arson. So much for noble motives.
    The phone rang as he let himself out the door. He paused for a moment. Apart from Jimmy the Stoolie, only the chief legal clerk of MacDougal and Sullivan knew where he was. Right now he wasn’t interested in last-minute details, in the law, in anything at all but getting out of this motel. He’d check in with them once he got to the Canary Islands. In the meantime he was going to settle up his account and head for Quaker Bridge Mall and a woman of mystery. And he found himself whistling as he shut the door behind him.

 
    Chapter Two
    S andy had to park half a mile away from the entrance to the sprawling structure of Quaker Bridge Mall. It was a Wednesday night, hardly peak time for shoppers and browsers, but it might as well have been the height of Christmas shopping instead of a balmy evening in mid-October. He cursed under his breath as he crossed the wide expanse of the parking lot. He’d have to remember to take this hike into account when he left Madame X. He didn’t want to miss his plane.
    It took him even longer to thread his way through the crowds wandering aimlessly around the enclosed mall. He’d miscalculated where the steak house was, and had chosen the parking lot and entrance