Page 7 (1/2)

FLEMING

THE neighbor&039;s attic had so up from the lower floors, but it was still cold It took a few ain My usual sanctuary was fairly close to the base back to the house, I made sure that no one had h the floor and down the stairwell to the front hall The kitchen phone was ringing as Ias she&039;d promised

"How&039;s Charles?" I asked

"He&039;s fine, sweetheart, just fine It&039;s a h ed as the worry fell away I knew she was s, and the spark would be back in her eyes

"I&039;ll be right over"

"Don&039;t go to the hospital He left"

I thought I&039;d not heard her right "Coh to check out this afternoon The doctor wanted hi"

"What the hell? But last night-"

"He&039;s better, I&039; you"

Miracle, indeed This I had to see

"Shoe brought hiht over"

She made no reply

"Bobbi?"

"You should wait a while, Jack"

"But-" Oh

"Shoe&039;s still upset by what happened"

"You are, too"

"Darling, I know that Charles getting blood poisoning wasn&039;t your fault, but Shoe doesn&039;t see it that way"

"He&039;s right It was my fault If I&039;d oh, never ht about? Shoe won&039;t tell ht not know It was between me and Charles, and it&039;s over now Please, believe that" My tone begged her to drop it

She gru away from the receiver that I didn&039;t catch, but it did not sound kind Tie the subject I asked after Roland and Faustine They were both fine andplans to leave for Hollywood as soon as Roland was on his feet again Things were happening, it seeuy as there?" I asked "The fast talker in the funny shirt?"

"Lenny Larsen? Yes, he&039;s got a deal for thenant "For getting theuy He&039;s too slick by half"

"Jack, you only saw hih Don&039;t you let him spin you around, okay?"

"What do you ot to be a con man"

"Well, of course he is They&039;re like that in Hollywood You just have toothers the business"

Oh, God She sounded as though she knehat she was talking about

"What was that?" she asked

"Nothing Look, I&039;ve got to see Charles I could find a way in if you tell me which room, which floor"

"The same floor as mine and Gordy&039;s-he&039;s better, too, by the way He found it&039;s easier to just rest than to argue with Adelle"

"That&039;s good I&039;ll want to see him"

"Am I on your list?"

"You&039;re first up, baby"

"That was the right answer"

I told her Derner&039;s news about her apart clean and ready for her She didn&039;t exactly turn handsprings "I&039;ll go with you if you like," I added

"You certainly will I&039;m not sure I want to see the place yet I&039;d like to stay another night here"

"At a noisy hotel?"

"It&039;s about the same as my place, only I know everyone I feel safer here with them around How nuts is that?"

After what she&039;d been through in the last few days, it sounded perfectly sane to me "It&039;s a vacation Not nuts at all"

"There&039;s more"

"Oh, yeah?"

"It can wait When do you plan to sneak in?"

"Uh"

"Thought so You&039;ve got business, right?"

"Has to do with Gabriel Kroun" I braced for a touchy reaction

"Oh That&039;s okay, then"

What the hell? "Hey, you&039;re not-"

"Mad? Jack, he saved Charles&039;s life If it wouldn&039;tkiss"

"Uh um uh"

"Oh, relax He&039;s safe I&039;ll just shake hands"

"Uh-nuh um" I cleared my throat next It seemed the best response "Well, uh, if you really want to thank him-"

"Yes?"

"He likes Adelle, seen all her raph a picture, put his naht that was a great idea She wanted to know more about Kroun, but I didn&039;t haveher about the run-in with the cops, with Michael and Broder, the burgling of the house would just throw a cold, wet blanket on her high spirits

We ht open again and how to replace Roland and Faustine&039;s big dance nuht Bobbi should do the whole show, but her instincts were better on what to put on a nightclub stage While I never got tired of hearing her sing, the custoht have other ideas

So out "shave-and-a-haircut" but skipping the "two bits"

Bobbi heard the noise "That your friend?"

"Not exactly friend, but I think so"

"Bring him over Shoe won&039;t have proble"

Opti it&039;ll take Expectup

I moved a chair from under the doorknob and let Kroun in He had a few smears of dust on his new overcoat and declined to say where he&039;d spent his day

"What put you in such a good irlfriend"

He glanced around "She&039;s here?"

"She phoned" I told him about Escott&039;s recovery "He&039;s at Coldfield&039;s hotel-the one where Adelle Taylor is staying with Gordy" As I&039;d hoped, the ot Kroun&039;s attention

"Maybe we should go over, say hello," he said "Ya think?"

"You got anything else to do?"

He grimaced "Unfortunately, yes I&039;ve an appointment and need a ride"

"Where? For what?"

