Heroin Annie Read Online Free PDF Page A

fantasised about being free; well, here it was and how did I like it? I didn't like it much. I drank some whisky and I still didn't like it. I thought that the talk wouldn't have gone well anyway and that it would have come to this and it was better to have missed that last fight. I drank and got angry and wanted the fight. She had no right to deny me the fight. Upstairs the bed was made, the ashtrays were empty, the books were stacked. She'd taken some clothes and things for beautifying herself. I looked around and mentally separated her possessions from mine. It was surprisingly easy to do.
    I drank some more and self-pity ran strong and I thought sourly about Selina and Short and trust and love. I poured the rest of the whisky back into the bottle, drank two cups of strong coffee and went out to the car.
    Breaking into Short's studio took about two minutes, locating his life's treasures took a little longer. Some marks on the floor and a certain artfulness about the ashes in the grate told me that all was not as it seemed. A section of the brick fireplace had been taken out to accommodate the heavy, brass-bound chest. I pulled it out, waited a few minutes to be sure that errant torch beams weren't attracting attention, and tickled it open with a skeleton key.
    Colin Short was a great photographer, he had a particular talent for men in the public eye and attractive young women. I recognised a politican and radio announcer and could probably have identified a few other faces if I'd tried. A couple of films had a similar cast list.
    One bundle of pictures showed a young, dark woman playing games around a swimming pool with a couple of very interested middle-aged men. The hair was different in style but it was Selina Hope. I took these pictures and a few samples of the rest and put the chest back.
    I'd had some more whisky when I reached home so I was feeling rather weathered when I got to Athol Groom's establishment the following mid-morning. He congratulated me and we negotiated a fee. I asked him for the dates of Selina's overseas trips and got them. The poolside pictures had a date on the back which proved to be just two weeks before one of Selina's trips.
    â€˜Hang around, Cliff,’ Athol said. ‘Selina's coming in and I know she'll want to thank you. What d’you make of this bloke of hers?’
    I was about to answer when Selina came rushing in with Short tagging behind. She looked tousled and a bit underslept but marvellous. She gave me a peck on the cheek.
    â€˜You look tired’, she said. ‘You must have a rest. I don't know how to thank you.’
    I wanted to tell her that Short was vermin, that he'd used her to make dirty money and probably would again. I wanted to see his sheepish bit-of-a-rascal look drop away and to see her flay him. But I couldn't; she was so purely happy, so forgiving and loving that I couldn't destroy it. I knew why I wanted to destroy it and I knew it had nothing to do with justice or her future happiness.
    I shrugged. ‘Next time you do an ad for Scotch make sure you get a bottle for me. Could you excuse me, Selina? I want a word with Colin.’
    I took Short out into the corridor and showed him the pictures I'd souvenired from his collection. He went pale and plucked at a couple of bits of stubble he'd missed that morning.
    â€˜You're a lying, thieving shit’, I said.
    â€˜What are you going to do?’
    â€˜You've retired as a blackmailer. If I ever hear you've gone back to it I'll drop these in the mail with a covering note.’
    â€˜Don't worry’, he said. ‘I'll burn the lot.’
    â€˜I'm a born worrier. She didn't see Carlton the other day, did she?’
    â€˜No, just those two.’
    â€˜That's something, maybe Carlton's smart enough to let it lie.’
    â€˜We're going to New York’, he said ‘Getting married’.
    â€˜I'd keep it quiet’, I said. ‘Just a few friends if you have any.’
    We went