Rafferty's Rules by Bill Duncan

Author:Bill Duncan [Duncan, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Hard-Boiled
ISBN: 9780645328332
Google: NAgn0AEACAAJ
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp
Published: 2023-09-12T11:00:00+00:00

15

I drove the pickup to the shopping centre where I had left the Mustang. Fran and I got out. She stood silently while I unlocked the car. She let me hand her into the passenger seat, tucked her straw bag beside her feet, and stared straight ahead at the dark storefronts. I closed the door. Fran locked it.

Mimi swaggered over and slapped me on the butt. “Good to see you, Rafferty,” she said. “Been too long. I almost forgot how big you are, you old poop.” She held her cheek up to be kissed. She stood on her tiptoes, so I didn’t have to bend over any farther than at the average drinking fountain.

“Come on, Mimi. We got to go,” Cowboy called from behind the wheel of the pickup. “So long, Rafferty. Let us know, you need any more help.” He pronounced it hep.

“Midnight Lady’s about to foal,” said Mimi in a low voice. “You know how he is about the horses. Bye now.” She climbed into the pickup cab and waved as they pulled away.

I lit my pipe while the Mustang wheezed and rattled and decided to keep running. Fran sat quietly. I tucked the .45 between my seat and the console. That seemed too melodramatic, so I put it in the glove compartment.

Fran moved her knees out of the way and turned her head to face the window on her side.

Ten blocks later, she was still studiously examining the blurred curb.

“Why, hell, lady, it wasn’t anything at all,” I said. “There’s no need for you to thank me and carry on like that.”

“I’ve been thinking,” she said. “Before you came along, I had a job. It wasn’t much, but I had a job. And a nice apartment. And people weren’t trying to kill me.”

“When you live in a sewer, Fran, sooner or later you get shit on your shoes. Maybe not at first, but eventually.”

“Oh, great! Now it’s all my fault, eh?”

“No. Not entirely,” I said. “But don’t forget, I didn’t cause this mess. I’m only the guy trying to clean it up. Or should we let Turk and his pals find themselves another blonde?”

“No. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Yeah, we could do that,” I said. “Maybe next time, they’ll buy a nun or a kindergarten teacher. You know, somebody who really deserves it.”

“Stop it! You’re twisting things.”

“The hell I am. You better face up to it, kid. It’s time to pay your dues. If you had started earlier, you might be finished by now. You didn’t. Okay. You’re working on it, though, and that’s good. And you’re lucky. You have me on your side and I think you’re going to make it.”

“If I stay alive long enough.”

“Trust me.”

“What’s with you?” she said. “I mean; Christ, I thought bikers were mean, but … Except you don’t come on mean.”

“Just a country boy trying to get along.”

She sighed. “You’re not a country boy.”

“True. But they say that out in the boonies and I kinda like the sound of it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.