Anatomy of a Killer Read Online Free PDF Page B

about a drink before you go, huh, Jordan?” and he ran off down the hall before Jordan could answer.
    The three men in the room stood around while the young man was gone, and Sandy wiped dust off his pants. Turner said how hot it was and wouldn’t a drink be the ticket now.
    The young man came back with one drink, which he gave to Jordan. “Happiness,” he said.
    The drink was straight bourbon with ice, and Jordan kept a mouthful of liquor and let it burn. It distracted him while there was nothing to listen to or to say. He heard the young man say, “How about it?” to Sandy, and Sandy answered, “Who’s here?” It was, Max is here, you know Max, and his brother, you know him and his bunch, you know, that crowd, nice. And Sandy said that would be nice and Turner started talking about his special drink again.
    Then Jordan thought about his own affairs, just briefly, there being time and need to think more about all of it later. Vague job, which was the kind needing thought ahead of time. Bad having to case Kemp himself, almost as bad as having to touch somebody afterwards. But that made sense. No superstition in that. No jinx. Not casing was caution and not touching was hygiene.
    Turner had already left the room. Jordan swallowed the liquor and wiped his face. Then he put the glass on the window sill.
    “You didn’t finish,” said the young man.
    “That’s all right.”
    “You want my car to drive home?” Sandy asked.
    “No. I’ll take a cab.” Or, no. Maybe I’ll stay, he thought. “Who’s here?” he asked, and walked to the door where Sandy and the young man were standing.
    “Nobody you know. Not well, I mean. There’s Max, I don’t know if you….”
    Just vaguely, thought Jordan. I probably know everybody there, just vaguely. Then he said, “That laugh just now. That sounded like Lois.”
    “Hey, yes,” said the young man. “That’s right. You know Lois.”
    “You want her?” said Sandy. He held a cigar in his hand and was licking the end with his tongue.
    And the young man was off down the corridor again. There was music and talk buzz when he opened a door down the hall and then just the mumble again when he closed it.
    “When are you leaving town on this?” Sandy asked.
    “I’ll make it tomorrow. Middle of the day.”
    “Need money?”
    “No. We can work it out afterwards.”
    “You’re not dropping over tomorrow, before going out?”
    “No.”
    The buzz getting big and then the mumble and the young man came back.
    “Gee, man, I’m sorry. She’s with what’s-his-name, you know, Fido’s brother.”
    “I don’t know his name,” said Jordan.
    “Well, you know how it is, he brought her.” He smiled and went away.
    Sandy took Jordan’s arm and they walked down the corridor all the way to the end.
    “I’ll call that Ruth for you,” he said. “I’ll call her from here.”
    “That’s all right. You don’t have to do that.”
    “What’s a phone call?” Sandy opened the front door.
    Jordan said good-by and, “In a week or so…”
    “Yuh,” and when Sandy closed the door Jordan thought, who in hell is Fido’s brother….

4
    He took his suitcase out of Sandy’s car and walked back to the main drag. There he hailed a taxi and took it to a place three blocks from his building. He walked the three blocks and smoked a whole cigarette.
    He had a room for sleeping and for keeping his clothes. He shut the door, walked to the dresser, bending a little when he walked past where the light hung from the ceiling. He took a clean shirt out of the suitcase and some underwear, and put them into a drawer. He had dirty laundry in a little bag, and he dropped that on the floor. Then he closed the suitcase and put it into the closet. He carried a gun and put that away in the place where he always kept it. Then he sat down on the bed and closed his eyes. He sat like that for a while but could not decide whether he was tired.
    She came down the hall to his room, and he knew who it was