The Long Wait by Mickey Spillane Page A

complain?”
    She grinned at me as if I’d made a joke and finished the rest of the drink.
    â€œYou selling anything?”
    â€œNo, are you?”
    â€œIt’s sold,” she said. “You want Lenny, don’t you?”
    â€œThat’s right,” I lied.
    â€œHe isn’t here but you can come in and wait.”
    She held the door open and closed it behind me. Now it was just what I had expected. Plush, Real plush. There was a room with books, a room with a bar, rooms with all the fineries of life and a special room with an oversized bed that was ready for use.
    I looked at everything there was to see, but I had to quit sometime, and there she was, curled up in an overstuffed easy chair, naked as hell, watching me over the rim of a fresh drink. You don’t describe naked women when you walk right in and find them like that. They’re just naked, that’s all. They’re kind of white and soft and everything seems to be in motion all at once. Watch ’em for just a little while and all of a sudden you’re used to them and it’s over with. Then you can talk.
    I said, “How long have you been around, Sis?”
    â€œOh, a long time. For years and years. Are you a cop?” Before I could answer she shook her head, making her hair ripple down her back. “No, you wouldn’t be a cop. A cop would never have come in. A friend?” Her head shook again. “That couldn’t be it either. A friend would know better than to come in. A reporter maybe? Nope, not a reporter or I should have been raped.” She giggled and sipped her drink, making a pretense of being serious. “You must be an enemy. That’s the answer.”
    I lit a cigarette and waited until she put the drink down. She had to uncurl to reach the coffee table and did it with a lazy snaky motion. She leaned back in the chair and stretched, her breast taut, then pulled her stomach in and relaxed. “Do you know what Lenny’ll do to vou if he finds you here?”
    â€œNo, tell me about it.”
    Another insane giggle. “That would spoil the fun. No, I’ll wait. You can talk and look at me while we wait. All you want to.” She reached for the glass again, struggled to claw out an ice cube and held it while she sucked on it. “Now talk,” she said.
    â€œEver know a girl named Vera West?”
    The ice cube dropped in her lap. She got it back after a frenzied search and frowned at me. “Lenny isn’t going to like you.”
    â€œI don’t expect him to. What about it?”
    â€œI heard of her.”
    â€œWhere is she?”
    â€œOh, she gone and I’m taking care of Lenny now. Who cares?”
    â€œI care, Sis. Where is she?”
    She tossed her head impatiently. “How would I know. She’s been gone so long nobody knows. One time she was here, then she was gone. Just like that. Besides, I don’t like her.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œLenny talks about her, that’s why. He gets drunk sometimes and calls me by her name and sometimes I hear him swearing at her in his sleep. As long as he’s swearing I don’t care, but I don’t like him calling me with her name.”
    â€œWhat would happen if Lenny found her?”
    â€œI know what would happen if I found her.”
    She plopped the ice cube in her mouth, washed it around until it was melted then swallowed it. It must have made a cold track going down because she got gooseflesh all over. There was a lot of her to get gooseflesh. She shivered as if she liked it and reached out for another. This time she really stretched out for my benefit, making sure I didn’t miss anything. I think she was starting to get mad.
    I said, “What would happen?”
    Her tongue toyed with the ice cube. “I’d fix her so no man would ever want to look at her again. I’d fix her good. Someday I’ll find her. I think I know how, too.”
    â€œYou do?