Case of Lucy Bending Read Online Free PDF Page A

exploded a great roar of fury and disgust. He struggled out of the canvas sling and stood swaying, pointing down with a trembling finger.
    "Look at that bastard!" he shouted. " Look at him!"
    They looked. A giant cockroach had climbed up the concrete, over the edge of the terrace. Its brown carapace gleamed in the glow from the picture window. Feelers moved languidly. It scuttled this way and that.
    "Shee-it," Turk Bending said, "that's nothing but a palmetto bug. Can't hurt you."
    He rose gracefully, moved quickly, and with his bare foot scraped the bug off the terrace back down to the beach.
    "No use trying to kill the mother," he said. "You need a jackhammer to dent them. Let him run away and play."
    "I hate those bastards," Empt said, shuddering. "They're so fucking ugly. Lemme get us some fresh supplies."
    Holloway and Bending grinned at each other in their host's absence. It was comforting to discover another man's weakness.
    "Bugs and snakes don't bother me none," Bending said. "You?"
    "Not really," Holloway said, finishing the bottle of vodka and trying to remember how much had been in it when he started. "I can do without the Portuguese men-of-war, but they're easy to avoid."
    Bending looked at him narrowly.
    "Nothing much bothers you, does it, Bill?"
    "That's right," Holloway said uncomfortably, hoping for deliverance.
    It came with Empt's return. He brought unopened liters of vodka, scotch, and bourbon, and a tub of fresh ice cubes.
    "Woo-eee/" Bending said, exhaling. "I may be a wee bit late at the office tomorrow."
    They poured themselves drinks with the exaggerated care of men who feel their coordination slipping. They settled back in their slings. Holloway noticed Luther Empt kept glancing nervously at the spot where Bending had kicked the palmetto bug off the terrace.
    "Where were we?" Empt said. "Oh yeah . . . They told me about the production, processing, and distribution facility they want to set up in south Florida."
    "What did they want you to do?" Bending asked. "Be the top honcho?"
    "That's right," Luther said, not without pride. "Run the whole shebang. No, that's not right. They would handle distribution and marketing. I would be in charge of production and processing. I'd deliver the finished product to them, packaged and ready for point-of-purchase sale. All the money I wanted—within reason, of course—and all the technical help I needed. They said they could practically guarantee I'd have no trouble with John Law. But if it bothered me, they'd put a million in escrow to cover my legal fees if I got in a bind. That's the way they talked: million this and million that. Like it was popcorn."
    "Wow," Bending said enviously.
    "What did you tell them?" Holloway asked curiously.
    "I told them thanks, but no, thanks. I said that first of all, I had no experience in porn, didn't know the market, and didn't know the winners from the dogs. They said no problem, they could provide a staff to make sure the product came up to snuff. So then I told them I just didn't have the balls for it. I've got a reputation around here, and I didn't want to risk it. Teresa would have my heart and liver if she found out. You know how she is. The house, the garden, the society columns, the charity teas, the story in Architectural Digest, and all that stuff. Teresa would kill me. Let alone what my mother would say. So I told them no soap."
    "How did they take it?" Bending said.
    "They took it fine. No strain. Maybe I was just one guy on their possibles list. They made motions like they were ready to leave, but I didn't want to see them go. I guess all that big-money talk was getting to me. Turk, are you sure those goddamned bugs can't bite or sting?"
    "I'm sure."
    "Yeah. Well, you know, as long as I've been hustling I've followed what I call 'Luther K. Empt's Three-B Law.' It guarantees financial success, but they don't teach it at Harvard or Wharton."
    "What does the K. stand for?" Bending asked.
    "Konrad."
    "And what's the