Trouble Is My Business v2 by Raymond Chandler

Author:Raymond Chandler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 1973-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

Trouble Is My Business v2

“You and me could get along, son. Well, we’ll see. Bill’s a good feller at heart–except these veterans give themselves too many privileges in my opinion. Some of ‘em did three weeks in a camp and act like they was wounded nine times. Bill must have been mighty sentimental about this piece of chain I found.”

He got up and went to the open door. He spat his chaw out into the dark. “I’m a man sixty-two years of age,” he said over his shoulder. “I’ve known folks to do all manner of funny things. I would say offhand that jumpin’ into a cold lake with all your clothes on, and swimmin’ hard to get down under that board, and then just dyin’ there was a funny thing to do. On the other hand, since I’m tellin’ you all my secrets and you ain’t tellin’ me nothing, I’ve had to speak to Bill a number of times for slapping his wife around when he was drunk. That ain’t goin’ to sound good to a jury. And if this here little chain come off Beryl Haines’ leg, it’s just about enough to set him in that nice new gas chamber they got up north. And you and me might as well mosey on home, son.,’ I stood up.

“And don’t go smokin’ that cigarette on the highway,” he added.

“It’s contrary to the law up here.”

I put the unlit cigarette back in my pocket and stepped out into the night. Tinchfleld switched the lamp off and locked up the cabin and put the key in his pocket. “Where at are you stain’, son?”

“I’m going down to the Olympia in San Bernardino.”

“It’s a nice place, but they don’t have the climate we have up here. Too hot.”

“I like it hot,” I said.

We walked back to the road and Tinchfleld turned to the right.

“My car’s up a piece towards the end of the lake. I’ll say good night to you, son.”

“Good night, Sheriff. I don’t think he murdered her.”

He was already walking off. He didn’t turn. “Well, we’ll see,” he said quietly.

I went back to the gate and climbed it and found my car and started back down the narrow road past the waterfall. At the highway I turned west towards the dam and the grade to the valley.

On the way I decided that if the citizens around Puma Lake didn’t keep Tinchfleld constable, they would be making a very bad mistake.

SIX MELTON UPS THE ANTE It was past ten-thirty when I got to the bottom of the grade and parked in one of the diagonal slots in front of the Hotel Olympia in San Bernardino. I pulled an overnight bag out of the back of my car and had taken about four steps with it when a bellhop in braided pants and a white shirt and black bow tie had it out of my hand.

The clerk on duty was an egg-headed man with no interest in me.

I signed the register.

The hop

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