The Pigskin Bag by Bruno Fischer

Author:Bruno Fischer
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Collier Books
Published: 1961-07-14T12:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Molly crane sat at one of the two bedroom windows. Her bag stood against the dresser where I had left it; she still wore the brown-and-white checked skirt and the copper-colored jersey sweater. A glass ashtray on the windowsill contained half a dozen cigarette butts. She must have been sitting at that window since I had left, and had watched me go across the car lot to the barn and return with Milton. A fresh cigarette dropped from the corner of her mouth.

She didn’t turn her head when I entered. I walked across the bedroom to her. “Crooked Nose was downstairs,” I said.

The news did not create a sensation. “Did he see you?”

“No. He was having pie and coffee, and talking to Tilly. I’m sure they’re strangers to each other. Where can he fit in?”

“I can’t imagine,” she muttered to the window.

“He’s not a cop. Lieutenant Woodfinch didn’t know him, and he didn’t come forward and corroborate my story that Larry had been taking me to Coney Island. He wasn’t working with Jasper Vital and Larry. He kept out of their sight and then tailed Larry in his own car when Larry could have used help to take me to Coney Island. He isn’t in Moon’s organization if he comes here as a stranger. What does that leave?”

“A lone wolf after the bag.”

“But if he’s here for the bag, he’s about the only one who’s pretty sure that I haven’t got it. What makes him sure?”

Molly stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and immediately lit another. She didn’t seem to want to talk or do anything but sit there.

I leaned the backs of my thighs against the windowsill and looked down at her. “What’s the matter, Molly?”

“I’m scared, Adam.” She put a strained smile to her, mouth. “It got me when I realized that Tilly would let us stay here. I guess I’m not, as brave as I thought.”

I nodded. “I know how you feel. But I’ve been scared for so long, since Monday evening, that a crust has formed over my fear. It’s like the first couple of minutes shells come flying at you. After that you don’t stop being afraid, but you stop giving a damn. Or you think you stop, and then suddenly you go to pieces.”

“I won’t go to pieces.” She leaned forward and took my hand and held it against her cheek. “Now you know why I acted so rotten to you. It was sheer nerves. I think I’ve got over it.” My hand tingled against the soft warmth of her cheek and palm. Gently I pulled it away from her and used it to reach for the pack of cigarettes on the windowsill. I told her what I had found in the car lot and in the barn.

“There’s nothing exactly wrong,” I said. “This place seems out-of-the-way for a used-car lot, but if it’s the only one for a good many miles and offers bargains it might pay. The way those two men in the barn acted when I looked in doesn’t mean much.

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.