Good Behavior Read Online Free Page B

mean—” Kelp, stymied for words, gestured with the beer can, but that didn’t fully express his thoughts either. “What I mean is,” he said, “what did you tell them? I mean, there you are on their roof.”
    â€œWell, they doped it out,” Dortmunder said. “The other end of the block was all police cars, and there was a burglar alarm going off down there, and all like that. So they kind of put two and two together.”
    â€œThese nuns.”
    â€œThe nuns, right.”
    â€œWell—” Kelp was still having trouble phrasing himself. “What did they say? ”
    â€œNothing. I told you, they have this vow of silence. They wrote a lot of notes, though.”
    â€œNotes,” Kelp said, nodding, catching up. “Fine. What did the notes say?”
    For some reason, Dortmunder looked uncomfortable. Also for some reason, possibly the same reason, May looked kind of steely and determined and grim around the jaw. Dortmunder said, “They offered me a deal.”
    Kelp squinted at his old partner. “A deal?” he asked. “Nuns? What do you mean, a deal?”
    â€œThey wanted his help,” May explained. “They have a problem, and they were praying for help, and here comes John, falling onto their roof—”
    â€œJumping.”
    â€œâ€”and they decided he was sent by God.”
    Kelp stopped squinting. Instead, he looked very round-eyed at his old partner, saying, “ You? Sent by God? ”
    â€œIt wasn’t my idea,” Dortmunder said, sounding sulky. “They dreamed it up themselves.”
    â€œExplain it to Andy,” May suggested. “Maybe he’ll have some good ideas.”
    â€œI already have a good idea,” Dortmunder said, but then he shrugged and said, “All right. This is the story. It’s this bunch of cloistered nuns way downtown with this vow of silence, and last year they got this new nun joined up, the first new one they had in five, six years.”
    â€œThat I can believe,” Kelp said.
    â€œWell, this girl, this new one, she has a very rich father, and he tracks her down, finds out she’s in this convent being a nun, and he kidnaps her.”
    Kelp was astonished at this turn in the story. “Right out of the convent?”
    â€œRight out of the convent.”
    â€œHow old is this girl?”
    â€œTwenty-three.”
    Kelp shrugged. “So she’s a grown-up, she can do what she wants.”
    Dortmunder said, “Except her father’s treating her like one of those kids goes off with the cults, you know, the Moonies and like that. He’s got her locked up, and he’s got this deprogrammer in there, doing his number on her.”
    Kelp said, “He’s deprogramming her out of the Catholic Church?”
    â€œThat’s the idea. She writes all these letters to the convent, they showed me some, and this guy’s just steady deprogramming, day after day. And what she wants, what she says in the letters is, she wants to go back to the convent.”
    â€œAnd her old man’s got her locked up? He can’t do that, not if she’s twenty-three.”
    â€œWell, he’s doing it,” Dortmunder said. “So the nuns went to a lawyer to see what can you do, and the lawyer came back and said this guy is very very rich, he has deep pockets like you wouldn’t believe, and if they try anything legal he’ll just tie them up in court until the girl’s seventy -three.”
    â€œSo she’s stuck,” Kelp said.
    â€œSo that was why they figured I was from God, being a burglar and all,” Dortmunder explained. “They figured I could sneak into the rich guy’s place and bust her out.”
    â€œWhat kind of place?” Kelp asked.
    â€œPenthouse suite on top of a building up in midtown. Armed guards all over. Access limited to one elevator, where you got to use a key. The guy owns the whole