Angel of Death. Christian Russell

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СКАЧАТЬ around, it does a lot of good; keep it in one place and it’ll smell awful.’”

      She can afford to speak like that. She lives in a palace and rides in cars with the Spirit of Ecstasy on the radiator, Mark said to himself. The woman saw him wrapped in thought and for the first time took a close look at him. The agent was a pleasant, good-looking man, even if his face had none of that angelic perfection of the ‘heartbreakers’ in her trade. His was a somewhat rougher face, as if carved in stone. He was a sturdy, well-built guy. Dorothy read worry in his laughter, though. What would you see if you took off his mask? It was a tempting challenge.

      An old Creole in ragged clothes came to their table carrying a big basket full of flowers.

      “Here, Mother Rossy,” Mark called her gently, giving her a ten-dollar bill. He then took three beautiful roses from the basket and gave them to the actress.

      “Thank you, Mark, you’re so kind. Wait, Rossy, don’t go,” the actress said. She fumbled in her purse and took out a hundred-dollar bill. “Here you are!”

      “¡Por Dios! ¡Muchas gracias, señorita!” the Creole said making the sign of the cross.

      “OK, now. Vaya con Dios,” the actress dismissed the woman who was trying to kiss her hand.

      Suddenly the man felt sad and humiliated.

      “She sells flowers but she’s so uncouth,” Dorothy remarked. “She looks like she was taken from a novel by Dickens. I gave her the money to buy herself some decent clothes and stop walking around in those rags. I don’t understand why she doesn’t take her time to dress up a bit.”

      Mark got indignant. “I could give you at least five reasons for that: John, Mary, Flo, Tom, and Bob, none of them older than ten. Her daughter’s a prostitute. To those children their mother is the only provider. And I can assure you, their clothes are decent and they are sufficiently well-fed. You see, sometimes hard, honest work doesn’t mean anything, for your fate is sealed when you’re still in your mother’s womb. People like Rossy were born poor and they’ll die poor. If shit was worth anything people like her would be born without an asshole. So don’t judge her too harshly!”

      Dorothy was obviously at a loss and surprised by the perceptiveness of this tough agent. She changed her tone. “I’m sorry. But I’ll make up for it. You’ll give me her address and I’ll help her out. Do you think two thousand dollars will see her through?”

      It was the second time that evening she wanted to offer money and Mark felt his heart fill with rage. Everything was so simple to these people! They nonchalantly bought good deeds hoping that would book them a ticket to Paradise. Bitterly, but without a trace of anger in his voice, he said, “You’ve got the rich girl syndrome, Miss Wheller. You’re trying to save the world with your money. The trouble is you probably think you’re succeeding too.”

      The woman’s first impulse was to stand up, offended, or maybe even slap his face. Something stronger than her forced her to remain seated and wonder how much truth there was in the man’s words. She finally gave in. “You’re very straightforward, you know that?”

      “Sure, it saves time,” he raised his eyebrows.

      “I’m sorry,” the actress said and meant it, for under no circumstances did she want to upset her rescuer. Whatever the agent had said, she was convinced her life had been endangered that evening as well.

      “Shall we call it quits?” he suggested smiling, impressed by her repentance.

      “Quits, Mr. Du Nancy!” she answered apparently still scowling.

      “Friends, Dorothy?” the man smiled even broader.

      “Friends, Mark!” she accepted returning his smile.

      As they were eating, the agent tried to draw some of that Hollywood gossip from her but without success. The way Christy Turlington was the good girl of the fashion business, so did Dorothy enjoy the same reputation in the show biz. The kind of woman who would not make a show of herself. The scandals that some of her colleagues started to keep the public interested weren’t exactly her cup of tea.

      “I’m glad your uncle’s OK,” he said at some point. “He’s such a nice guy!”

      “Yes, but he’s also very strict. When I was a teenager he used to keep a sharp eye on me, worse than my dad. I had an entire list of forbidden things to take care of. Until I caught him red-handed.”

      Mark slipped the money under the saucer and helped the woman put on her overcoat.

      “How come? Are you into blackmailing, Dorothy?” he pretended to be serious.

      She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “Among other things, I wasn’t allowed to go to striptease night clubs for fear I saw something ‘uneducational.’ Together with a college mate I broke the rule and went to one, though.”

      “And what did you see?”

      “You mean whom I saw. Uncle Henry, of course!”

      They both had a good laugh. The actress realized that, despite the incident before she hadn’t had such fun with a man in a long time.

      Leaving the place they found their way barred by two ferocious-looking guys. Mark had seen them before, at Weiss’s table. That stare had been real after all. One of them was short but very well built, with only two or three teeth left in his mouth and the other, a two hundred-pound giant, wearing the most awfully yellow shoes he had ever seen. A couple of Neanderthals plucked from their caves by some unseen force and brought directly into the twentieth century.

      “Miss Wheller,” the short guy said, “Mr. Weiss would like you to have a glass of champagne with him. He’s a big fan of yours, you know.”

      “Tell him I thank him but I’m tired and I’d rather go home,” Dorothy said being angry she had been recognized despite her glasses and the discreet booth.

      The big guy grabbed her by the arm. Mark cut in, “Listen, buddy, I don’t know where you learned your manners but the lady wants to leave, so, get lost!”

      The two men grinned fiercely. Mark assessed the shape he was in and came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t take him more than thirty seconds to put them both down. But the woman next to him was a public person and you couldn’t throw a stone in New York without hitting a paparazzo lying in wait for something sensational. And if he wasn’t careful the actress ran the risk of making the ‘Inside Edition’ news the following evening. So he refrained and, removing the big guy’s hand, said, “We’ll be leaving now. Good bye, guys, nice meeting you!”

      The big guy grinned again. “I’ve got a black belt, bud,” he boasted.

      “You don’t say! Too bad you don’t have shoes to match,” the agent said waving his badge at them and allowing the holster of his gun to be seen. Then he took Dorothy by the arm. She was shaking with laughter. Together they left the restaurant and the two gorillas to chew their helplessness away.

      CHAPTER FOUR

      Wednesday, October 14

      Eddie Druller was scared. Actually, one could say he was terrified. He had made a big mistake but it was only now, when it was too late, that he realized that. And all because of the Chink. He had given him СКАЧАТЬ