Hail to the Chief by Ed McBain

Author:Ed McBain [McBain, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: General, Detective and mystery stories, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, New York (N.Y.), Police, 87th Precinct (Imaginary place)
ISBN: 9780446604055
Publisher: Warner Books
Published: 1997-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

On the way up to the fifth floor of 1894 Dooley, Kling suddenly said, 'I think I figured it out.'

'What'd you figure out this time?'

'What he meant.'

'Who? Nesbitt?*

'No, Sack. The old man in Turman.'

'Sack?' Carella said. 'That was yesterday, for God's sake.'

'That's right, it's been bothering me. You remember when we were saying goodbye to him?'

'Yes?'

'And you thanked him and then apologized for having interrupted his breakfast?'

'Uh-huh.'

'And I said "We're grateful." Do you remember that? And he answered "Don't care for it. Too bitter." I finally figured out what he meant.'

'What did he mean?'

'Well, what was he doing when we went in there, Steve?'

'He was eating his breakfast.'

'Right. And what do people have for breakfast?'

'All kinds of things, Bert.'

'Yes, but what do they start with? What do you start with?'

'Juice.'

'Yes, but not everybody starts with juice. Some people start with grapefruit.'

'So?'

'So Sack thought I was talking about grapefruit. He misheard me. He thought "grateful" was "grapefruit." That's why he answered "Don't care for it. Too bitter."' Kling smiled. 'You get it, Steve?'

'That's ridiculous,' Carella said.

'I'll bet it's what he meant.'

'Okay, fine.'

'Anyway, it was bothering me, and it's not any more.'

'Good, here we are,' Carella said, and stopped before the door to 5A, and knocked on it.

Ellie Nelson was wearing a navy-blue T-shirt and dungaree pants when she opened the door. She was perhaps seventeen years old, quite pretty, with a pert nose and vibrant blue eyes. Her figure was good, and she knew it. She smiled up at the policemen as though she'd been expecting them. Carella and Kling assumed Nesbitt had telephoned her from the phone booth in the ice cream parlor.

'Hi,' she said.

'Police officers,' Carella said, and showed his shield. The girl barely glanced at it. 'All right if we come in?'

'Sure, why not?' she said, and stepped away from the door, allowing them to enter the apartment. A gray-haired woman with a lace shawl over her shoulders was sitting by the kitchen window, rocking in a green rocking chair and knitting in a shaft of sunlight. Ellie caught the brief shifting of Kling's eyes, and said, 'My grandmother. She won't bother us. Come in, come in.'

'Anybody else live here in this apartment?' Kling asked.

'My mother, my grandmother, and me,' Ellie said, and closed the door behind them. 'Come on in the parlor. What'd you want?'

The living room was furnished in a three-piece suite done in red velveteen. A television set rested on a wheeled cart. There were no pictures or photographs on the walls. There was a curtain only on the window facing the street. The airshaft window had been left uncovered, and faced a grimy brick wall. Ellie sat in one of the easy chairs and gestured to the sofa. The detectives sat opposite her. 'So, what'd you want?' she asked again.

'We understand you're Big Anthony's girl friend,' Carella said.

'That's right,' Ellie said, and smiled.

'That would be Anthony Sutherland, is that right?'

'That's right, Big Anthony. We call him that 'cause he's six feet four inches tall, and he's got shoulders this wide,' Ellie said.

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.