A Man in the Middle by Chaber M. E. & Crossen Kendell Foster

Author:Chaber, M. E. & Crossen, Kendell Foster [Chaber, M. E. & Crossen, Kendell Foster]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Pulp
Publisher: Holt Rinehart Winston
Published: 1967-03-09T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

They were still standing there in the same positions, although the little guy wasn’t reaching for his gun again, when I turned to enter the back door of The Tippler. I stopped in the door and looked back at the sick bulldog. The blood was still dripping down his face.

“Think how much worse it would have been if I hadn’t come along,” I told him. “If I were you, I’d stay away from this neighborhood for a while—starting about ten minutes ago. And be careful not to lose your balance any more.”

He nodded dumbly and started to walk toward the street, pulling out his handkerchief and beginning to mop at his face.

The little guy looked at me. “Thanks,” he said. “I know you’re right, but I was so damned mad I couldn’t think of anything else to do. That lousy fink!”

“I know how you feel,” I said. “But that way would only mean trouble for everyone. This way is better. I think he got the message, and he can’t prove that he didn’t stumble. It’s an old cop trick, so his friends ought to appreciate the joke. I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah. I want to tell you something else. I don’t know you, and I don’t know and don’t care how you got mixed up in this. But I do know eight people were pulled in and everybody talked but two. That was you and me.”

“That’s about par for the course. You mean the two big boys who came along at the last minute sang?”

“They only got one of the big ones—Tony Coffer. He’s got a long sheet and he’s got four other raps hanging over him now. That might loosen his tongue a little.”

“Yeah, it’s a great lubricant. I’ll see you around.”

I went into The Tippler. I sat down at one end of the bar by myself and ordered a drink. Word had apparently gotten around. I could tell by the way some of the customers looked at me.

“I hear you were downtown,” the bartender said when he brought me my drink.

“Yeah.”

“The booze deal you were talking to the boss about?”

“No. Something else I never even heard about.”

“That’s the way it goes sometimes, especially around here. The whole street is crawling with cops and most of them got more ambition than brains.”

I had the one drink and left. I picked up a morning newspaper and a couple of paperback books and went to the motel. I read, watched television, and had a few drinks until I got sleepy.

The next day I had breakfast near the motel. Then I phoned the airline and made a reservation for Hong Kong in the name of John Milo for the following day. There was nothing else to do until after my court appearance, so I got in the car and drove out to the beach. I had a dry martini and a seafood lunch in a restaurant where I could look at the ocean while I ate. Then I drove back to the motel in Hollywood.

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.