Curtains Read Online Free PDF Page A

robbery
and rape were way down. My show was number one with a bullet among
the overnights in my market. When I went to pick up my check one
Friday, I ran into Pudge. He looked like a cat that had swallowed
curdled cream.
    "Congratulations, Mick. In three weeks,
you've escalated to the top of your time slot. We've got sponsors
lining up to take your show. We can pretty much name our price.
Freddie in sales is shopping for a new BMW, he's so confident this
is going to be his big payoff. This 'death' thing is a stroke of
genius. You should go into marketing."
    And spend even more time with people like
you, I thought. I'd rather eat digitalis cheesecake. I enjoyed
having Pudge over the fire, so I rotated the spit a little.
    "Well, I think we need to automate the show.
People just love spending the night on hold." I was about to fan
the flames a little more when smugness crept like a shadow across
his doughy face.
    "Oh, by the way," he interrupted, with an
undisguised note of glee, "there's a policeman waiting in the
lounge to see you. I hope you're not into those awful drugs
again."
    I'd been expecting this. The cops were slow
in this town, but even they could follow a beacon like the one my
show had become. I flipped Pudge a finger and walked past the
studio into the lounge. At the table sat a short, wiry man in a
rumpled tan suit. His eyes were beady and intelligent, like those
of a field mouse. He was eating a glazed donut.
    "You must be Mickey," he said, a jawful of
pastry muffling his words. "I'm Detective Dietz from homicide."
    He held out his hand for me to shake. My hand
came away a little bit sticky.
    "I've heard that you might know a little bit
about this 'Night Owl' character. According to witnesses, she's
called here at the station on at least two occasions, apparently
just after committing murder."
    "I can't control what people are going to
say. There's that little matter of the First Amendment."
    "There's also a matter called 'withholding
evidence,' and its kissing cousin, 'aiding and abetting.' Surely
you're familiar with the judicial system by now."
    I was about to protest when he held up a
hand. "Society considers those debts paid, Mickey. Or should I say
'Michel'? We just want to stop the killings. All this city needs is
a female Charles Bronson running wild. The next thing you know, the
papers pick up on it and we got a slew of imitators."
    "You already know as much as I do. She says
she killed some guys who did her wrong."
    "Well, she seems to think you're on her side.
You haven't done anything to encourage her, have you?" Dietz wiped
the crumbs off his chin and licked his rodent lips.
    "Look, she's good for ratings. The audience
loves her. She connects with people. Maybe there's a murderous
streak in all of us. It's not my place to censor immorality."
    "That's why there's a Federal Communications
Commission, my friend. I'd be willing to bet that a death forum is
not what they consider 'in the public interest.'"
    "What can I do?" I shrugged. I got the
impression that Dietz would be on me like a fly on stink until he
wrapped up this case.
    "We want to set up a wiretap in the studio
and wait for her to call again. You'll need to keep her going long
enough for us to get a trace. Our technician tells me that takes
about two minutes if she's on a local exchange."
    I shrugged again. He would have no problem
getting a court order if necessary. "I never know when she's going
to call."
    "We'll wait. We're on salary. And you have
good donuts here. We start tonight."
     
    My Honda broke down, so I had to catch a bus
back to WKIK that night. As I walked to the entrance, I noticed a
sign with my name on it. It was a good space, right next to the
GM's. I noted with satisfaction that it was a little closer to the
door than Pudge's.
    It was a little past midnight, so I was late
signing on. Dietz and an engineer who looked like a junkie were
already on the job. The engineer was splicing into the phone
system. Bits of bare wire