Sharky's Machine Read Online Free PDF

someone.’
    Burns said nothing. He stared straight ahead, his brain clicking off the options, the odds. Finally he said, ‘Okay, we got to go on the assumption be didn’t. I mean if he did, it’s too late anyway. So we got to figure he’s here on vacation, okay? Was he in uniform?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Okay, nine, ten to one he’s on a furlough. So it’s a fluke. Maybe he got a little shot, see? Thought to himself, Hey, I know that guy. But it’s fifteen years. You changed a lot. What were you then, anyway? I don’t see him putting it together. I don’t see that at all. Maybe, if anything, he’s probably still trying to put his finger on it.’
    Burns thought some more.
    ‘Thing is, if he’s on vacation, he’s too busy having a good time. He’s outa the element right now. He’s thinking, maybe. Maybe even he’s touched it around the edges. But it’s a long shot, he made you. I promise you. What we gotta do, we gotta locate him fast and then. . . .‘ He snapped his fingers and smiled. DeLaroza stared at him and a chill passed through him. Burns went on:
    ‘Okay, okay. You relax, see? You forget it. We have a good lunch, you go back over there to whatever, Mooey Pooey, whatever you call it, lay low another day. By tomorrow it’ll be over. You don’t worry, see? This is my end of it. This is my business. I’m glad you didn’t panic. Anytime there’s trouble, I handle that. What I don’t want, I don’t want amateurs fallin’ in the soup, know what I mean?
    ‘Yes. Thank you.’
    ‘Forget it. My problem. It’s done. Besides, I may be needing to call on you one of these days. I may have to make a big withdrawal.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘Well, you know, this and that and the other thing. Some friends of mine, used to be friends of mine, they may have tumbled on to our little freelance thing down there in Brazil. It could be just I’ve got the butterflies like you. But just in case . .
    ‘How much?’
    ‘I dunno. Couple hundred thousand maybe.’
    ‘It will be no problem, my friend.’
    ‘Good. One more thing. About Halford. I want a good description. And I’m gonna need money, Hong Kong dollars.’
    ‘How much?’
    ‘I dunno yet. Could be, maybe fifty thou Hong Kong. How late can you do business with the bank?’
    ‘Up to six is no problem at all. It will come out of the box. The president of the bank and I are friends. We play golf together.’
    ‘Ain’t that sweet? Six is okay. I’ll probably need to make the tap about five. Deliver it to my hotel. In a shoebox, wrapped up like I bought some shoes, had them delivered. You call me at five, I’ll give you the tally. Where’s the bank?’
    ‘Right around the corner from the hotel. The China Bank, behind the old Supreme Court building just before you get on the Star Ferry in Kowloon.’
    ‘No problem. You ain’t five minutes away.’
    ‘Right.’
    ‘Okay, how about Halford? What’s he look like?’
    ‘His full name is Charles David Halford and he is a full colonel,’ DeLaroza began, and then described the military man.
    ‘That’s beautiful. Look, you can forget it, okay, Victor? Now, what are we gonna have for lunch?’
    ‘Well, I would suggest starting with shark’s fin soup and then either the Shanghai crab or empress chicken...’
    At 2:30, Burns made his call from a public phone booth in the lobby of the Excelsior Hotel, directly across the causeway from the Typhoon Shelter. Chan answered.
    ‘Royal Oriental Rug Company.’
    ‘Is Mr. Wan there?’
    ‘Which Mr. Wan?’
    ‘George.’
    ‘This is George Wan.’
    ‘It’s Johnson again.’
    ‘Yes sir. Do you have the information yet?’
    ‘Yeah. An eagle colonel, U.S. Army, name of Charles David Halford. H-A-I,.F-O-R-D, Halford. Six-one to two, hundred-eighty pounds, white hair cut short, one of those curled-up-type moustaches. I’m guessing he’s down from Tokyo or maybe the Philippines. I don’t think he’s here permanently. That’s all I got.’
    ‘It is