She rested a hand on his thigh and raised her glass again. “To the forgivable,” she said, squeezing his thigh.

He kissed her, then had an overwhelming urge to belch. “Excuse me!” he said. “Steak doesn’t normally do that to me.”

Her hand moved up his thigh, and he ran a finger down her cleavage. “Mmm,” she said, and he reached for a nipple. He had just found it when a wave of nausea swept over him. He stood up. “Excuse me for a minute.” He went into the john and threw up into the toilet. In a moment, he was on his knees, retching again.

“You all right in there?” she called.

“Just give me a minute,” he said. He needed more than a minute before he could stand. The train was slowing as it came into a station, and he bounced off the walls. Finally, he got hold of the doorknob and turned it, but the door wouldn’t open. “Hey,” he called, “can you open the door from that side? It’s stuck.”

No reply. It was getting hot in the tiny room and he began to sweat heavily. He put his shoulder against the door, and it gave a little. He put more weight behind it and it burst open, spilling him into the little cabin. The door had been tied with his necktie. She was gone. “Goddamnit!” he muttered. “Just when I was about to get lucky.” He mopped his forehead with his sleeve and reached for his jacket to get a handkerchief. He dropped the jacket, and as he picked it up, his wallet fell onto the floor. It was empty.

“Shit!” he yelled. Then he looked out the window and saw Sylvia Mays walk quickly past on the platform in the company of a porter, who was carrying Ryan’s suitcase. He couldn’t believe it. He reached up and unlatched the upper berth, and as it fell open he saw that it was empty. He grabbed the doorknob and pushed, but the door wouldn’t open. He turned and tried to open the window, but it opened only about ten inches.

“Conductor!” he yelled, over and over. Then the door behind him opened.

“Mr. Ryan,” the conductor said, “someone jammed your door with a wedge. Are you all right?” The train began moving again, gaining speed quickly.

Ryan started to tell him, then stopped. What if they caught her? How could he explain what was in the suitcase?

“What station was that?” he asked.

“Charleston, South Carolina,” the conductor replied.

“What’s the next stop?”

“Norfolk, Virginia.”

“Thank you, I’m fine.” As soon as the conductor was gone, he went into the john and vomited again.

Chapter 53

Stone got a call from Dino on Wednesday morning.

“Hey,” Dino said.

“You sound better.”

“I’m fine, pal, and the best part is that Viv never knew I wasn’t.”

“Are you at home?”