spelling it out. I had gotten too close to somebody. Automatically I thought of Cy Straight with his unstraight back and his law office, where a man would be able to stretch out his hand and pick up a legal-sized envelope without any trouble at all.
"I don' have to draw you no pictures, 'kay?" The voice was showing signs of stress. I had obviously had my quota of kind words, now it was time to wrap up, to take the money and run.
"Why'd you send me the cash?"
"Token of good will. A man shouldn't have to work two jobs to make a living."
"I appreciate the thought. What if I tell you I like working two jobs?"
There was a heavy rasping, like a man rubbing a file over a spade. "Yeah, well, my friends think you should retire."
"And if I don't."
Again the rasp and then the words I had dreaded but expected, "Yeah, 's up to you. But, in case you forgot a'ready, we know where you live." There was a short pause, as if a man with a long arm were reaching out slowly to the cradle, and then the phone clattered down.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Chapter 12
Â
Â
I replaced the phone at my end and stood looking at it and worrying. I'd seen these people at work. If someone ordered a guy like Kennie to come over here and play handball with the kids' heads, he would do it, no questions asked. And he would enjoy doing it, picking a time when I wasn't there and counting every blow a direct pain to me. There was no question. I had to change my way of working, or give it up altogether. I couldn't put them at risk.
I went downstairs and played a game of cards with Jack, then put him to bed and went back to the living room where Louise was sitting listening to background music and fiddling with a note pad on her lap, working on some problem she had brought home from the office. She looked up when I came in. "Hi, who called?"
"A guy from Bonded. They want me to go out tonight and check on their properties again." Lying doesn't hurt a bit, compared with the real thing.
"When will you be going?" she yawned as she glanced around at the clock. It was close to eight, dark outside.
"I think soon, then I'll head back early, I'm not going to put in any more nights than I absolutely have to." As I spoke I was making a plan for my night's work.
With Straight out of town, I would go and find Tony and see what sparks flew when I told him some cock and bull story about Straight. In the meantime, I would give Louise and the kids the best protection they could have.
"I'd like to leave Sam behind tonight. He's fed up with driving all over Toronto in that crummy car. I'll give him a night off." I was fiddling in my pocket for car keys, not meeting her eyes.
"Is something the matter?" She wasn't scared, her question was for my safety, not hers, she couldn't guess at a world where women and children were in danger because of the things their menfolk did for a living. That happened only on television, not in North Toronto among the wisteria and divorces.
"Not really, but there are some real creeps mixed up in this thing and I'd feel happier if Sam were sleeping on the rug down here than if he were off with me somewhere."
She snorted a quick little laugh. "You don't expect someone to come here?"
"No, but Sam's staying here would make me happier as I toddle on my weary way. What do you say?"
She laughed, "As Dad always used to say, anything for a quiet life."
I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, then I walked Sam out into the garden to get him comfortable for the night and brought him back in. I showed him through all the rooms, one after the other. "Guard!" I told him, and raised my left index finger to let him know I was serious. It was my own signal for the ultimate defense against prowlers; it kept him silent, charged with knocking an intruder down and standing over his throat until I called him off. He settled down on the hall rug with a thump and I patted his head and went back to Louise.
After that there was nothing to stop
"I don' have to draw you no pictures, 'kay?" The voice was showing signs of stress. I had obviously had my quota of kind words, now it was time to wrap up, to take the money and run.
"Why'd you send me the cash?"
"Token of good will. A man shouldn't have to work two jobs to make a living."
"I appreciate the thought. What if I tell you I like working two jobs?"
There was a heavy rasping, like a man rubbing a file over a spade. "Yeah, well, my friends think you should retire."
"And if I don't."
Again the rasp and then the words I had dreaded but expected, "Yeah, 's up to you. But, in case you forgot a'ready, we know where you live." There was a short pause, as if a man with a long arm were reaching out slowly to the cradle, and then the phone clattered down.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Chapter 12
Â
Â
I replaced the phone at my end and stood looking at it and worrying. I'd seen these people at work. If someone ordered a guy like Kennie to come over here and play handball with the kids' heads, he would do it, no questions asked. And he would enjoy doing it, picking a time when I wasn't there and counting every blow a direct pain to me. There was no question. I had to change my way of working, or give it up altogether. I couldn't put them at risk.
I went downstairs and played a game of cards with Jack, then put him to bed and went back to the living room where Louise was sitting listening to background music and fiddling with a note pad on her lap, working on some problem she had brought home from the office. She looked up when I came in. "Hi, who called?"
"A guy from Bonded. They want me to go out tonight and check on their properties again." Lying doesn't hurt a bit, compared with the real thing.
"When will you be going?" she yawned as she glanced around at the clock. It was close to eight, dark outside.
"I think soon, then I'll head back early, I'm not going to put in any more nights than I absolutely have to." As I spoke I was making a plan for my night's work.
With Straight out of town, I would go and find Tony and see what sparks flew when I told him some cock and bull story about Straight. In the meantime, I would give Louise and the kids the best protection they could have.
"I'd like to leave Sam behind tonight. He's fed up with driving all over Toronto in that crummy car. I'll give him a night off." I was fiddling in my pocket for car keys, not meeting her eyes.
"Is something the matter?" She wasn't scared, her question was for my safety, not hers, she couldn't guess at a world where women and children were in danger because of the things their menfolk did for a living. That happened only on television, not in North Toronto among the wisteria and divorces.
"Not really, but there are some real creeps mixed up in this thing and I'd feel happier if Sam were sleeping on the rug down here than if he were off with me somewhere."
She snorted a quick little laugh. "You don't expect someone to come here?"
"No, but Sam's staying here would make me happier as I toddle on my weary way. What do you say?"
She laughed, "As Dad always used to say, anything for a quiet life."
I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, then I walked Sam out into the garden to get him comfortable for the night and brought him back in. I showed him through all the rooms, one after the other. "Guard!" I told him, and raised my left index finger to let him know I was serious. It was my own signal for the ultimate defense against prowlers; it kept him silent, charged with knocking an intruder down and standing over his throat until I called him off. He settled down on the hall rug with a thump and I patted his head and went back to Louise.
After that there was nothing to stop
Similar Books
