Murder Spins the Wheel Read Online Free PDF

hall. “Well, I had a hell of a time locating Goldstein, but he says he’ll be with you in fifteen minutes. Look, I know you’re feeling lousy, Harry, but before he gets here. I told you what I’m up against. There’s a time element.”
    Harry’s head made a small rotating motion and his eyes closed for an instant. He blinked hard.
    “I said I’d cover you. I consider that a contract. But don’t irritate me.”
    Theo came in with bottles and glasses on a large tray. Shayne took the tray from her and put it on a low table.
    “I couldn’t find the brandy he was talking about,” she said. “I hope this will do. Will you make your own?”
    She poured a little whiskey in a tall glass, adding ice and considerable soda. “And I’m taking no responsibility for this, Harry.”
    “Give that to Doc,” Harry said. “I’ll have mine straight.”
    She looked at Shayne for support. When he didn’t give her any, she grudgingly covered the bottom of an old-fashioned glass with bourbon and handed it to her employer.
    Doc Waters was fidgeting around without sitting down. “One thing I didn’t tell you, Harry, and it makes a difference. My big winner’s Al Naples. Anybody else I could maybe stall.”
    “Don’t worry about Al. He’s retired.”
    Doc drank some of the weak highball. “Maybe, but I don’t think I’ll take a chance on it.”
    “Is this the Al Naples from Chicago?” Shayne asked.
    Waters nodded. “And I wish he’d stayed there.”
    “Harry, if you don’t need me right now,” Theo said, “why don’t I finish my typing?” She bit her lip and burst out, “I can’t just sit down, and have a drink, and pretend everything’s normal! The doctor said fifteen minutes, but when did a doctor ever come when he said he would? You ought to be in the hospital. You’ll need X rays, and why not have them now instead of later?”
    “Let’s see what Goldstein says about X rays,” Harry said. “Get the typing out of the way, and if I have to go to the hospital you can come along. I won’t blast off at Doc any more. I’ll try to remember he’s human.”
    Doc’s mustache jerked in annoyance. “I’m human. But who else?”
    “Turn on the TV for Mike,” Harry said.
    Theo touched Harry’s shoulder lightly, crossed the room and switched on the big set. Again Harry watched her leave, his eyes soft and vulnerable.
    Shayne adjusted the volume. The announcer was delivering a razor-blade commercial, in a tone of great conviction. After that he went directly into a fast review of the Florida Christian-Southern Georgia contest, which the favorite had won but with little to spare. Shayne watched Johnny Black hit with two scoring passes in the first quarter, then suddenly lose his touch.
    “I’d say there were four plays,” Harry said when the announcer shifted to a game in the Middle West. “He could have scored with any one of them. Heads or tails, and they all came up tails.”
    “You think he threw it?” Waters said.
    “That’s what I want Shayne to find out. Now tell him about the third race at Tropical.”
    “Harry, where’s the percentage? There’s not a damn thing we can do but pay up.”
    “Doc, give me some more whiskey.”
    When Waters hesitated he said sharply, “So it’s bad for me. Do you care?”
    Waters took his glass and poured him a strong drink. Harry was squinting, trying to keep things from overlapping.
    “A couple of mugs stuck me up when I was eighteen,” he said. “They got a wristwatch and three bucks. That was the last time till tonight. I don’t like it. I also don’t like being clubbed with a pistol barrel. I think Mike will work on it for me if I pay him enough dough, but he has to know the facts. All the facts. What’s the name of the horse?”
    “Ladybug,” Waters said reluctantly. “There’s no mystery. She’s a Naples horse, in his wife’s name, for tax reasons. In two years she never did a thing. Fifth, sixth. What do you want Shayne to do, Harry, walk in