Elsinore Read Online Free PDF

about Mize. His dad had been delirious about baseball.
    Mrs. Vanderwelle had come upstairs with a message for the old man. She sat down at the table and Holden looked at the bow in her hair. He still couldn’t decide whether she was pretty or not. She had a cup of coffee while Phipps signed a few documents with a leaky ballpoint pen. His signature covered half the page.
    â€œAre you enjoying yourself, Mr. Holden?” she asked.
    â€œYes. I like the decor. And the service.”
    â€œThen you ought to come again.” She got up, took the documents from Phipps, and walked to the elevator. Holden watched her rump. It was an enigma. He’d never met a woman he was so undecided about.
    â€œI don’t like the way you look at her, Holden,” Phipps said. “She’s off-limits.”
    â€œI apologize,” Holden said. “It’s just that I can’t picture her as the head of a foundation. And if she’s your personal lawyer, she must have an awful lot on her mind. Does she do criminal work? If you’re going to become a bandit at ninety-two, you’ll need a top attorney.”
    â€œShe’s off-limits, I said.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œShe’s my daughter, Holden … but she doesn’t know that.”
    â€œGive me a clearer picture,” Holden said.
    â€œThat’s clear enough.”
    â€œThen I’ll say good-bye. The breakfast was grand. It’s the first time I had an omelette with grapes.”
    â€œI had a fling with her mother,” Phipps said. “The girl was born. I had no intention of marrying the woman. She sued. We settled out of court. It was a substantial sum.”
    â€œAnd you found a husband for her?”
    â€œNo. She did that on her own.”
    â€œAnd Gloria thinks the other guy is her dad?”
    â€œNow you have it. Will you work for me or not?”
    â€œI have a couple of problems. You’re a little crazy and I’d prefer not to go to the slammer. But what the hell. I’ll tag along … on two conditions. I want to be president of Aladdin Furs, the chief officer, with voting privileges.”
    â€œAnd what does that make me?”
    â€œHow should I know? Find yourself a title. Chairman of the board … you can be the main wizard.”
    â€œAll right. Gloria will have to prepare the papers. And what else?”
    â€œI want the exact location of where the district attorney is hiding my fiancée.”
    â€œYou’ll get it.”
    â€œWhen?” Holden asked.
    â€œSoon.”
    â€œThen soon is when I start.”
    The old man smiled, and Holden didn’t like the length of that grin.
    Phipps removed a piece of paper from his cardigan and unfolded it for Sidney Holden, who discovered a single word.
    Elsinore
    â€œElsinore? And no address? What is Elsinore?”
    â€œA nursing home in Queens.”
    â€œOh, he’s a smart monkey, that Paul. He hides her … and she’s ten minutes from his door. What if he finds out where I got this bit of news?”
    â€œI could break Abruzzi before you finish your omelette.”
    â€œThen why the hell do you need me?”
    â€œI told you,” Phipps said. “I’m not getting into the life all alone.”
    â€œForgive me if I’m nosy, but what are you going to find when you get there?”
    â€œFun,” the old man said. “I have no appetite. I’m too old to be with women. Oh, the doctors could fix me up with some kind of clay prick. But the desire isn’t there.”
    â€œSo you’ll go slumming. A life of crime. It’s not as romantic as you think.”
    â€œI was a bootlegger once,” Phipps said. “Believe me, it wasn’t romantic. Then I moved molasses and tea. And when I was fifty-five, I started this foundation. Call it whatever you want, the robber baron makes good. But it was only one more empire, Holden, one more power link. The more people I helped, the