going to be an even better one!" There were cries of "Tell us about it, Also!" and "Attaway, Also!" and "Let's hear the figures, Also!"
"Hi," the redhead said. "I'm Hannah." "How do you do?" Michael said.
"You look familiar," she said. "Have I ever seen you on television?" "No," he said at once. "Aren't you the one who used to do the Carvel commercials?" "Yes," he said, "come to think of it." "No kidding? I _love your Cookie Puss cakes."
"As an example," Also said, "in hotel encounters in the mid-town area of Manhattan alone, revenues were up seven percent from last year for a total of ..." "Who's this?" a voice at Michael's elbow said.
He turned. He was looking at a very large man wearing a brown tweed suit, a yellow button-down shirt, a green knit tie, and an angry scowl.
"Jimmy, this is the man used to do the Carvel ice cream commercials," Hannah said.
"No kidding?" Jimmy said, immediately disarmed. He took Michael's hand, began pumping it vigorously. "I love your Black Bear cakes," he said. "I'm Jimmy Fingers." "How do you do, Mr. Fingers?" Michael said. "It's Finnegan, actually. But that's okay, everybody knows me as Jimmy Fingers." "Especially the cops," Hannah said. "Yeah, _them," Jimmy said. "Mobile encounters," Also said into the microphone, "by which I'm referring only to passenger automobiles and not vans or pickup trucks--and, mind you, I'm not even
including figures for the Holland
151 Tunnel or the George Washington Bridge --were up a full fifteen percent over last year." "That's very good," Jimmy said appreciatively.
"Good? That's sensational," Frankie said.
"But it can give you backaches," Hannah said. "Does anyone know where I can find a telephone?" Michael asked. "Why you need a telephone?" Frankie said. "I want to call a friend of mine. She may be able to take me to St. Luke's Place."
"Why you wanna go to St. Luke's? What's the matter with here?" "Here is very nice, but ..."
"... know I speak for all of us," Also said at the microphone, "when I extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to our fine mayor, David Dinkins, and our excellent police commissioner, Lee Brown, and also the good Lord above us, thank you one and all!" "Hear, hear," Jimmy Fingers said.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to ask you to please enjoy the food and the beverage and the music and to stay as long as you like, although some of us may have made previous arrangements. To one and to all, to those of us in management, and to you--the rank and file in the front lines--I wish you a merry Christmas and a new year even more financially and spiritually rewarding than this one has been. Enjoy!" he shouted, and extended both arms in the V gesture Richard Nixon had made famous. "You wanna go to St. Luke's, I'll take you to St. Luke's," Frankie said. "It's Christmas, I feel like Santa Claus. Anyway, it's on my way home." "Well, thank you, that's very kind of you," Michael said.
"I got the car right outside," Frankie said.
At the microphone, four women began singing, "Deck the whores with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. Look-in' for a good-time Charlie, fa-la-la ..."
The moment they were seated in Frankie's red Buick Regal, he turned to Michael and said, "So they want you for murder, huh?"
Michael's hand shot out for the door
153 handle.
"Relax, relax, maybe I can help you." "I think you have the wrong party," Michael said. "I seen you on television, I ain't got the wrong party. Relax."
"It's the kind of face I have, I'm often mistaken for ..." "Relax, willya please? I'm only tryin'a help here." "Well, thanks, but how can you possibly ...?was "I can hide you out for a coupla days," Frankie said. "But I didn't kill anybody," Michael said.
"Well, of _course you didn't, nobody _ever killed anybody. But this is _me you're talkin' to." "Well ..." "So you want to go under or not?" Frankie asked. "You surface again sometime next week, the cops'll forget you even existed." "Excuse me," Michael said, "but
"Hi," the redhead said. "I'm Hannah." "How do you do?" Michael said.
"You look familiar," she said. "Have I ever seen you on television?" "No," he said at once. "Aren't you the one who used to do the Carvel commercials?" "Yes," he said, "come to think of it." "No kidding? I _love your Cookie Puss cakes."
"As an example," Also said, "in hotel encounters in the mid-town area of Manhattan alone, revenues were up seven percent from last year for a total of ..." "Who's this?" a voice at Michael's elbow said.
He turned. He was looking at a very large man wearing a brown tweed suit, a yellow button-down shirt, a green knit tie, and an angry scowl.
"Jimmy, this is the man used to do the Carvel ice cream commercials," Hannah said.
"No kidding?" Jimmy said, immediately disarmed. He took Michael's hand, began pumping it vigorously. "I love your Black Bear cakes," he said. "I'm Jimmy Fingers." "How do you do, Mr. Fingers?" Michael said. "It's Finnegan, actually. But that's okay, everybody knows me as Jimmy Fingers." "Especially the cops," Hannah said. "Yeah, _them," Jimmy said. "Mobile encounters," Also said into the microphone, "by which I'm referring only to passenger automobiles and not vans or pickup trucks--and, mind you, I'm not even
including figures for the Holland
151 Tunnel or the George Washington Bridge --were up a full fifteen percent over last year." "That's very good," Jimmy said appreciatively.
"Good? That's sensational," Frankie said.
"But it can give you backaches," Hannah said. "Does anyone know where I can find a telephone?" Michael asked. "Why you need a telephone?" Frankie said. "I want to call a friend of mine. She may be able to take me to St. Luke's Place."
"Why you wanna go to St. Luke's? What's the matter with here?" "Here is very nice, but ..."
"... know I speak for all of us," Also said at the microphone, "when I extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to our fine mayor, David Dinkins, and our excellent police commissioner, Lee Brown, and also the good Lord above us, thank you one and all!" "Hear, hear," Jimmy Fingers said.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to ask you to please enjoy the food and the beverage and the music and to stay as long as you like, although some of us may have made previous arrangements. To one and to all, to those of us in management, and to you--the rank and file in the front lines--I wish you a merry Christmas and a new year even more financially and spiritually rewarding than this one has been. Enjoy!" he shouted, and extended both arms in the V gesture Richard Nixon had made famous. "You wanna go to St. Luke's, I'll take you to St. Luke's," Frankie said. "It's Christmas, I feel like Santa Claus. Anyway, it's on my way home." "Well, thank you, that's very kind of you," Michael said.
"I got the car right outside," Frankie said.
At the microphone, four women began singing, "Deck the whores with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. Look-in' for a good-time Charlie, fa-la-la ..."
The moment they were seated in Frankie's red Buick Regal, he turned to Michael and said, "So they want you for murder, huh?"
Michael's hand shot out for the door
153 handle.
"Relax, relax, maybe I can help you." "I think you have the wrong party," Michael said. "I seen you on television, I ain't got the wrong party. Relax."
"It's the kind of face I have, I'm often mistaken for ..." "Relax, willya please? I'm only tryin'a help here." "Well, thanks, but how can you possibly ...?was "I can hide you out for a coupla days," Frankie said. "But I didn't kill anybody," Michael said.
"Well, of _course you didn't, nobody _ever killed anybody. But this is _me you're talkin' to." "Well ..." "So you want to go under or not?" Frankie asked. "You surface again sometime next week, the cops'll forget you even existed." "Excuse me," Michael said, "but
Similar Books
