Quarry HC Omnibus by Max Allan Collins

Author:Max Allan Collins
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Organized crime, Murder for hire, 1961-1975 - Veterans, Noir Fiction, Action & Adventure, Quarry, Mystery & Detective, Humorous, Quarry (Fictitious Character : Collins), Pornographic Film Industry, Hard-Boiled, General, Quarry (Fictitious Character: Collins), Mystery Fiction, Crime, War & Military, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Fiction, Detective and Mystery Stories, Assassins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

12

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HE SLIPPED INTO a dark blue silk robe while I cuffed the girl’s hands and ankles. I moved her off the area of the bed she’d made wet—it was the least I could do—carrying her in my arms like a big baby. She was a nice looking woman, despite the circumstances.

He stood nearby, while I did that, nervous but hiding it pretty well. He was taller than me, and had considerable bearing, the mane of white hair, the china-blue eyes, the dark tan, a striking human being; feeling no humiliation at all, it would seem, despite being caught with his pants down.

“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” His baritone, melodious or not, did have an edge of irritation. Not that I blamed him. Nobody likes to get interrupted in the middle of a blow job.

“We have to get a couple things straight first,” I said, and the nine-millimeter was in my gloved right hand now, the stun gun tucked away in a jacket pocket, his sentry’s .357 on my hip.

“Such as?” he said. He had winced, just slightly, upon sight of the automatic; otherwise he maintained an admirable cool.

“Do we have it understood,” I said, “that if I were here to kill you, you’d be dead by now? That if I were here to steal from you, you’d be trussed up and we wouldn’t be talking at all? That if this were a kidnapping, I’d have hauled your ass out of here already? Do we understand all that?”

He nodded very slowly. The light blue eyes bored into me like soothing lasers. Their color reminded me of Linda’s eyes. I tried not to think about that.

“I came in here the way I did for a couple of reasons,” I said, “all of them good. First, you’re not an easy man to see. I tried finding you at your campaign headquarters, and heard all about how reclusive you are. Second, I wanted to show you that if somebody did want to see you bad enough, they could get it done, reclusive or not.”

His mouth twitched in a half-smile. “I thought I had excellent security.”

“Your security is pretty half-assed. But even if it were great, you could be gotten to. Anybody can be gotten to.”

“If you’re not here to kill me or steal from me or kidnap me,” he said, “why are you here?”

“To make you a business offer, for one thing. For another, to save your life.”

An eyebrow arched. “Why don’t we go out in the bar and talk.”

“Fine. But if any of your staff should show up— somebody I don’t know about, or the one guy I didn’t take time to bind up, or anybody else with a gun or something —you’re going to make ’em back off. Otherwise, people are going to get hurt. And I can just about guarantee you, you’ll be one of them.”

He nodded, as if to say, fair enough.

“Could I use the bathroom first?” he asked. There was one off the bedroom.

“Sure,” I said.

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