Lucky Stiff by Craig Rice (ebook pdf reader for pc TXT) đ
- Author: Craig Rice
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He patted her hand and said, âYouâre a wonderful Little Girl with a great future ahead of you, and by all means, donât let me stand in your way.â
âBut Maloneââ
âNever mind.â
âIâve got to talk to you.â
âLater.â There was one way of keeping her from talking until he wanted her to talk, and he used it, fast. The cab was slowing for a stop before she could catch her breath.
Then she said, âI donât have to go to Hollywood. I havenât signed any contracts.â
Malone thought of the little house in Winnetka, or possibly Willmette; the house that would be like a jewel box. He thought of the diamond-studded key heâd have made. He thought of Anna Marie.
The cab stopped. He reached for the door handle. âYouâre going to love Hollywood,â he told her.
She stepped out, looked at the building in front of her, and gasped. âWhatâs the idea of bringing meâhere?â Sheâd almost said, âhome.â
âI left something here,â Malone said. âI hope you donât mind.â
âWhy should I? After all, I used to live here.â
âThatâs right,â Malone said in a flat, emotionless voice. âWe may be a few minutes,â he said to the cab driver. âPlease wait.â
Anna Marie said, âIâll wait in the cab.â
âNo,â Malone said.
He looked at her. Again the breath caught in his throat, almost in a sob, just at the sight of her. âIt isnât very long until six oâclock. Iâd like to have you with me for every minute.â He added, âYouâre not afraid to go in there with me, I hope.â
âOf course not,â she said. She laid a hand on his arm. âI wouldnât be afraid to go anywhere with you.â She walked up the steps by his side.
Malone flung open the door, ushered her in, and said, âIâm sorryâI donât know where the light switch is for the hall.â
She reached in and clicked the light switch. The hall and stairs were suddenly flooded with light. âThanks,â Malone said, âIâd hate to go up these stairs in the dark.â
He had taken three steps when she caught at his arm. He turned and looked down at her. âMalone,â she said, almost whispering, âthereâs nothing upstairs.â
Malone stared down at her. Suddenly he caught her face between his hands and kissed her almost roughly, on the lips the forehead, the cheeks, and the chin. He covered her face with kisses just as he had covered it more than once in his dreams.
He said âAnna Marie, I donât care what you do to me as long as you donât lie to me. Now, come on upstairs.â
He put his arm around her and led her up to the second floor. The door to the upstairs apartment was slightly ajar. Malone pushed it open and reached for the light. The bare unfurnished room seemed fairly to blaze. Malone glanced around it, remembered the room below, and shuddered.
Anna Marie stood close by the door, watching him. He walked over to the door to the kitchenette and reached up to the top of it.
âI should have brought along a chair to stand on, he complained, âbut I think I can make it.â
He ran his hand along the top of the door. A thin strip of wood sprang up as his fingers touched it. He reached in, stretching and standing on tiptoe, and drew out a small black book, on the front of which was printed âOne Year Diary.â
Anna Marie sprang at him, her eyes blazing. He caught her by the shoulders and held her fast.
âWhy bother?â the little lawyer said.
She relaxed against his shoulder. He kissed her very tenderly and said, âYouâre going to Hollywood, remember? And the diary ought to be burned, anyway.â
Anna Marie stood flat against the wall, bracing herself with the palms of her hands. She whispered, âHow did you know it was there?â
âBecause I dreamed about identical twinsâidentical in every respect, even to the fillings in their teeth. You made a hiding place for Big Joe in the apartment downstairs, but when the time came that he wanted to hide his diary from you, he made one just like it in the upstairs apartment. The two apartments were exactly alike in every other way, so naturally they would be alike in the matter of a hiding place.â
âHe told meâthat heâd destroyed the diary,â Anna Marie whispered.
âHe told you that,â Malone said, âto spare you the trouble of looking for it. Because he was writing things in it that he didnât want you to see. He hid it from you just as he hid those notes for a letter that never was written.â He paused, smiled bitterly, and quoted, ââAnna MarieâForgive me for whatâ â He broke off, stared at her, and said, âYou knew what he was going to do that called for your forgiveness.â
She said nothing, but stood there watching him, her face as expressionless as the wall.
âDo I need to read you the last pages of Big Joeâs diary,â Malone said, âor do you know what he must have written? Do you need to be reminded that Bill McKeown was your lover? Do you need me to tell you that you were the real brains behind the protection racket?â
She said hoarsely, âYou canât prove a thing!â
âIâm not trying to prove anything,â Malone said. âI donât need to. Because Bill McKeownâs dead. Iâd sort of like to think youâre sorry, but I know you arenât.â He glanced at her. âYou were in love with him, once. Orâwere you?â
Her lower lip curled unpleasantly. âHe didnât try to save me from the electric chairâremember?â She took a cigarette from her purse and lit it. There was bitterness and resentment in her voice when she spoke again. âHe wanted the money. He wanted to have the racket all to himself. Thereâs a lot of good-looking dolls running around loose, but damn few rackets as sweet as this one. If he hadnâtââ She paused.
