David Goodis: Five Noir Novels of the 1940s and '50s (Library of America) Read Online Free PDF Page A

there.” The same voice.
    “Yes.” It was her voice. “What’s the matter, officer? Have I done something wrong?”
    “I don’t know yet, miss.” The same voice.
    Then another voice. “Carrying anything?”
    Then her voice again. “Yes.”
    “What have you got?” The first voice. “What have you got there in the back!”
    Her voice. “Old clothes. I’m making a collection for China War Relief.”
    The first voice. “We’ll have a look, if you don’t mind.”
    Her voice. “Go right ahead.”
    The sound of the door opening. The sound of the blonde girl moving over so that the policemen could gain access to the back seat. He started to picture it again. They were looking at the blanket. They were going to lift the blanket. Then he could feel it—their fingers touching the blanket, lifting the edge of the blanket. He pulled his hand inside the sleeve of Studebaker’s coat. They could see the sleeve now, but they couldn’t see his hand. And they could see part of the coat and that was as far as they got. They took their fingers away from the blanket.
    The first voice. “Well, I guess it’s all right, miss. Sorry to have troubled you, but we’re checking every car on this road.”
    Her voice. “Perfectly all right, officer. Will there be anything else?”
    “No. You can drive on now.”
    The sound of the door closing. The sound of the motor rising. The Pontiac rolled again. Parry felt a wetness against his lips and it was blood coming thickly from the back of his hand, getting through the place where his teeth had penetrated the sleeve.
    The Pontiac made a turn. It picked up speed and it went more smoothly now. Parry knew they were on another road. He got his head halfway out of the blanket.
    He said, “You told them to go ahead and look.”
    “I had to,” she said. “I knew they would look anyway. I had to take the chance.”
    “Do you think we’ll be stopped again?”
    “No. From here on it’s going to be all right.”
    “Everything’s going to be all right,” Parry said. He looked atthe back of his hand. His teeth had gone in deep. The blood wouldn’t stop. And his elbows were beginning to hurt again. And he wanted a drink of water. He wanted a cigarette. He wanted to go to sleep.
    He closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable. Maybe he could fall asleep.
    She said, “How’s it going?”
    “Dandy. Everything’s going to be all right and everything’s dandy.”
    “Stop it, Vincent. You’re free.”
    “Free as the breeze. I don’t have a worry in the world. I’m doing great and everything’s dandy. Look, if you’re not the police, who are you?”
    “I’m your friend. Is that enough?”
    “No,” Parry said. “It’s not enough. If they catch me they catch me, but in the meantime I want to stay out as long as I can. And I won’t stay out long if I make mistakes. I want to be sure this isn’t a mistake. How did you know I was on that road?”
    “I didn’t. That is, I wasn’t sure. But I had a feeling——”
    “You had a feeling. So you went to a fortune teller and he told you Vincent Parry broke out of San Quentin and was going into the hills and through the woods and getting a lift in a Studebaker.”
    “Don’t make fun of fortune tellers.” Her voice was light. He wondered if she was smiling.
    He raised his head a few more inches from the blanket. He could see her blonde hair above the grey velour upholstery. All he had to do was get hold of her hair and pull her head back to get a crack at her jaw.
    “How did you know I broke out of San Quentin?” he asked.
    “The radio.”
    He brought his head up another inch. He said, “All right, that passes. Let’s try this one—how did you know I was on that road?”
    “I know the section.”
    “What are you giving me?”
    “I’m telling you I know the section.” Her voice was no longer light. “I know all the roads around here. The first radio announcement said you got away. The second announcement saidyou got