"Later I need a shave first"

He took one suitcase upstairs to the guest rooht be a while

With little to do but kick athered up the day&039;s papers fro in the latter was for les on Roland Labuster Fresh pictures of hi devotedly at Faustine were below the fold but still on the front page Speculation was again raised about Hollywood doing a movie based on their exploits No pictures of yours truly being affectionately assaulted by Faustine were there, though a couple papers htclub owner involved with the " I was al, but they could at least get e two, s a new lead There were hints they had a suspect and were close to capturing hiraph filler about a e, foul play was suspected No name, no mention of the address book I&039;d planted, no connection to the Alan Caine investigation The cops were playing it close to the vest there

Back on page two the header on another column read, SINGER&039;S SUICIDE WAS MURDER! with a quote fro she had not taken her own life Cold coain so I could kill him, then discarded it If I had a wish, then better to use it to bring back poor Jewel instead

Though the cops were still on the hunt, tomorrow the story would be considered a dry well by ht be so in the obituaries about Jewel&039;s funeral, but no h life What was the point in trying if this was all a person had to show for it: a few lines in a paper and a headstone no one would visit Soet even that much

I tried to shake it off, as this was just the kind of thinking that would annoy Escott Better come up with a distraction like the damned brokenat the end of the hall Despite h

Taking advantage of being the boss once more, I called Derner He knew solass after hours

"I&039;ll be by the club later," I said, "to drop off the house key"

"He won&039;t need no key, Boss," he assured me

The surprise was that I wasn&039;t surprised

By the tih the rest of the papers, Kroun caed hair and eyebrows had filled out so his day sleep, and he looked better for a shave and a fresh shirt

"Where to?" I asked, resigned to playing chauffeur for the tihtcrawler There&039;d been so desk This was the one he&039;d scribbled on during his one private call

I opened the matchbook An address ritten inside I knew the street, but not the nuo see"

We didn&039;t have much to talk about on the drive over, so I switched the radio on and listened to a coht places, and Kroun snorted now and then He wasn&039;t the type to go in for a full belly laugh, though he clearly had a sense of humor When the shoas over, he turned the sound low and asked how long I&039;d known Adelle Taylor I filled hihtcrawler

"She&039;s a real hu content

I grunted agree found the address It was soe by the discreet sign attached to the iron driveway gate An eight-foot-high brick ith another foot of iron trim on top ran around the entire block The trih the latest layer of snow, giving me an idea of just what kind of patients were inside

Kroun had his box of cigars in hand He tucked it under one arn posted visiting hours with a warning no one would be admitted without an appointave his nah pulled by an invisible servant It ground shut once ere inside I thought they only had stuff like that in the movies

A paved ay that so It was red brick like the wall, three stories, and on the plain side The fresh drifts of snow softened its lines, but it didn&039;t seem too friendly Most of the ere dark, with their shades drawn

A large man in an orderly&039;s white shirt and pants unlocked the door for us, locking up again He gestured toward a reception desk in a small lobby where a nurse sat She was busy with a stack of papers, but left them to deal with Kroun He took off his hat, switched on his forht at her, and da like he was an old friend she&039;d not seen lately, and conducted us down a hall and up so orderly followed

He had the keys and opened doors along the way

It was that kind of hospital, all right, where the patients are shut inside for their own good and everyone else&039;s Who the hell did Kroun know here?

I kept my yap shut

The orderly unlocked the last door and stood back

The nurse gave Kroun a sympathetic s, then went off

Kroun cut the charrim, he put his fedora on a small table just outside the door He paused-hesitatedfor the handle I&039;d never seen him unsure of himself

"Be careful," said the orderly

"Hm?" Kroun looked at hionna have sharp edges"

Kroun nodded, then went in He didn&039;t tellby the open door

Pale green paint on the brick walls, a cage over the overhead light, and the tile floor was layered with newspapers Most lay open with uneven holes torn froh so in the room was a hospital bed It had thick leather restraint cuffs at the corners Next to it was a reading chair, which looked out of place, so it ed to the roo-boned, lean old devil, seenored us as we ca at it through double-thick horn-rih; he hunched low to read He had things open to a departarirdles and bras sieres had his full attention Carefully, he worked a hole into the sheet, his ink-stained fingertips and recently cut nails outlining an illustration

On the bed next to him were a nu on, others were photographs All woth,the latest fashions Painstakingly trirounds, they lay in uneven piles, lied paper dolls

Kroun took it in, his expression unreadable "Hello, Sonny"

