Evan Horne [02] Death of a Tenor Man by Bill Moody

Author:Bill Moody [Moody, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Detective & Mystery
ISBN: 9780440223245
Amazon: B00LDVX3EK
Goodreads: 2258034
Publisher: Down & Out Books
Published: 1995-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

I wake up in the dark to Oscar Peterson’s piano on the stereo and the smell of Chinese food on the coffee table. I hear Natalie rattling plates in the kitchen.

“What time is it?”

“Nearly nine,” she says, coming into the living room. “I decided to let you sleep. Feeling better?” She sits down next to me on the couch. She’s changed clothes, and her hair is in a ponytail again.

We both look at my hand. The swelling has gone down considerably, but the pain is still there, though now it’s little more than a dull ache. I try and flex my fingers. There’s movement, and that’s something. I’ve been here before.

“This looks very good,” I say, eyeing the egg rolls and little boxes of Mongolian beef, peppers, and steamed rice. We eat in silence, listening to Oscar romp through a set of standards. It’s a live performance from the old London House in Chicago. When the tape ends, Natalie gets up to put something else on.

“That’s okay, leave it,” I say.

“How about some coffee with our fortune cookies?”

“Yeah, sounds great.” I get a cigarette going while she brings the coffee. My head seems clear now, but the temptation to close my eyes again is compelling. Natalie leaves me alone for a few minutes but finally says, “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“About what?”

Natalie shrugs. “Wardell Gray, Gallio, Rachel Cody?”

“If you’re asking am I going to pack it in and go back to L.A., the answer is no, and don’t tell me that’s what I should do.”

“I don’t imagine many people tell you what you should do, and if they do, you probably do just the opposite.”

I laugh. “I think you’ve got me figured out already.”

“Yeah, that’s what worries me.” She reaches into one of the paper bags and pulls out two fortune cookies. “Let’s see what the future holds for us.”

“You first.”

She cracks hers open and takes out the slip of paper. “Your ambition is a positive driving force,” she reads.

“That sounds an awful lot like law school.”

“Okay, smarty, your turn.”

I break open the cookie and look at mine. “Working for a higher purpose is more fulfilling than just making a living.”

“Oh, that’s deep,” Natalie says.

“Well, I’m not doing too well at making a living, so maybe my higher purpose is solving Wardell Gray’s murder.”

I meant it jokingly, but Natalie’s face is troubled. “Is that what you’re going to do?”

“I don’t know. I just know I’ve got to try.”

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