The Hunger and the Hate by H. Vernor Dixon

Author:H. Vernor Dixon [Dixon, H. Vernor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4405-6295-2
Publisher: Prologue Books
Published: 2012-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Dean chuckled and walked up the road through the dark toward his own home. Now he was even with Clyde. It was worth the chiseling 10-per-cent interest in the Metzner deal. Maybe, he laughed, it was worth even more. Clyde would certainly never live this one down.

Chapter Eight

DEAN HEARD OF IT at breakfast from Teddy Mitsui. He had checked the morning’s reading on the teletype in the library and had just seated himself at the breakfast table when the houseboy came in from the kitchen and paused to look at him curiously. Dean knew what was on his mind before he said anything.

He spread a linen napkin over his lap and asked, “Something up?”

Teddy nodded. “Yes, sir. You know the home Mr. Davenport is building, of course?”

“What about it?”

“Well, sir, it seems that some prankster erected a sign on the property sometime during the night.”

Dean swallowed to stifle a laugh and bit into a piece of toast. “What kind of sign?”

“It was taken from the highway below Salinas, a billboard belonging to the Bide-A-Wee Motel. A whole horde of sightseers is down there looking it over.” He paused, but a smile broke through as he asked, “You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you, Mr. Holt?”

Dean’s eyes opened wide. “What a thing to ask!”

“Yes, sir. That’s what I thought. The police were by a little while ago, trying to find out who had hired the gang of Mexicans that put up the sign.”

“What did you tell them?”

“First, I asked them what time the sign was set up. They said somewhere between ten o’clock and midnight. So I explained that you couldn’t possibly know anything about it, as you had gone to bed early, around nine o’clock. I trust I gave them the correct information.”

Dean’s grin broke into the open and he asked Teddy, “How much money do you have in the bank?”

“About twenty-eight hundred dollars, sir.”

“How come? I thought you were having a bad time.”

Teddy returned his grin, though on a smaller scale. “Well, sir, I listen to you and watch your teletype and I’ve made a few speculations in lettuce. I hope you don’t mind.”

Dean laughed and shook his head. “You’re O.K., Teddy. All right, now you make out a check to me for your whole account and I’ll put it on some cars going out today. You should pick up an extra grand or so.”

“Thank you very much, sir.”

“Nine o’clock, eh? I’ll have to remember that.”

Dean hurried through his meal and got out of the house as quickly as possible. He drove down the road and brought his car to a stop before the Davenport house. Below him the road was jammed with cars parked at every conceivable angle. People were swarming all over and staring at the big sign, all of them either smiling or laughing. Sweeney and Harding and Sam Parker were there. They were laughing so hard they had to lean back against a car for support. Two news photographers were standing farther up the

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