The Burglar In The Closet by Lawrence Block

Author:Lawrence Block [Block, Lawrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller
Published: 2011-11-08T15:04:04+00:00

Chapter Ten

Every block in New York sports several fire hydrants spaced at intervals along the sidewalk. These have been installed so that the police won't have to circle the block looking for a parking space. Ray pulled away from one of them and told me I'd just missed a couple of friends of his. "A couple of fellows in plainclothes," he said. "Myself, I'm happy wearin' the uniform. These two, you musta missed each other by a whisker. Maybe they were in the elevator while you was on the stairs."

"There's no elevator."

"That a fact? Just plain bad luck you didn't run into them, Bernie. But I guess you made their acquaintance yesterday. Here they missed you, and now they'll come downstairs and find that I took a powder my own self. Not that they'll be sorry to see me gone. They come here on their own, you know, in their own blue-and-white, and I tagged along and I had the feelin' they wanted to tell me to get lost. You take a cop and put a business suit on him and he develops an attitude, you know what I mean? All of a sudden he thinks he's a member of the human race and not your ordinary flatfoot. You want a smoke, Bernie?"

"I quit a few years ago."

"Good for you. That's strength of character is what it is. I'd quit myself if I had the willpower. What's all this crap about your aunt teaching school in the Bronx?"

"Well, you know how it is, Ray."

"Yeah, that's the truth. I know how it is."

"I was trying to impress this girl. I just met her fairly recently, and one of those cops must have recognized my name and I didn't want her to find out I've got a criminal past."

"A criminal past."

"Right."

"But that's all behind you, that criminal past. You're Stanley Straightarrow now."

"Right."

"Uh-huh." He puffed on his cigarette. I rolled down my window to let some smoke out and some New York air in, a pointless exchange if there ever was one. He said, "How do you tie in with this Sheldrake character?"

"He's my dentist."

"I got a dentist. They say to see him twice a year and that's plenty for me. I don't hang out at his office, I don't try slipping it to his nurse."

"Hygienist."

"Whatever. You a big fight fan, Bernie?"

"I get to the Garden when I can."

"This used to be a real fight town. Remember when they had a Wednesday card at St. Nick's Arena? And then you had your regular fights out at Sunnyside Gardens in Queens. You ever used to get out there?"

"I think I went two, three times. That was some years ago, wasn't it?"

"Oh, years and years," he said. "I love it that you showed Todras and Nyswander a ticket stub. Just happened to have it with you. Jesus, I really love it."

"I was wearing the same jacket."

"I know. If it was me and I was settin' up an alibi I'd have the stub in a different

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