of testosterone stock to sell?â Charlie asked Terrance.
âNot right now I donât. The companyâs just getting off the ground.â Terrance looked around for an ashtray and settled on an empty wastepaper basket.
âWell then, whereâs the money cominâ from?â
âI can come up with four. Iâm asking you to lend the rest.â
âThousand-dollar bills are still legal tender, but theyâre not being printed anymore. If I get them, Iâm supposed to turn them over to the Federal Reserve.â
âI know. You lend me two hundred, Iâll come up with the thousand-dollar bills.â Terrance didnât say where heâd get the bills, but the Indian gambling casinos we have in New Mexico were one possible source. If that didnât work, there was always Las Vegas. He peered down at the carpet, poked it with his boot and made an unsuccessful stab at humility.
There was a pause while they studied each other and Charlie considered how much of Terranceâs hide he wanted or how badly he wanted Deborah to be rescued. It was a long pause. âHowâs the kidnapper going to access Deborahâs account?â he asked finally.
âHeâs got her ATM card.â Terrance shrugged. âHeâll twist her arm till he gets the PIN.â
âWhat do I get for collateral?â
âMy word.â
âYour wordâs not going to satisfy my shareholders.â
âYou only need the money for an hour, Charlie. Your guys can program the machines so that once the two is taken out of one machine, the others shut down.â
âMy systems analyst is a woman.â
âShe can do it then,â Terrance replied.
âSheâs good, but Iâm still taking a two hundred thousand risk.â
âWhat risk?â
âWell, like I said, I do have my shareholders to consider. Iâll need some collateral.â Charlie seemed to enjoy tossing around the word shareholders, but my impression was that he ran BankWest exactly as he wanted to run it, by the seat of his pants.
âWhat are we talking?â asked Terrance.
âYour Lochovers.â This was where theyâd known the negotiations were heading, but to them the contest was more fun than the goal. âThereâs an empty space on my wall needs to be filled up.â
âLooks good empty; sets off what you already have.â
âNo collateral, no deal.â
âAll right. Iâll put up Riverrun.â
Charlie shook his head, and his hair was spun gold under the overhead light. âThatâs an inferior work.â
âBullshit. Itâs one of his best.â
âItâs not enough, Lewellen.â
âWhat do you want?â
âWhat have you got?â
Terrance paused before he spoke. â Riverrun, Gila Bend, and Santa Barbara Canyon. â
Charlie thought before he answered. âGive me all of them,â he said.
âThatâs highway robbery.â
âThose are my terms,â Charlie said. âTake âem or leave âem.â
âAll right,â Terrance growled. âYou get the paintings for one hour, the duration of the ATM transaction. Neil will write up a collateral agreement.â
Charlie shook his head. âOne month.â
âWhat the hell for?â
âSo I can look at them.â
âTwo weeks.â
âIf anything goes wrong, the bank keeps the paintings to cover my losses. Weâll use your insurance appraisals to determine value.â Knowing Terrance, the insurance appraisals were way inflated, but he didnât argue the point. The game was over; Register had won. âI want you to know Iâm agreeing to this only because Deborahâs in danger,â Charlie said.
âYeah,â said Terrance. The starch had gone out of his shirt, but not for long; he was already looking for the next challenge. âSet it up so we can watch the transfer on your