Death Trap by John D. MacDonald

Author:John D. MacDonald [MacDonald, John D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: mystery, murder, suspense, crime
Publisher: Gold Medal
Published: 2012-03-19T10:05:03+00:00

Chapter Seven

IT WAS MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY when I got back to the Inn for the second time. Charlie heard me come in and he came out to the front hallway in his shirt sleeves, inventory record in his hand, eyes wide with surprise.

“What are you doing loose?”

“Did you get hold of Tennant?”

“He said he’d be over in the morning.”

“I better call him back.”

“You move fragile-like, my friend.”

“I had a little chat with Quillan.”

“The decent people in this town would like to see him tossed out of here. Him and Perry Score. They run it like a little kingdom. When Score makes a mistake, he has the county backing him up. The county is in Sheriff Turnbull’s pocket, and Turnbull is a white-haired boy to the big shots up at the capital. That Quillan is a sadistic son of a bitch.”

“He showed me how he could do it without leaving a mark.”

“We closed early downstairs. No business. But I can get to a bottle.”

“That would help. You get it while I get hold of John Tennant. Then I’ve got a nice juicy story to tell you, Charlie.”

Tennant didn’t sound too annoyed to be disturbed again. I told him the additional facts I had learned from the Garson girl, and told him her guesses about Jane Ann’s source of income. I told him about the shopping, and he said he would put an investigator on it in Warren-town. Then I told him of the death of the Garson girl, and of my part in it, and how it had saved me from a beating and gotten me released. He was shocked at the story, and said he knew Hardesty Smith, Senior, casually, and had the impression it was a good family. He said he would use the breathing space to send an investigator over to look into the Garson trouble, and it would not be difficult to prevent there being any formal complaint. And then he said something that turned my backbone to ice. He said, “Thinking it over, Hugh, it’s damn fortunate the girl was able to implicate Smith. You might have had a very rough time.”

I went into the lounge. Charlie was there with a bottle, glasses and ice. I made my drink. I told him what I had learned about Jane Ann Paulson, how I had learned it. I told him about the fight at the Garson place, about finding Ginny, about what she had told me. I told him about the scrap with Smith, how my little seance with Quillan had been interrupted, how the girl had scribbled the name and died there in Score’s office.

“This is going to knock this town on its ear, Hugh,” he said. “The Smiths are prominent. Hardesty is a good man. He just couldn’t handle the kid. That kid is no good.”

“I thought he came from nothing. I thought he was all punk.”

“You can’t tell, these days. This is a terrible thing.”

“But it gives me a breathing space. Score will need my evidence.

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