World's Greatest Sleuth! by Steve Hockensmith

Author:Steve Hockensmith
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

20

UNCOMMON FEAT

Or, We Try Our Hand at Shadowing Suspects, but the Shoe Ends Up on the Other Foot

Under normal circumstances, taking Gustav Amlingmeyer to get a shoeshine would make about as much sense as taking a pack mule for a pedicure. Spit was the only polish ever to touch my brother’s boots, and even this was applied no more than once or twice per annum. Most times, every speck of trail dust to cling to the creased brown leather was worn with pride as a belle wears her bows or a soldier his medals.

But Old Red had a reason to shed some of his hard-earned grime now: We were on our way to see Pyle, the bootblack who shined shoes for the Columbian’s guests, according to Jerzy the bell codger. My brother still had dung on the brain (as opposed to the dung for brains he frequently accused me of). If anyone had come back to the hotel the previous night with especially feculent feet, this Pyle might be our last chance to find out about it.

As we weaved our way through the chattering tourist clans clogging the sidewalks, Gustav grilled me on my talk with Pinkerton and Ryan. So as to have something encouraging to report, I threw in that I’d caught Smythe in a lie about needing cigars. Whatever had taken him out of the hotel the night before, it wasn’t a hankering for a hand-rolled robusto.

“Add that to the note in the bearded feller’s coat, and your Mr. Smythe starts lookin’ like a man with things to hide,” Old Red said.

“Wouldn’t that just be the way? I finally find someone willin’ to pay for my stories, and he turns out to be the next Lizzie Borden. So how’d your parley with Ryan and Pinkerton go?”

My brother shrugged. “Not much to tell. Pinkerton was the same way with me as you. Surly. Suspicious. Like he thought we had something to do with Curtis’s dyin’ like he did. Which don’t make no sense at all considerin’—”

“He doesn’t think Curtis was murdered.”

“Or so he keeps sayin’. And Ryan I don’t understand, either. He’s cool, clearheaded, pleasant.”

“Not like a lawman at all.”

“Nope. At least the ones we’ve met. It’s frustratin’. I couldn’t get a lick of data out of him, yet much as I wanted to, I couldn’t get properly mad at him, either.”

“Could’ve fooled me, the way you was shoutin’.”

“Oh, that don’t mean I don’t like the man.”

“I’ll try to remember that the next time you call me a goddamn idjit.”

“Probably won’t be long.”

“No doubt.”

“I just wish Ryan would listen. He seems too smart to be so dense.”

“Well, I can tell you one thing that didn’t do us any favors. Them specs you was wearin’ when we come to town. Ryan wanted to know why—”

“Yeah, yeah. He asked me about that, too,” Gustav muttered, and he let a big clump of sightseers come between us. After that, he was too busy zigzagging around sidewalk vendors and telephone poles to pick

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.