Street of No Return Read Online Free PDF

detective's shoulder. "You're a fine man, Taggert. Really a fine man, and you always make a very nice appearance. We're all proud of you."
"Oh, drop it," the other said wearily. And then louder, almost hoarsely, "For Christ's sake, why don't you drop it? There's times you actually get on my nerves."
Lieutenant Pertnoy laughed again. "Don't get angry."
"I'm not," Lieutenant Taggert said. "But sometimes you go too far."
"I know," Pertnoy admitted. He said it with mock solemnity. "After all, there's a time and a place for everything."
Taggert swung around in the chair. He pointed to the mirror on the wall. "Let's understand something," he said very slowly and distinctly. "I put that mirror there. And I want it to stay there. And I don't want to be kidded about it. Is that absolutely clear?"
"Absolutely." It was an exaggerated imitation of the other's crisp official tone.
Taggert took another deep breath. He started to say something and then he noticed the ragged little whitehaired man who sat at the table showing handcuffed wrists.
"What's that?" Taggert asked, gesturing toward Whitey.
"Nothing important," Pertnoy said.
"Why the cuffs? What's he done?"
Pertnoy smiled at Whitey. "Tell him what you did."
"I didn't do anything," Whitey said.
Pertnoy went on smiling. "You hear?" he said to Taggert. "The man says he didn't do anything. So it stands to reason he didn't do anything. It figures he don't need handcuffs." And then, to Whitey, "Want them off?"
Whitey nodded.
"All right," Pertnoy said. "You can talk better if you're comfortable. I'll take them off."
Pertnoy moved toward the table and took a key ring from his pocket. He selected a key and unlocked the handcuffs. Then the handcuffs were off and Pertnoy slid them toward the center of the table and said, "That better?"
"Yeah," Whitey said. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Pertnoy said. He walked across the room and stood near the roll-top desk. For some moments he stood there looking down at Taggert, who had resumed working with pencil and paper. Finally he tapped Taggert's shoulder and said, "Were you here when the report came in?"
Taggert didn't look up. "What report?"
"Nothing much," Pertnoy said. "I'll tell you later." Then, offhandedly, "Can you hold that work for a while? I want to talk to this man alone."
Taggert wrote a few more lines on the paper, folded the paper, and clipped it onto several other sheets. He put the papers in a large envelope and placed the envelope in one of the desk drawers. Then he stood up and walked out of the room.
Lieutenant Pertnoy glanced at his wrist watch. His lips moved only slightly as he said, "We got about five minutes." He looked at Whitey. "Let's see what we can do."
Whitey blinked a few times. He saw Lieutenant Pertnoy moving toward him. The Lieutenant moved very slowly and sort of lazily. For some moments he stood behind Whitey's chair, not saying anything. It was as though the Lieutenant had walked out of the room and Whitey was there alone. Then the Lieutenant moved again, circling the table and sitting down in the chair facing Whitey.
The Lieutenant sat almost directly under the ceiling light, and now for the first time Whitey saw him clearly and was able to study him. Lieutenant Pertnoy looked to be in his middle thirties and had a glossy cap of pale blond hair parted far on the side and brushed flat across his head. He had a gray, sort of poolroom complexion, not really unhealthy, just sun-starved. There was something odd about his eyes. His eyes were a very pale gray and had the look of specially ground lenses. They gave the impression that he could see beyond whatever he was looking at. Whitey had the feeling that this man was cute with a cue stick or a deck of cards. The cuteness went along with the Lieutenant's slim and well-balanced physique, around fiveten and 150 pounds. He wore a gray flannel suit that needed pressing but wouldn't look right on him if it were pressed. It seemed to blend with his easy relaxed manner and his