La Brava; Cat Chaser; Split Images by Elmore Leonard

Author:Elmore Leonard [Leonard, Elmore]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Western
ISBN: 9780517064924
Publisher: Wings
Published: 1992-06-13T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

NOBLES HAD HIS GRIN READY. The door opened and he said, "Well, look-it who's here, huh?"

He'd decided she would be all eyes, surprised as hell. But she wasn't. Or didn't act it. She gave him a stare like she wasn't going to move.

He said, "Sugartit, I don't want to knock you down but I been in the car it seems like all day. I gotta go pee pee so bad I'm gonna be spitting in another minute. It just come on me."

So she had to get out of his way--it was a fact, he would have picked her up and moved her--had to let him through to run down the hall to her bathroom.

Nobles loved it in here, it was full of perfume bottles, bath oils and powder in pale-colored boxes, all kinds of good-smelling stuff. He would like to look in her medicine cabinet sometime, poke around and find intimate things. It was so clean in here, no rust stains in the toilet or the washbasin. He looked around at all her girlish stuff relieving himself, groaning sighs and finally shuddered. Oh man.

She was still in the parlor, sitting at one end of the sofa now, her straw bag on her lap, legs crossed to show him her knee above the chrome coffee table. She seemed calm now, not drilling him with her eyes, though not with what he'd call a sweet expression, either.

He said, "You glad to see me?"

Huh-uh, she didn't look too. She said to him, "Richard, what are you doing here?" Calm and patient, like she was talking to a child.

He said, "I missed you. Did you miss anybody?"

She said, "What am I going to do with you, Richard?"

That was better. He gave her a grin. "Well, let's see..."

She said, "You're just a big loveable bear, aren't you?"

He had never thought of himself that way. Shit--a bear. He said, "You got anything cold to drink? Man, I'm thirsty from sitting in that car." He started for the dining room, all shiny glass and silver in there, to go through to the kitchen.

When she said, "Richie?" and he glanced over, walking past her, he saw the pictures laid out on the coffee table, his own familiar self looking up at him and he stopped, not too thirsty anymore.

He put his hands on his hips. The first thing he thought to say was, "Man, I would like to know what's going on--this guy taking my pitcher." He squinted his eyes, looking up at Jean then. "Wait a minute. How'd you get 'em?"

Jean said, "Richard, you're priceless."

"I want to know how you got 'em."

"He gave them to me. How else?"

"What's he doing--he with a newspaper or what?"

"No, he's not with a paper. He goes out and takes pictures of people." She seemed to think about it a moment, not quite sure. Then nodded. "That's what he does."

"You don't have to get permission?" Nobles said, indignant now. "Just take pitchers of anybody you want?"

"Would you like to sue him? How about invasion of privacy?"

"Shit, it oughta be against the law.

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