Violence Is My Business by Stephen Marlowe

Author:Stephen Marlowe [Marlowe, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: detective, mystery, noir
ISBN: 9781453252567
Google: W7uW8Zb2jdIC
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2012-04-17T19:46:51+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE apartment wasn’t much, but it was home. It seemed as if I’d been gone a year. The place had a clean, unused look. Everything was tidy. The furniture in the living room gleamed as if it had just been waxed.

You cleaned up this morning, I told myself. So what? Make that yesterday morning.

But I hadn’t cleaned up. Despite that, the living room and kitchen would have got the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

I went into the bedroom like papa, mama and baby bear.

Someone was sleeping in my bed too.

“Is it morning?” she asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily. “You’re home. Oh, you’re home!”

She sat up. The blonde hair was tousled. The blue eyes were instantly, beautifully alert. The lovely body was clad in a nightgown not quite as substantial as an industrious spider’s web.

She got out of bed and drifted over to me with her arms wide. She came over and squeezed me. I squeezed back. The way I felt, it was like two bears trying to hug each other to death.

She drew back and said, “I tried to call you. All day yesterday, I tried. I couldn’t get you. I decided to camp on your doorstep. I hope you re not mad, Chet.”

Then she saw my face. She touched it with her fingers. “What did they do to you?” she gasped. “What did they do to you?”

She had a warm, healthy smell, made of equal parts of sleep and perfume. She made clucking sympathetic sounds and her eyes went watery. Then they got a determined look in them and she said, “I don’t know what you’ve been doing the last few days, but now you’re going to listen to Bobby.” She pouted. I hadn’t said anything. “You understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, and she led me into the living room. She was gone only a moment, but consciousness was dim and I began to think I had dreamed her up. I bunked. There she was again, Bobby Hayst, leaning down over me. A glass was thrust into my hand. Four ounces of whisky, neat. I drank it.

“Now get up and march into the bedroom. Get undressed.”

I went into the bedroom. I was going to get undressed. It had seemed like a fine idea. But when I sat down on the edge of the bed it seemed like an even better idea to kind of stretch out for a moment. I stretched out. From the bathroom I heard the sound of water rushing into the tub. I drifted.

Bobby was taking off my shoes and socks when I came out of it. “Come on, up. Sit up.”

I sat up. She removed my jacket and shirt. “Where’s your robe?”

I told her.

She brought it to me and I slipped into it. “Now take off your pants and march into the bathroom. Hot bath waiting for you.”

She was wearing a robe too, a no-nonsense blue thing that buttoned up to her neck. Still, she looked lovely enough to kiss. I kissed her.

“None of that now, mister.

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.