Asey Mayo 13 Banbury Bog by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Author:Phoebe Atwood Taylor [Taylor, Phoebe Atwood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, pulp
Publisher: Countryman Press
Published: 1938-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

“How’d you know?” Farley yelled.

Asey opened the car door, and smiled at him.

“How’d you know?”

“Psychology,” Asey said. “Element’ry psychology. So long.”

Dr. Cummings bustled down the path to the car.

“Asey, wait! Wait, man! Wait, will you? Asey, hold on!”

“Can’t wait. I got things to look after—”

Cummings jumped on the running board and stuck his head into the car.

“Wait, Asey, I’ve got something to give you. Lean over here. Jennie gave it to me when I dropped in over at your place this afternoon. She said that if the police had already begun slinking around, watching your house, there was no telling who else might slink and watch, and you’d better have it. Here. Don’t let Farley see. It’s your old gun.”

“Thanks.”

Asey slid the old-fashioned single action Colt into his belt.

“Don’t you want me to go along with—”

“Nope, you string along with Farley, doc,” Asey said. “I want to see how he’s goin’ to figure this one out. Oho. Wait—”

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s a look on Farley’s face,” Asey said, “that I don’t care for. He knows I’m up to no good, an’ I got this feelin’ he might even have someone follow me. See if he’s got any ideas like that, an’ if he has, see if you can concentrate his thoughts on my house, will you? Bait him.”

“Gladly,’ Cummings said.

Farley’s eyes narrowed as he watched the yellow glow of Asey’s fog lights cut a swath down the driveway.

“Some one of these fine days,” he said as Cummings returned to the porch, “that guy’s going to have a crack-up, the way he drives. Well, I know what he thinks, and he’s going to get stung. He thinks he knows it all, but this is the time he gets fooled. He don’t know everything this time.”

“No?” Cummings said.

“No! He thinks he can race off and get Banbury, all by himself,” Farley said. “He hasn’t got any credit out of this mess yet, and he thinks he can get some credit if he finds Banbury first. Well, that’s where he’s all wet. They already got a posse out looking for Banbury—”

“Scouring,” Cummings said.

“What?”

“A posse,” Cummings informed him, “scours. They don’t look, Farley. They scour. My God, you don’t even know the proper language!”

“Yeah?” Farley said. “Well, just the same they got a posse out, and they’re stopping all cars coming down the Cape—”

“And so,” Cummings said with lavish irony, “and so, Asey will never get the credit for picking Banbury up. My God, Farley, but you’re a stupid man! Whatever makes you think that Asey’d ever try to go wandering off, up the Cape, to find Banbury? Why should Asey go the hell and gone—” he stopped short and bit his lip. “Well, on the other hand, maybe you’re right, Farley. Yes, yes, maybe you’re right, Farley. For all I’d know, Asey does plan to go up the Cape and hunt Banbury. Yes, yes, indeed!”

Farley smiled broadly.

“I guess, doc,” he said, “that’s the place where you went and gave yourself away, isn’t it?

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.