Book 03 - Cold Copper Tears Read Online Free PDF Page B

turf,
Garrett. They come from North Reservoir Hill. Priam Street. West
Bacon. Around there.”
    I understood. They hadn’t come south on a lark. I
hadn’t been a target of opportunity.
    I got that chill between my shoulders again.
    Morley sanded what he’d written, folded it, dashed
something on the outside, then handed it to Slade. Slade looked at
it, nodded, and walked out. Morley said, “If I was you,
Garrett, I’d go home and bar my doors and sit tight with the
Dead Man.”
    “Probably a good idea.”
    We both knew I wouldn’t. What if word got around that
Garrett could be pushed?
    Morley said, “I don’t keep up with street gangs.
There’re too many of them. But the Vampires have been making
a name. Getting ambitious. Snowball wants to be top chuko, captain
of captains . . . Excuse me.”
    His speaking tube was making noises. He picked it up.
“I’m listening.” He held it to his ear. Then,
“Send him up.” He looked at me. “You leave a
broad trail. Pokey Pigotta is here looking for you.”
     
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8
    Pokey wandered in looking like a living skeleton. Morley said,
“Plant yourself, Pokey,” and gave him that look he
gives when he’s planning a new diet for someone. Part of
Morley believes there’s no problem that can’t be solved
by upping your intake of green leafies and fiber. He was certain we
could achieve peace in our time if we could just get everybody to
stop eating red meat.
    I asked, “You looking for me?”
    “Yes. I have to give you your money back. I can’t do
the job.”
    Pokey refusing work? “How come?”
    “Got a better
offer to do something that’s more interesting, and I
can’t handle both jobs. You want to farm it out to
Saucerhead? I’ll give you what I got. For nothing.”
    “You’re a prince. You doing anything,
Saucerhead?” He wasn’t the best man for the job but
what could I do? Pokey had set me up.
    “Give me the skinny,” Saucerhead said. “I
ain’t buying no pig in a poke.” He was suspicious
because Pokey wanted out.
    I gave him what I’d given Pokey, word for word. Pokey gave
me my retainer, said, “I cased the area but didn’t make
contact with the principal. The building is being watched, front
and rear, by nonprofessionals. I assume the principal is their
target, though the building contains nine other apartments.
There’s a caretaker who lives in the basement. The tenants
are all single women. The watchers left when it got dark. They went
to the Blue Bottle, where they share a third-floor room as Smith
and Smith. Once it was apparent they were off duty and were not
going to be replaced, I went home. I found my new client
waiting.”
    Pokey described Smith and Smith, who sounded like your basic
nondescript working stiffs.
    “I can handle it, Garrett,” Saucerhead said.
“If you don’t want to keep it for yourself.”
    I handed him the retainer. “Take care of the
woman.”
    Pokey said, “That takes care of my business. I’d
better go. I want to get an early start.”
    Morley grunted a farewell. He was changing. He ached to give
Pokey some wholesome dietary advice, for his own good, but he bit
his tongue.
    What the hell? The world wouldn’t be half as interesting
if Morley changed that much.
    When just the two of us were left, he looked at me.
“You’re really not into anything?”
    “Promise. Cross my heart.”
    “I never saw anyone like you, Garrett. I don’t know
anybody else who could have chukos come all the way from the North
End to whack him for taking a walk.”
    That bothered me, too. It looked like I’d have to go to
work whether I liked it or not. And it would be a double not. I
make a lousy client. “Maybe they heard where I was
headed.”
    “What?”
    “They might have gotten carried away by compassion for my
stomach.”
    “Stuff it, Garrett. I don’t need the
aggravation.”
    “Testy, eh? Maybe cold turkey on everything isn’t
the way to go.”
    “Maybe not.”
    Puddle lurched in before we got going