Tonight there were no muggers to shoo away. The bouncer took a look around the back lot where the players’ cars were parked, and went back in.
Nigel dug his keys out of his pocket. Now that he was alone, the only thing that kept him from flipping out entirely was the thought that there might be surveillance cameras in the lot.
There weren’t. Teddy Fay had checked that out. There were no cameras, no guard, no security system of any type.
When Nigel opened the door of his car, Teddy stepped up and plunged a hypodermic needle into his neck.
21
Nigel came to on the floor. It was moving and bumping somewhat, which was what had jostled him awake. Groggy and disoriented, he blinked and opened his eyes.
Teddy was sitting in a seat looking down at him. “Well, well. Look who decided to join the party.”
“Where am I?”
Teddy shrugged. “I have no idea. That’s the thing with autopilot. You don’t really have to pay attention.”
“Huh?”
“You’re in a private jet. I can’t tell you exactly where you are, but you’re flying at fifteen thousand feet at five hundred miles per hour. Do you know what happens when you open the cabin door at that speed? More to the point, do you know what happens when a person plummets to the earth from a height of over two miles? Neither do I. Colleges are strict about grant money, and it’s hard to get volunteers. However, it goes by rather quickly. You can calculate it by the formula for falling objects, though the odds are by the time you reach a solution it will no longer be of any use to you.”
“What do you want?”
“What’s your name?”
“Nigel Hightower.”
“What do you do, Nigel?”
“I’m an investor.”
Teddy scoffed. “An investor? You’re a rich prick. You spend what Daddy gives you and hustle the rest.”
“Now, see here—”
“Did you go to Oxford?”
“Yes.”
“You knew Tessa Tweed?”
“Oh.”
“You’re a real schmuck, aren’t you? Filmed your girlfriend without her knowledge. I suppose you saw that as a harmless prank. Then you told her you destroyed it, but you kept a copy. I suppose that was just for you to look at. At least at first, until she became famous. Then you started showing it around.”
“No.”
“No? Then I wonder what we’re doing here. I take it you aren’t the one using the tape to pressure her?”
“No!”
“Who is?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you do. He’s got that tape, and you’re the only source. At least I hope you’re the only source . . . or did you share it with anyone else?”
“No, no, of course not.”
“Then it had to have come from you. Damned by your own ethics. Strange word to apply to you. Ethics. Have you got any ethics, Nigel? You had a girlfriend in college who’s a film star now, who you can’t help bragging about. You wouldn’t blackmail her with that film, would you?”
“Of course not.”
“But you’d let someone else do it.”
“No, I—”
“You’re a loser, Nigel, and you’ve always been a loser. A loser needs a stake. A guy says to you, ‘You give me that tape, I’ll give you twenty thousand dollars. You don’t give me that tape, I’ll break your thumbs.’ Well, your thumbs aren’t broken, Nigel. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“Ten thousand.”
“What?”
“It was only ten thousand.”
“Who gave you the money?”
“I tell you, I don’t know.”
“You’ve told me a lot of things, Nigel, and some of them might be true. With you it’s hard to tell. So, last chance to stay in the plane. I want a name. Give me a name, Nigel.”
Nigel looked like he was about to cry. “I don’t know.”
“What did the guy look like?”
“There’s no guy,” Nigel cried.
“Then you’re the guy, Nigel. If there’s no guy, you’re him.”
“There’s a guy,” Nigel said. “I never met him. I came back to the car and there was a manila envelope on the front seat. I don’t know how, the car was locked, but there it was. There was a thousand bucks inside, and a note.”
“What did it say?”
“I still have it.” Nigel scrunched around on the plane floor and dug into his hip pocket. He pulled out a folded paper. He unfolded it and read, “‘Use this thousand to play tomorrow night. Leave this manila envelope with the video on the front seat. When you cash out, the video will be gone, and you will find another nine thousand in the envelope. If you do not comply with these instructions, I will assume you have stolen one thousand dollars from me, and act accordingly. Leaving the money in the envelope would not relieve you of your obligation. I will assume you are taunting me with your stolen goods, and act accordingly.’”
“You did what the letter said?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“I find it hard to put myself in the position of someone who would have abused his girlfriend in the first place. Tell me, was this the same night you were shooting your mouth off around the club?”
“I didn’t say I was shooting my mouth off around the club.”
“You did, though, didn’t you? Because you were nursing a bad loss and you wanted to make yourself feel better. So you said, ‘Well, I may not be lucky in cards, but guess what?’”
“How do you know what I said?”
“Because you’re not as cool as you think you are, even for a loser.” Teddy cocked his head. “Well, it would appear you are of no further use to me. I’m going back to the cockpit to strap myself in. The plane tends to buck around a little when the cabin door’s open.”
Nigel was frantic. “Wait! Wait!”
“What?”
“I told you what you wanted to know.”
“Yes.”
“So you’re going to let me go.”
Teddy pretended to consider. “Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re never going to mention the video again. If you have any copies, you’re going to destroy them. You’re not going back to the hold ’em club. In fact, you’re going to leave town, and you’re not coming back until I clean up this mess you created. You can give me your cell phone number, and I’ll let you know. Do we have a deal?”