The Classic Car Killer by Richard A. Lupoff & Donald E. Westlake

Author:Richard A. Lupoff & Donald E. Westlake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, detective, sleuth, murder, police
ISBN: 9781434446688
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2013-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A Swearingen Metroliner.

It sounded like some kind of Swiss express train, but it was a twin-engined monoplane. Propellor-driven, no less! Tyrone had sent Lindsey to his personal travel agency, an outfit on College Avenue with the left-over hippy name of Trips Out Travel but a modern computer set-up and a no-nonsense style of operating.

Lindsey didn’t like doing business in Berkeley but Tyrone had insisted, and Lindsey didn’t want to alienate him. And Tyrone had insisted on researching the Duesenberg. Lacking access to the stolen car, Tyrone insisted, the next best place to go was the automobile museum in Reno. Tyrone knew they had a Dusie there, and a technical library and a staff of mechanics who could answer the toughest questions.

The travel agent assured him that the Metroliner was a safe, modern aircraft. Sky West Airlines favored it for short hauls and short-runway operations. It was perfect for flights between Oakland and Reno.

If they left Oakland International at 9:40 AM they could be in Reno before 11:00 and check into Harrah’s Hotel and Casino by mid-afternoon. They could spend the rest of the day at the automobile museum, Tyrone huddling with the technical staff, and have an evening on the town. Return the next day.

The only problem was Marvia’s schedule. Lindsey could get away; Ms. Wilbur ran the office with perfect competence when he was absent. And Tyrone said that Classic Auto Restorations Unlimited operated by appointment only; he had more business than he could handle, anyhow. But cops worked by duty roster, and Marvia was more than lucky to have a Monday through Friday schedule. She could leave on Saturday, return on Sunday, report for duty Monday.

When Lindsey told Ms. Wilbur his plans, she frowned. “I don’t know, Bart. Have you cleared that with Mr. Harden?”

“Do I have to?”

“Hey, don’t ask me. Who’s the boss around here—you, right? But there’s a company procedure. You’re hiring this Plum person as an outside consultant, paying his fare and expenses, putting yourself on expenses. What happens if the voucher hits Regional and Harden bounces it. You ready to reimburse International Surety? How much is this going to cost the company, anyhow?”

“It isn’t that much, Ms. Wilbur.”

“Don’t want to tell me?”

“It’s $176 round-trip. Per person. Hotels are cheap in Reno, they figure they’ll get your money in the casino. If you can resist the temptation, you can have a nice time there, cheap.”

“Really? You’ve been there?”

Lindsey felt himself getting warm. “No. But a lot of my friends have. Eric Coffman told me about it. He and his wife had a second honeymoon there, it hardly cost them anything. And he won in the casino, he actually came home with more money in his pocket than he started with.”

Ms. Wilbur laughed and laughed.

Lindsey was really getting annoyed. “What’s so funny?”

“Hobart, if your friend told you a story like that and you believed him, I think I can get you a wonderful deal on the Golden Gate Bridge. You can buy it for—oh, how about $1,000? Then you can jack up the tolls to $5 a car and make a fortune.

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