A Shroud for Jesso Read Online Free PDF Page A

me.”
    She leaned her face closer and Jesso saw wrinkles stretch in her neck.
    “You’re lying. He ain’t left the back in years.” She straightened up again and folded her big arms. “What do you want, copper?”
    Jesso laughed. Then he stopped and put his hands in his pockets. “Where’s Bonetti?”
    She still look rattled. “Who’s that?”
    “Your old man, in the back. He ain’t left the back in years, you said.”
    She was stupid. “Who’s Bonetti?” she said again.
    Jesso shrugged and walked through the curtain in the back. It was even darker there. He stumbled over an empty carton that lay on the floor and hit his leg against a sewing machine. Then he stood still, trying to get his bearings. Tissue paper crackled under his feet and there was a smell of burned coffee.
    “He’s a copper,” the woman said from the curtain.
    “Oh, no, he ain’t.”
    Jesso turned, looking for the cackly voice. Then he saw Bonetti. He sat all sunken in a wheel chair, his old man’s jaws chomping in a constant tic, and there was a big.45 in his hand. It trembled a little, but the aim was good enough.
    “Call the police, Ann,” Bonetti said.
    Jesso kept his hands down, turned slowly.
    “Go ahead, Ann,” he said. “Gluck’s going to like that. And Snell.”
    But Gluck didn’t mean a thing to Bonetti and he ignored the name Snell.
    “Go on, Ann,” he said. He kept working his jaws.
    Bonetti’s daughter stepped around the sewing machine and grabbed the phone off the hook. “Police,” she said.
    When she was connected with the police she gave her name and address, and asked to have a man sent out right away, because her daddy had caught a prowler and was holding a gun on him. She hung up and turned to Jesso. “Smart guy,” she said, and worked her mouth the way her father was doing it.
    “That’s right,” Jesso said. He stood still and watched the old man’s gun. The muzzle was making short, trembly arcs, the safety was off, and one bony finger held the trigger the way it ought to be held.
    “Lemme reach for a smoke,” Jesso said. He waited for an answer.
    “See if he’s clean, Ann.”
    “He’s clean,” Jesso said, but the woman started to pat his sides, without ever getting in the way of the gun.
    “So smoke,” Bonetti said.
    Jesso lit up and let them watch. He could tell they were getting puzzled.
    “You know you made a mistake, don’t you, Bonetti?” The old man didn’t answer. His daughter poured a cup of the coffee that Jesso had been smelling and the old man started to slurp.
    “This’ll ruin your setup, Bonetti, once the cops have been here.”
    Bonetti just slurped.
    “You should have asked my name, Bonetti.”
    “And get a lie.”
    Jesso sighed and took an elaborate puff on his cigarette. “I thought you might feel that way, Bonetti.” Then he leaned against the sewing machine, finished his cigarette, and just waited.
    When the cop came charging into the store and through the curtain, nobody turned.
    “That’s him,” Bonetti said, pointing with the gun.
    The cop stumbled over the paper carton and knocked against Jesso. He grabbed him by the arm and held his.38 against Jesso’s side. “What’s he done? Who’s preferring charges?”
    Before Bonetti got his mouth open, Jesso turned his face to the cop.
    “Nobody’s preferring charges,” he said.”
    There was quite a pause when he was through.
    Then Bonetti flicked the safety and put the gun down in his lap. “I am,” he said. “Breaking and entering.”
    “Pops is balmy,” Jesso said. “We’re old pals having a chat. Then his mind starts to wander, you know how it is,” and Jesso moved to shake the cop’s hand off his arm.
    But that didn’t come off, either. The young cop was a rookie and he wasn’t getting any of this. He grabbed Jesso’s arm and yanked.
    “You resisting arrest, buddy?” His face came close.
    “Heavens, I wouldn’t!” Jesso said. He grinned back at the cop.
    “So don’t make suspicious