about the recorder. She had lied; he was sure of it. He wondered if her claim that she didnât make friends easily had been a lie, too. And her apparent blandness and loneliness a front. For all he knew she had dozens of sexual partners and came on to every man who interested her, including the hired help.
Some package, Verity Daniels. Lackluster on the outside, a tangle of contradictions, neuroses, hidden facets on the inside. Trying to unravel that tangle was like trying to reach inside an unfamiliar machine, grab a handful of twisted-up wires, and sort them out blind.
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
She called again at 11:45 on Friday morning. But this time it was business.
âI just heard from him,â she said in a voice that wobbled a little. âMy God, you should have heard the names he called me. Awful, disgusting names.â
âWhy the abuse?â
Heavy breath, as if sucked in hard through her teeth. âThe police ⦠he thinks I went to the police. He said thatâs why he didnât meet me at Baker Beach, because he knew heâd be walking into a trap.â
Runyon said, âHe couldnât know I was there. Testing you, trying to scare you even more.â
âWell, he succeeded. God!â
âWhat did you say to him?â
âI told him he was wrong, I didnât go to the policeâI followed his instructions, went to the beach alone with the money. He called me more names. He said Iâd better be telling the truth because if he found out I wasnât heâd ⦠heâd kill me.â
Not good. Might be an empty threat, part of the design to exert more pressure ⦠if simple extortion was his game. Blackmailers as a breed were generally nonviolent, menacing words their only weapons. But if the perp was driven by some personal motive such as revenge, the threat could be genuine. Had to be taken seriously, in any event.
He asked, âThen what?â
âHe demanded I bring him the money today. No police, no tricks ⦠or else.â
âBaker Beach again?â
âNo. Lands End. Iâm to wait at an overlook on the Coastal Trail a quarter mile from the Fort Miley parking lot, where you can see whatâs left of old wrecked steamships. Does that mean anything to you?â
âNo, but there are maps. What time?â
âFive-thirty. Heâs being very careful this time, he said. If he doesnât meet me by five-thirty-five, Iâm to walk along the trail to where stairs lead up to the Veterans Administration Hospital and wait there.â
Which meant the perp would be watching the overlook for any signs of police presence, and if he wasnât satisfied, heâd either make the meet at the stairs or somewhere between. Probably the latter.
âThis time he wants the money in a backpack,â Ms. Daniels said. âI donât have a backpack, Iâll have to go out and buy one.â¦â
âAll right. Did the conversation get recorded this time?â
âUm, no. No, it didnât. But it wasnât my fault.â
Runyon waited.
âHe didnât call on my home phone,â she said. âHe called my cell. Because the landline might be bugged, he said. How he got that number, too ⦠I donât know. How could he know so much about me?â
Take her at her word, there wasnât anything else he could do. He said flatly, âWeâll find out when we catch him.â
âSo you will be there? At Lands End? I donât think I could go through with this if you werenât.â¦â
âIâll be there. Same instructions as beforeâdonât look for me, donât pay any attention if you see me. And donât forget to take the Q-Phone with you.â
âI wonât.â She drew another sighing breath. âJake ⦠about last night. Iâm sorry I bothered you, really I am. Itâs just that I was feeling so nervous, so
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