Dick Tracy Read Online Free PDF Page B

group, Vitamin having disappeared, “I see you haven’t wasted any time giving it a name.”
    “Who was killed, Tracy?” another one said.
    “We haven’t confirmed the identifications yet, fellas. You’ll just have to wait on that one.”
    Tracy and Tess were to the street now, the crew of newshounds sticking with them like gum on a shoe.
    “You think this was Big Boy’s work, Tracy?” yelled skinny, intense Larry Charet of the Trib.
    “If it is, we’ll find out. Excuse me, fellas . . .”
    “Any comment,” Charet persisted, “on the rumor you’re in line for the Police Chief slot, when Brandon retires?”
    “My only comment is I hope Brandon doesn’t retire.”
    “Well, we’re not far away from the mayoral race,” said Bart Bush of the News; he was a sleepy-eyed, easygoing reporter who never missed a detail. “Some people think you could have that job, if you wanted it.”
    “No offense meant to His Honor the Mayor, but I wouldn’t want to take a demotion. I already got the most important job in town: I’m a cop.”
    Tracy protectvely slipped his arm around Tess’s shoulder as the pressboys crowded around; a flashbulb popped. “If that shot’s any good, McNally,” Tess called cheerily, “I want a copy!”
    Tracy moved away from the boys, who finally backed off, just as a rather morose Vitamin rolled by in his limo; the actor smiled sadly and lifted a gloved hand in a halfhearted wave as he passed.
    “Poor Vitamin,” Tess said. “Those reporters let him down.”
    “He’ll get his ego reinflated at that big cast party,” Tracy said good-naturedly, as Tess slipped her arm in his.
    They strolled slowly down a quiet, nearly deserted street close to the theatrical district. Shops were closing, though several cozy restaurants caught Tess’s attention; she seemed to be wondering which one her beau had picked out. Twilight had settled on the city. The evening was cold, but not bitterly so. The sky had cleared.
    She nestled against him, just a little, as they walked. “You know,” she said, “you would make a swell Chief of Police.”
    He sighed. “It does pay darn near twice as much.”
    “Chief Brandon says you’re the only man he’d trust to take over. That’s why he hasn’t retired before now.”
    He shook his head. “I’m uncomfortable behind a desk, Tess. I’m already doing more administrative work than I like.”
    They were crossing with the light.
    “Besides, if I let ’em kick me upstairs,” he said, “who would nail Big Boy?”
    “Dick . . . there are other detectives on the force.”
    His eyes tightened as if that thought had never occurred to him. “I suppose somebody else could get something on Big Boy. But . . .”
    It was something they never spoke about; but Tracy felt his pledge to Tess’s late father would not be complete till he put Caprice away.
    She squeezed his arm as they walked. “It’s just that I’d feel more secure knowing you weren’t out risking your life every night. I know you love it, but I worry. I’m human. And so are you, Dick. So much death around you . . . you might catch a dose of it yourself.”
    “Not me,” he said confidently. Then he tried to make a joke out of it: “The bad guys do the dying; not the good guys.”
    “But do the bad guys know that?”
    He laughed silently. “Hey, as far as this Chief job is concerned—I’ll keep an open mind . . . if you will. But let’s drop it for tonight.”
    “Sure,” she said, and hugged his arm as they walked. He liked it, but he didn’t hug back. Showing affection didn’t always come easy to him.
    He just looked at her and smiled shyly. He felt a warmth toward her unlike anything he felt for anyone else on the planet.
    “The night’s really cleared up,” he noted.
    “Maybe tomorrow we can finally get around to that ride in the country. Might be a nice day for it. Don’t you think?”
    “Sure.”
    “Say,” she said, as the shopping district began to drop away and the