Bring Him Back Dead Read Online Free PDF Page A

to much, but I don’t put out to every man who wants me.” She continued to feel sorry for herself. “If that was all I wanted, I could have done it in Ponchatoula. You know how I mean, for money. A lot of guys offered me plenty.”
    Latour sipped his coffee. It was strong and fragrant with chickory. Seeing the girl in the nude had affected him more than he’d realized. It was an effort for him to keep his voice level. “Hustling isn’t much of a life.”
    “No,” Rita said. “But neither is being a waitress in a small-town café. That’s why I married Jacques. Big joke. I was trying to better myself.” She helped herself to a cigarette from the package that Latour had laid on the table. “How about you? Are you married?”
    “A little over two years.”
    “To a local girl?”
    Latour hesitated. It was difficult to catalogue Olga. “No. I imagine you’d call her a White Russian. Her grandparents were big shots. You know, years ago. The old man was a baron or something, until the Commies took over the country. But both she and her parents were born in Japan.”
    “She’s pretty?”
    “Very pretty.”
    “How did you happen to meet her?”
    “At a party.”
    “Where?”
    “In Singapore. She was working as a secretary at the British Embassy. And I was a captain in the C.I.D.”
    “What’s that?”
    “The Criminal Intelligence Division of the Army.”
    “Like a military cop, huh?”
    “Something like that.”
    Rita started to say something and changed her mind.
    Latour looked sideways at her. She was young. She was lonely. She wanted a man. She wasn’t cheap, but in spite of what she’d said, she was his if he wanted her. All he had to do was lay his hand on the bare thigh next to his. She would say, “No,” and “Don’t,” a few times, but he could have her.
    He was tempted. It would be nice, for a change, to makelove to a woman who didn’t act as if she were doing him a favor. Still, having an affair, even a one-night quickie, with a seventeen-year-old girl who wanted out of an impossible marriage would only complicate matters. So many things could happen.
    He picked his hat from the sofa and stood up.
    Rita stood up with him. “What’s the idea?”
    “I think I’d better go.”
    The red-haired girl’s eyes turned sullen. “That’s up to you.” She walked to the door with him. “Thanks for everything.”
    “You’ll see me again,” Latour said. “In the morning. I want to talk to Jacques.”
    “About those shots I heard?”
    “That’s right.”
    “You were one of the men in that car?”
    “I was.”
    “And the shots were fired at you?”
    “They were.”
    “Who fired them?”
    “I’m hoping Jacques may know. Well, until morning.”
    Rita’s smile was twisted. “I’ll be here.” She seemed to be trying to come to some decision. She made it. “O.K. So I’m being cheap, I’m being cheap. You’ve been nice to me, Latour. I like you. I could like you a lot. You’re the kind of guy I always hoped I’d meet.” She wet her lips with her tongue. “And here’s something for you to think over until I see you again. You remember how Jacques talked back there on the street?”
    “Of course.”
    “There was a reason. Frustration.”
    “Frustration?”
    “Let’s just say the bottled stuff he sells is just so much colored water.”
    Latour pulled her to him and kissed her.
    “You know what you’re saying?”
    “I know.”
    Latour was practical. “O.K. But not here. You can’t ever tell about drunks. The old man might come to and walk in on us. We’ll make some arrangement in the morning, maybe drive up to Grand Isle.”
    “I’d like that.”
    Latour opened the door and walked the few feet to his car. He should feel good. He didn’t. He didn’t even feel particularly amorous. For some reason he felt sad, perhaps because, as strained as his relations with Olga were, when and if he did take Rita, it would be the first time he’d gone to bed with another woman