Black Friday Read Online Free PDF

it too quickly because then it might break.
He said, "Did you hear about Renner?"
"Yes," she said. "Paul told me."
"How is Paul?"
"I gave him a couple pills. I guess he's sleeping now. He'll be all right. If you're still around when he's up on his feet you're in for a terrible lacing."
"I don't think I'll be around. Is that real platinum blonde?"
"No, and you know it isn't. You don't think you'll get away, do you?"
"Yes, Frieda," he said solemnly. "I can't help it, but that's what I think."
"Suppose you get away," she said, as if she didn't hear his last remark. "What would you do then?"
"I'd stay away."
"Would you open your mouth?"
"If I was a fool."
"That sounds like something. Build on it."
He said, "I'm wanted in New Orleans."
"For what?"
"Murder."
She leaned her head to one side and smiled dimly. "Now look," she said, "you're not trying to show me a good time, are you?"
"You wanted me to build. So I'm building."
"All right, build some more. Who was it?"
"My older brother."
"What name you using?"
"Al."
"Look, Al, you mean to sit there and tell me you killed your own brother?"
"Sure."
Frieda stood up. "Charley!"
Footsteps came banging toward the kitchen. Charley appeared in the doorway with the revolver all ready. Charley said, "What's he doing?"
Frieda said, "Charley, I want you to hear something." She looked at Hart. "Go ahead, tell it to Charley."
Hart drained the cup and said, "I'm telling him because you're asking me to. I told you because you asked me. Just remember that." He turned his head toward Charley. "I told her I'm wanted in New Orleans for killing my brother."
Charley rested the revolver flat in one palm and smoothed the other palm over it. Then Charley said, "Why did you skip?"
"I had no alibi," Hart said.
Frieda said, "Why did you pick Philadelphia?"
"I couldn't get a boat across the Gulf," Hart said. "I couldn't go north at first because I couldn't get the right connections. I had to go east. I went to Birmingham and from there I went north. This is as far as I got."
"When did you come in? How?" Charley's voice was quiet.
"The afternoon train from Baltimore," Hart said. "Some men in plain clothes stepped on the train when we pulled in at Thirtieth Street Station. I didn't know what they wanted and I wasn't going to stay there to find out. I got out of my seat and took a walk into the next car. Some more men in plain clothes were watching the doors. I kept walking through the cars. I was about two cars from the end and I had to turn around and look. So I turned around and I saw two of them coming after me. The next door was unguarded and I took that door before any of them could come down there from the outside. I had to leave all my belongings on the train, and that included about seven hundred dollars tucked away in a Gladstone."
"I think you got a weakness there," Charley said. "What's wrong with a wallet?"
"When you're running away you do funny things."
"It's still weak," Charley said.
"All right, it's weak," Hart said. "Tonight I walked into a store on Broad Street and stole the overcoat you see there on the chair."
Charley looked at the overcoat. "Broad and where?"
"Above Callohill."
"All right," Charley said. "What store?"
"I think it said Sam and Harry."
Frieda was looking at the bright green overcoat. She said, "It looks brand new."
Charley turned to Frieda. Charley said, "Get the telephone book and look up Sam and Harry in the classified section under men's clothing. Come in and tell me if there's a Sam and Harry clothing store on Broad Street above Callohill. And bring Mattone in with you."
Frieda walked out.
Charley put a forefinger through the trigger guard and twirled the revolver. "You don't mind a little checking, do you?"
Hart shook his head. He looked at the floor. Charley leaned against the icebox and kept twirling the revolver. They could hear the flipping of telephone-book pages from the living room. Then Frieda came walking into the kitchen and Mattone was behind her.
Frieda said,