The oldtorn free, he studied it under the harsh overhead light, then added it to one of the stacks on the bed He had large hands, once powerful, but his fingers were twisted with arthritis, reduced to knobby joints and tendons He had to work slowly to get them to do the job

"Sonny"

He looked up His ht cut with hardly any lip, and he had the big nose and ears that coe His skin was flushed a patchy red, ray on top, it needed cutting

The glasses er than normal They were blank for several radually surfaced

So insidethat says run like hell even when you don&039;t see the threat This oldwas there and daravelly voice full of venom

Kroun pulled an institutional wood chair-sturdy with a lot of dents-from a corner and sat alars

"Give," said thepapers from his lap He was in faded striped pajamas and shapeless slippers

Kroun opened the box "They&039;re all for you, Sonny"

"My birt&039;day or sorabbed a cigar, biting one end off, spitting it to one side "You forget a light? G&039;damn jackets here won&039; lehter, a new silver one he et the cigar going I was glad I didn&039;t have to breathe

"Now that&039;s a smoke" Sonny puffed, eyes narrowed to slits by satisfaction "Who&039;re you again?"

Kroun didn&039;t show it, but he seemed thrown by the question "Don&039;t you remember?"

"I see lots of people Which one are you?"

"Look at nition sparked in his distorted eyes "What&039;s wit&039; the hair?" He pointed the cigar at Kroun&039;s white streak

"Accident atmuch"

He nodded my way "Who&039;s the creep inna corner?"

"Just ettin&039; all the drivers in town Coht I&039;d see how you were doing"

Sonny snorted and blew smoke into Kroun&039;s face "That&039;s how I&039;&039;da waitin&039; to be shoveled inna ground You kno they treat et me outta here!"

"I&039;ll see what I can do"

"Liar Everyone lies to o?"

A slow, evil grin spread over Sonny&039;s face "You know"

"The fishing cabin?"

Sonny chuckled At length He sat back in the chair, his spine not quite straightening The hunched-over posture was perood tioin&039; up?"

"I don&039;t kno to get there"

A scowl replaced the grin "You&039;re stupid, you know that? G&039;da&039;da&039;damn bastard moved it"

"Probably not," Kroun allowed "I&039;m just not sure where in Wisconsin"

"Jus&039; over the state line, y&039;stupid duo, Sonny"

"You&039;re g&039;daot , so don&039; go pissin&039; on me wit&039; that You was here twoli&039;l shit! Sat right there jus&039; like now, an&039; y&039; had &039;nother bastard like him out inna hall an&039; you had her over where that bastard&039;s standin&039; Nice li&039;l twist, but you can afford &039;eht her in, then went off and never coonna come back and you din&039; &039;Stead you show up two mont&039;s late in a fancy coat and nothin&039; to say but a lotta g&039;damn lies!"

Kroun held hiainst the painted brick walls "Guess I lost track of things at that"

"Puh!" Sonny drew on his cigar, threw lare, then seeo wit&039; her?"

"How do you think?"

The ugly snigger was back "I bet Picked a good &039;un She was a real huer" He drew out the word

Kroun went dead white

Sonny leaned forward "Well? How&039;d it go? Tell &039;dammit!"

Kroun sed and continued to hold very still His tone was conversational but tighter than before "Reet there, and I&039;ll show you I&039;ll spring you frohed out loud, then stopped, his gears abruptly shifting "You liar No sharin&039; wit&039; you Y&039; too good to have ood! Now y&039; won&039; even tell me nuthin&039;"

"Wouldn&039;t you rather I show you?"

"Puh! Teach yer granny to suck eggs, g&039;das I can show you"

"Sounds good I want that, Sonny We can do it again Wouldn&039;t you like onehands dropped to his crotch He chuckled and rubbed hiot juice in me What d&039;you think?"

Kroun nodded "Yeah, sounds real good You tell et there We&039;ll sit in the backseat and s shots while he does the work"

Sonny abruptly rattled off directions fast as a un Belatedly I found a pencil and scribbled on ht that was funny and took pains to repeat everything His cigar died Kroun got the lighter working and held it out again

His hand shook

Sonny noticed He relit the cigar, puffed blue smoke in the air, and smirked "Got you excited, huh? Jus&039; thinkin&039; about it?"

"Yeah, Sonny Just thinking about it" Kroun snapped the lighter shut and pocketed it He rested his treripped the chair arain and glared "You ain&039;t springin&039; me! I see that You &039;n&039; your fancy ways Think you&039;re too good, huh?"

Quick as a striking snake, Sonny threw an open-handed slap at Kroun&039;s face The impact of palain, backhanded

Kroun didn&039;t try to duck or block, just sat there and took it