52 Pickup: A Novel by Elmore Leonard

Author:Elmore Leonard [Leonard, Elmore]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-10-13T00:00:00+00:00

Mitchell remembered their names, the same three girls sitting in the same left-to-right order on the porch chairs: Peggy, Terry and Mary Lou. They looked up, stared at him and Peggy said, “You ever find her? What was her name? Cini?”

He shook his head. “I’m looking for the manager. The guy that was at the desk before.”

“Leo stepped out. Said he’d be out for a while.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Just a few minutes.”

“His name’s Leo?”

“Leo Frank,” the girl said.

“Well . . .” Mitchell looked around the room, his gaze finally going to the desk and the empty chair next to it. “I might as well sit down then, huh?”

Nobody seemed to care. Peggy said, “Help yourself.”

After a few moments he reached over and picked up the magazine that was open on the desk and began reading about a 130-year-old colored man who lived in Florida and sat all day on a bus-stop bench in front of his one-room house. He was reading about how the man had lived in the West and claimed to have known Jesse James and Billy the Kid, when Doreen came into the room from the hallway. She was followed by a young guy who passed her quickly without saying anything, glanced at Mitchell and went out the door. Mitchell watched Doreen drop into a chair, shaking her head.

“Those shoe clerks get spookier every day,” Doreen said. “You know what he wanted me to do?”

Peggy said, “Go pee-pee on him.”

“On his face,” Doreen said.

“I know, I’ve had him,” Peggy said. “How’d he like it?”

“I told him if he wanted a kick, go stick his head in the toilet and flush it.”

“He probably does that at home,” Peggy said. “Weird ones don’t bother me anymore. After a while, what’s weird?”

Mitchell looked down at the face of the 130-year-old man. He was sure. Still he waited a moment before looking up at the black girl again.

He said, “Doreen?”

Her expression brightened as she met his gaze. “Yeah, love. You want to take my picture?”

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