âHell, yes, Iâd have killed him myself.â
âWith your own little lily-white hands,â Malone said. He sighed. âHate isnât good for people, Anna Marie. Youâve hated too many people in your lifetime.â
He began walking up and down the unfurnished room, his cigar held limply between his fingers. âMaybe von Flanagan ought to be in on this. Heâs the guy whoâs reading the book about psychology. Me, I just make it up as I go along. Hate, and ambition. Thatâs a bad combination.â
Anna Marie looked at her watch and whispered, âIâve got to pack. Itâs getting late.â
âIâll help you pack,â Malone said. âIâll get you to the airport on time. Youâll get to Hollywood, and youâll be a big success but I donât think youâll be happy there. I donât think youâll be happy anywhere. Remember the dream you had, when you thought you were going to the chair? It was a dream of glory. A magnificent gesture. You dreamed of being noticed. And the statement Garrity gave the press at your order, âAnna Marie died at midnight, with a smile on her lovely lipsââ Youâre going to be a success as an actress, Anna Marie.â
âPlease,â she murmured. âMalone, donât hate me.â
Malone said, âIâm crazy about you, and you know it. Youâre the one whoâs been doing the hating, as long as you could remember. You hated your father for deserting your mother. You hated the people in Grove Junction who had all the things you wanted. You hated grandmother, because all she left was a mortgaged house, a garnet necklace, and a pair of silver earrings.â
âOther girls,â Anna Marie began. Her voice broke off suddenly.â
âOther girls had things you wanted,â Malone said. âExpensive clothes, and a house without a mortgage. And dates with boys whose parents approved of them. I can understand why you hated them. I can understand why, later, you hated Bill McKeown. I canât understand, though, about Big Joe Childers.â He looked at her closely, his eyes narrowed. âOr maybe I can.â
âThere isnât any point in this,â she said. Her voice was a faint whisper. She looked around for a place to put out the cigarette, finally dropped it on the floor, and stepped on it.
âNo, there isnât,â Malone said. âBut weâve a little time left, and Iâd like to hang on to every minute of it. It doesnât matter now, but Iâd like to reconstruct what did happen.â
She sat down on the windowseat, looked out through the soot-streaked window, and said, âGo ahead.â
âYou were framed for Big Joeâs murder,â Malone said. âYou were arrested for it. Bill McKeownâs brother told you not to worry. Jesse Conway turned up as your lawyer, and he told you not to worry. You didnât really believe either of them, but you had to play along with them. They promised you an acquittal, and they promised to cover up your part in the protection racket.â
âYouâre guessing,â Anna Marie said faintly.
âOf course Iâm guessing,â Malone said, âand stop me if I guess wrong. It wasnât until after the convictionâhell, even after you were sentencedâthat you realized Bill McKeown had given the orders to let you stay framed.â
She turned to face him. âMalone, what could I do?â
âThatâs just it,â Malone said. âYou couldnât do a damned thing. You knew whoâd framed youâyou must have known by that time. But you couldnât find the proof, not while you were sitting in that cozy little cell in the deathhouse.â
âDonât!â She shivered.
Malone took her face very tenderly between his hands and kissed her. âItâs over now,â he said. âYouâre free.â
He opened the window, tossed his cigar end out, took out a fresh cigar and began to unwrap it. âYou couldnât even talk to anybody. Warden Garrity saw to that. Your own lawyer wouldnât come near you. You were trapped.â
Again he began pacing up and down the unfurnished and chilly room. âOne person guessed. Milly Dale. But she didnât dare speak. She didnât even dare sing that song, the âGirl-With-The-Gunâ number, after Bill McKeown told her to lay offâbecause some smart person might have realized it proved you couldnât have shot Big Joe.â
Suddenly he wheeled around to face her. âThe night Ike Malloy was killed and made his confession, Jesse Conway and Bill McKeown had to work fast. There was a chance the confession might in some way involve them. It didnât, but it exonerated you, and Bill McKeown wanted you safely and quietly out of the way. He sent Jesse Conway up to the prison to make sure you were executed. And you knew it.â
âI only guessed it,â Anna Marie gasped.
âIâm guessing, too,â Malone reminded her. âThis is guess night, on the Malone hour.â He felt deathly weary, almost ill. âItâs a curious thing how traits come out in a personâs personality at a time like that. Maybe von Flanagan could explain it. Like the way the hatred came out in yours, and the decency came out in Jesse Conwayâs, at the last. Because, when it came right down to it, he couldnât see you go to the chair, and he forced Garrityâwho had his own reason for wanting you to dieâto play along. He was sure he could keep you from talking, once you were free. But he didnât see far enough ahead to realize you would turn things around and trap them.â He felt his face muscles moving into a smile. âWhy did you decide to play ghost, Anna Marie?â
She rose and stood facing him. The light glared on her white face. âIt was a gag,â she told him. âA little funâscaring a few people.â
Malone shook his head and said, âNo.â
âWellâall right, you had it O.K. Iâd guessed
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