Heaven Is High Read Online Free PDF Page B

conversation with their hands for the next minute or two. Then Martin said, “I told you we heard about you from Tawna and James Gresham. They’ve invited us out to their place a couple of times. We never made it yet, but we could go there. You know where they are, up the McKenzie? I think it’s called Turner’s Point, something like that.”
    Barbara felt as if every cell in her body shrank at the thought of going back there. Martin was still speaking, but now he sounded a long way away.
    â€œWe’d be okay there. I don’t think a soul would dream of looking for us there.”
    Barbara nodded. She opened her window and turned on the fan to clear the fog. When she spoke again, her own voice sounded strange, hollow. “Did you mention their names at all? Out loud, I mean.”
    Martin glanced at Binnie and after a moment he said, “I don’t think so, not until we turned up at your place anyway.”
    â€œGood. I want Bailey to drive you out there, if you agree. He would make sure you weren’t followed. I don’t want you to drive because if there’s a bug in the restaurant, there’s no way to know about your car, how secure it might be. For the rest of today, tonight, don’t say a thing out loud that bears on anything we’ve said, anything about the whole situation, and especially don’t breathe a word about the listening device if there is one. Okay? I’ll come in with you and tell you again about Nicholson’s proposal, and you say something like you’ll have to think about it, talk it over. Will you do that? Put on an act?” She suspected that they would have a lot of conversations about it in the days to come. “It would be absolutely normal if you keep talking about that, in fact, let them know you’re considering it.”
    â€œSure,” Martin said. “Barbara, are you all right?”
    â€œYes. It’s getting a little stuffy in here. I’m fine. I’ll ask Bailey to pick you up tomorrow, whenever you say. If you call Tawna or James, use a pay phone somewhere, not your own.”
    â€œWe can be ready by ten in the morning,” Martin said after another silent conversation with Binnie. He reached in his pocket and brought out a card and wrote on it. “Our home address.”
    â€œThanks,” Barbara said, and turned on the engine, engaged the gears, but paused before backing out of the parking space. “I’ll come out to the house on Sunday, after you get settled in. We’ll have a long talk then. You should have my phone number, in case you want to get in touch with me.” She wrote it in a notebook, ripped out the page, and handed it to him.
    â€œWe haven’t talked yet about paying you, Barbara. I’m good for it,” he said as she drove back to the restaurant.
    Bailey would be pleased to hear that, she thought with relief. Again, she had failed to bring it up herself. Because this is not my case, she told herself sharply.
    When they reached the restaurant, Bailey met them in the dining room. He held up his finger, one bug, and indicated the kitchen with a jerk of his thumb, then without a word he saluted and left. Barbara repeated Nicholson’s proposal and Martin responded exactly right. “I’ll be in touch,” she said at the door. “Take it easy, you two.”
    Done, she thought, returning to her car. She would give Bailey some time at her house, buy some sandwich makings to feed him, and go on from there.

4
    When she opened her door later, Bailey stepped out from the bedroom, saluted, and stepped back in. She took her groceries to the kitchen, left the bag on the table, shrugged out of her jacket, and went into her office.
    Twenty minutes later, Bailey came to the door. “You’re clean.”
    She glanced at the several boxes on the floor. “Those, too?”
    â€œJust the one on top. Barbara, you plant a bug, you want to make it quick