run by the office door, going towards the street.
‘No use bleeding now,’ I picked up a handful of currency. ‘One-fourth of sixty-one hundred and forty-two dollars is fifteen hundred and thirty-five dollars. Two hundred for the automatics makes it seventeen hundred and thirty-five. The thousand Holiday owes you makes it an even twenty-seven and thirty-five.’
‘Just a minute,’ Jinx said. ‘What about my cut?’
‘I’m coming to that,’ I said.
‘You’re coming to it too late.…’
‘Jesus!’ Mason said. ‘Do we have to stand here with all that money in plain sight and argue about it? Somebody might walk in here any minute. Let’s go back in the battery room.’
‘You’re a hemophiliac,’ I said. ‘Anybody walks in here, it’ll be just too bad.…’
His eyes blazed and his lips whitened. ‘Then hurry up and split the stuff and get the hell out of here and don’t ever come back,’ he said. ‘You’re a goddamn lunatic, that’s what you are, and I don’t want any part of you. If I’d known what I was getting into…’
‘I got nothing to do with that thousand dollars Holiday owes,’ Jinx was saying. ‘Take out his seventeen thirty-five and you and me split what’s left. It comes to forty-four hundred and seven dollars. I’ll take two thousand.…’
I slapped the currency on the desk, looking at him. ‘You cut it up.’
‘Sure …’ he said, moving to the desk, starting to cut up the money. Nelse came in and stopped, surprised by the sight of all the currency, staring at it.
‘Is that what’s the matter at Hartford’s?’ he asked.
‘It’s one of the things that’s the matter,’ I replied. ‘What’s more important, probably, is a body in the milk truck behind the market. It’s the driver’s body. I had to slug him a few times. He was an old man. I think maybe I killed him.’
Mason didn’t say anything; he was in too much of a state already to react to this; he just raked his upper lip with his lower teeth. But Nelse was instantly concerned, and looked through the door of the office at the Zephyr.
‘You got nothing to be alarmed about,’ I said. ‘This one was right off page seven.’
‘So now it’s murder,’ Mason said slowly.
‘It could very easily be,’ I said.
Jinx turned, holding a stack of currency in each hand. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘settle your back debts out of this.’
I counted off a thousand dollars and offered it to Mason, but he made no move to take it. ‘Go on. Take it.’ I said.
‘In another hour every dick on the force’ll be swarming in here,’ he said in a slow, vexed, almost pitiable tone. ‘They’ll turn this place upside down.’
I held the money almost against his chin. ‘The rest of it’s on the desk,’ I said. ‘Take this …’
He finally took it.
‘There’re a couple of other trifling details to worry about,’ I said. ‘In the back of the Zephyr you’ll find the milkman’s coat and cap and two Hallowe’en masks. You’d better put the torch on ’em. And I’d get rid of those cheques too, if I were you.…’
‘… Jesus,’ he moaned.
I nodded to Jinx and we went out, pausing for a moment on the sidewalk, looking up the street at the widening confusion in front of Hartford’s Market. People were converging from every direction, and the scream of another siren rounded the corner a few blocks away and soon it dragged into view an ambulance.
‘You think you really killed that guy?’ Jinx asked.
‘Probably,’ I said. ‘An old man’s skull is a pretty soft thing.’
When I got back to the apartment Holiday was still in bed. She was still in bed but she was not asleep. She was on her back, her hands clasped behind her head and as I approached the open door of the bedroom I saw her raise herself slightly and wiggle her body, shaking down the sheet, exposing her breasts, and when I got closer I saw that her face had been freshly made-up. She smiled, saying nothing, looking at me from under
‘No use bleeding now,’ I picked up a handful of currency. ‘One-fourth of sixty-one hundred and forty-two dollars is fifteen hundred and thirty-five dollars. Two hundred for the automatics makes it seventeen hundred and thirty-five. The thousand Holiday owes you makes it an even twenty-seven and thirty-five.’
‘Just a minute,’ Jinx said. ‘What about my cut?’
‘I’m coming to that,’ I said.
‘You’re coming to it too late.…’
‘Jesus!’ Mason said. ‘Do we have to stand here with all that money in plain sight and argue about it? Somebody might walk in here any minute. Let’s go back in the battery room.’
‘You’re a hemophiliac,’ I said. ‘Anybody walks in here, it’ll be just too bad.…’
His eyes blazed and his lips whitened. ‘Then hurry up and split the stuff and get the hell out of here and don’t ever come back,’ he said. ‘You’re a goddamn lunatic, that’s what you are, and I don’t want any part of you. If I’d known what I was getting into…’
‘I got nothing to do with that thousand dollars Holiday owes,’ Jinx was saying. ‘Take out his seventeen thirty-five and you and me split what’s left. It comes to forty-four hundred and seven dollars. I’ll take two thousand.…’
I slapped the currency on the desk, looking at him. ‘You cut it up.’
‘Sure …’ he said, moving to the desk, starting to cut up the money. Nelse came in and stopped, surprised by the sight of all the currency, staring at it.
‘Is that what’s the matter at Hartford’s?’ he asked.
‘It’s one of the things that’s the matter,’ I replied. ‘What’s more important, probably, is a body in the milk truck behind the market. It’s the driver’s body. I had to slug him a few times. He was an old man. I think maybe I killed him.’
Mason didn’t say anything; he was in too much of a state already to react to this; he just raked his upper lip with his lower teeth. But Nelse was instantly concerned, and looked through the door of the office at the Zephyr.
‘You got nothing to be alarmed about,’ I said. ‘This one was right off page seven.’
‘So now it’s murder,’ Mason said slowly.
‘It could very easily be,’ I said.
Jinx turned, holding a stack of currency in each hand. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘settle your back debts out of this.’
I counted off a thousand dollars and offered it to Mason, but he made no move to take it. ‘Go on. Take it.’ I said.
‘In another hour every dick on the force’ll be swarming in here,’ he said in a slow, vexed, almost pitiable tone. ‘They’ll turn this place upside down.’
I held the money almost against his chin. ‘The rest of it’s on the desk,’ I said. ‘Take this …’
He finally took it.
‘There’re a couple of other trifling details to worry about,’ I said. ‘In the back of the Zephyr you’ll find the milkman’s coat and cap and two Hallowe’en masks. You’d better put the torch on ’em. And I’d get rid of those cheques too, if I were you.…’
‘… Jesus,’ he moaned.
I nodded to Jinx and we went out, pausing for a moment on the sidewalk, looking up the street at the widening confusion in front of Hartford’s Market. People were converging from every direction, and the scream of another siren rounded the corner a few blocks away and soon it dragged into view an ambulance.
‘You think you really killed that guy?’ Jinx asked.
‘Probably,’ I said. ‘An old man’s skull is a pretty soft thing.’
When I got back to the apartment Holiday was still in bed. She was still in bed but she was not asleep. She was on her back, her hands clasped behind her head and as I approached the open door of the bedroom I saw her raise herself slightly and wiggle her body, shaking down the sheet, exposing her breasts, and when I got closer I saw that her face had been freshly made-up. She smiled, saying nothing, looking at me from under
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