A Charm of Powerful Trouble (A Harry Reese Mystery Book 4) by Robert Bruce Stewart Page A
Authors: Robert Bruce Stewart
Ads: Link
better than to attempt to give a roomful of vaudevillians a lesson in riverine toponymy. My reward was a half dozen blank expressions and a good deal of derisive snickering.
Then the lights went off and back on, twice.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a signal. The cops must be on their way to break up the fun.”
“And the first thing they’ll do is take everyone’s name. We’d better skedaddle.”
“You’re behind this,” the fellow called Cliff unhelpfully suggested. “A simple way to have us identified.”
I didn’t wait around to test his skills at throat slitting. One of the more limber fellows crawled out a window and I followed. Unfortunately, I’d chosen a rather poor guide. It was a fifteen-foot drop with not much to hang onto. The first fellow had latched onto a drain pipe and was hanging there precariously. But I went straight down.
It was one of those rare occasions when one thinks fondly of the pools of mud and manure you come across in stable yards. I wasn’t looking, or smelling, any too good, but the cushion saved me from breaking a leg. I limped behind some shrubs and waited.
Luckily, the cops didn’t stay long. They left with the roulette wheel and a handful of fellows who looked to be employees of the casino. I imagined this was a form of dunning—Erbe must have been late with the monthly payment. I found Thibaut inside under a table, sound asleep. I shook him awake and we went off to find Emmie and Aunt Nell.
It must have been close to one by the time we made it back to the farm. Thibaut and I hooted for a good ten minutes, but there were no responses. When we at last arrived home, sometime after four, the apartment was dark. I turned on a light and saw the jacket Aunt Nell had been wearing draped on a chair.
I said good night to Thibaut. Then after a quick wash, I crept into our room with the light off and quietly slid into bed…. It was empty. Turning on the light, I looked about and saw that someone had been through Emmie’s things. Then I noticed the satchel she kept hung on the closet door was missing. She’d packed and gone off someplace. And without leaving a note.
I went to Aunt Nell’s room and found the door ajar and the light on. She was sound asleep, but sitting up, as if she’d been trying to stay awake. I was all in myself, so I just turned off the light and went back to our own bed.
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t show a little more concern over Emmie’s whereabouts. Well, I’d learned long before that investing in any anxiety on Emmie’s behalf brought very meager returns. Granted, in this case a good deal of trouble might have been saved if I had taken some decisive action. But I’m no seer. And, as I said, I was exhausted.
I fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake until I was forced to by Aunt Nell’s persistent prodding.
“What time is it?” I asked her.
“Never mind that. Didn’t you notice Emmie was gone?”
“Yes, I noticed. But she didn’t bother to leave a note.”
“I was to explain when you got in, but I’m afraid I dozed off,” she said apologetically. “Where did you go last night?”
“To a meeting of the White Rats.”
“You might have let us know. We hooted our hearts out.”
“The cricket charmer showed up?”
“Yes. About eleven, a lantern went on inside the shanty. Then three men came out. Willie said they were looking for crickets. But that Lou wasn’t among them. Then, a little later, another Chinaman came. This was Lou, Willie told us. He spoke with the others, and took some things from the shack. An older man told him he needed to leave, or the police would catch him. Then gave some more complicated instructions Willie wasn’t sure of. But something about a boat. When you didn’t respond to our hooting, Emmie insisted we follow Lou.”
“Did Willie go with you?”
“No, he said he didn’t like spying on his friends like that and he went home. We followed Lou back to the car stop where we
Then the lights went off and back on, twice.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a signal. The cops must be on their way to break up the fun.”
“And the first thing they’ll do is take everyone’s name. We’d better skedaddle.”
“You’re behind this,” the fellow called Cliff unhelpfully suggested. “A simple way to have us identified.”
I didn’t wait around to test his skills at throat slitting. One of the more limber fellows crawled out a window and I followed. Unfortunately, I’d chosen a rather poor guide. It was a fifteen-foot drop with not much to hang onto. The first fellow had latched onto a drain pipe and was hanging there precariously. But I went straight down.
It was one of those rare occasions when one thinks fondly of the pools of mud and manure you come across in stable yards. I wasn’t looking, or smelling, any too good, but the cushion saved me from breaking a leg. I limped behind some shrubs and waited.
Luckily, the cops didn’t stay long. They left with the roulette wheel and a handful of fellows who looked to be employees of the casino. I imagined this was a form of dunning—Erbe must have been late with the monthly payment. I found Thibaut inside under a table, sound asleep. I shook him awake and we went off to find Emmie and Aunt Nell.
It must have been close to one by the time we made it back to the farm. Thibaut and I hooted for a good ten minutes, but there were no responses. When we at last arrived home, sometime after four, the apartment was dark. I turned on a light and saw the jacket Aunt Nell had been wearing draped on a chair.
I said good night to Thibaut. Then after a quick wash, I crept into our room with the light off and quietly slid into bed…. It was empty. Turning on the light, I looked about and saw that someone had been through Emmie’s things. Then I noticed the satchel she kept hung on the closet door was missing. She’d packed and gone off someplace. And without leaving a note.
I went to Aunt Nell’s room and found the door ajar and the light on. She was sound asleep, but sitting up, as if she’d been trying to stay awake. I was all in myself, so I just turned off the light and went back to our own bed.
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t show a little more concern over Emmie’s whereabouts. Well, I’d learned long before that investing in any anxiety on Emmie’s behalf brought very meager returns. Granted, in this case a good deal of trouble might have been saved if I had taken some decisive action. But I’m no seer. And, as I said, I was exhausted.
I fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake until I was forced to by Aunt Nell’s persistent prodding.
“What time is it?” I asked her.
“Never mind that. Didn’t you notice Emmie was gone?”
“Yes, I noticed. But she didn’t bother to leave a note.”
“I was to explain when you got in, but I’m afraid I dozed off,” she said apologetically. “Where did you go last night?”
“To a meeting of the White Rats.”
“You might have let us know. We hooted our hearts out.”
“The cricket charmer showed up?”
“Yes. About eleven, a lantern went on inside the shanty. Then three men came out. Willie said they were looking for crickets. But that Lou wasn’t among them. Then, a little later, another Chinaman came. This was Lou, Willie told us. He spoke with the others, and took some things from the shack. An older man told him he needed to leave, or the police would catch him. Then gave some more complicated instructions Willie wasn’t sure of. But something about a boat. When you didn’t respond to our hooting, Emmie insisted we follow Lou.”
“Did Willie go with you?”
“No, he said he didn’t like spying on his friends like that and he went home. We followed Lou back to the car stop where we
Similar Books
