Donald Westlake Omnibus by Donald E Westlake

Author:Donald E Westlake
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: det_irony
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

40

THE KEY LARGO HOLIDAY INN, where the original steamboat the African Queen used in the movie is kept on display in the parking lot, is such a nexus of popular American culture that it practically shimmers all over with irony — an effect less noticeable at just after midnight, when the rattletrap old Chevy pickup truck turned in from U.S. Route 1, Preston Fareweather in the passenger seat, his rescuer at the wheel. Along the way, Preston had lost his white hat with the chinstrap and his flip-flops, but still retained his bright red bikini bathing suit and his Rolex. And his sense of entitlement.

"I wonder if that's for sale," the bonefisherman said, looking at the African Queen.

"I doubt it."

"Why not? Why other would you put it out there?"

"You can ask inside," Preston said. "Come along with me."

"You bet," said the bonefisherman, whose name was Porfirio.

Their hours together had not been entirely happy ones.

Initially, they were being chased, by people, boats, limos, and who knew what all. When Preston had last looked back, after that bridge had spanked him, the three pursuers had stood on the bridge, two of them pointing at him and one talking on a cell phone. Then they were out of sight.

The ribbon of water Preston and Porfirio moved on snaked this way and that through alternate areas of lush subtropical flora and dank, salty sand. Steering through it, Porfirio said, "You gimme the watch, man, I'll drop you where you want."

"No, I don't think so," Preston said. He well knew that he was old and fat and out of shape while Porfirio was none of these, but he also knew he was of the class born to lead and Porfirio was emphatically not that, either. The sheer weight of superiority was, it seemed to Preston, all the armament he would need in this situation. "If I give you my watch at this point," he explained, "you'll drop me where you want."

"Maybe I do that anyway," Porfirio suggested, with that sneaky grin he occasionally flashed.

"I think not, my man," Preston told him.

"Your whu?"

"We will come to an accommodation," Preston promised him, "but not yet. I take it you have a land vehicle somewhere around here."

"A wha?"

"An automobile. A car. A thing with wheels and an engine."

"I know what a car is." The smirk had been wiped from Porfirio's face.

"And you must have one."

"I got a pickup," Porfirio said, being sulky.

"Shall we go to it?"

The smirk was back, Porfirio having recovered his self-confidence. "Oh, sure," he said. "It's back there with that limo and those guys. You want we should turn around and go back there? We could do that. We got a little wide spot up here, we could turn around. That what you want?"

"You know better than that." Exasperated, Preston snapped his fingers at the fellow and said, "What's your name?"

Suspicious, Porfirio said, "What for you want to know my name?"

"So that I can call you something other than 'my man. I myself am Preston Fareweather.

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.