Chapter 17 Chapter One

I had nothing to do that day, sitting in the office dangling my legs.A warm breeze blew from outside the window, carrying the soot from the oil furnace of the hotel building across the alley, and drifting all the way to the glass plate of my table, forming a layer of fine sand, like pollen scattered on an open space. I was going to lunch when Kathy Holm walked in. She was a tall blonde with sad eyes and a listless look.She was a former cop who lost her job when she married a little rascal named Johnny Holm.She wanted to reform him wholeheartedly, but failed.Now she's waiting for him to come out of prison so he can be reformed again.During this period of time, she opened a small stall selling cigarettes in a corner of the building hotel. From time to time, she would see some thieves and swindlers smoking cigarettes, walking past the stall filled with smoke.She would occasionally lend one of them ten dollars to get him out of the place.She is such a kind hearted person.She sat down, opened her big shiny satchel, took out a pack of cigarettes, and lit one with the lighter on my desk.Then she let out a puff of smoke and wrinkled her nose. "Have you ever heard of Leander Pearls?" she asked. "My God, your blue serge suit is stunning. You must have a lot of money in your bank account, just look at what you're wearing."

"No," I said, "to answer your two questions. I haven't heard of Leander Pearls, and I don't have any money in my bank account." "Then maybe you'd like a piece of the $25,000." I lit one of her cigarettes.She stood up and closed the window, saying, "I've had enough of this hotel smell when I went to work." She sat down again and continued, "That was 19 years ago. They kept that guy in Leavenworth for 15 years, and they've been letting him out for 4 years. There's a guy from the North A great lumberman named Saul Leander bought those pearls for his wife, I mean, two hundred thousand for just two."

"It must have been pulled back with a cart," I said. "Looks like you don't know much about pearls," Kathy Home said. "It's not about size. They're worth more now anyway. And the insurance company's offering twenty-five thousand for their return, which is tempting." " "I see," I said, "someone stole them." "Now you've got some oxygen in your brain." Like the other ladies, she put the cigarette on the ashtray and let it burn.I helped her put out the cigarette. "That's why he was locked up at Leavenworth, except they couldn't prove he took the pearls. Locked him up because of the mail van. He hid himself in the mail van and when he got to Wyoming He shot the postman and emptied all the letters in the car and threw them away. He fled to British Columbia, Canada when he got caught. But they didn't find the pearls, and they haven't since. They only caught him Human. He was sentenced to life in prison."

"If it's a long story, let's have some wine." "I don't drink until the sun goes down, so I can make sure I don't do some shit." "True torture to the Emorskies," I said, "especially in the summer." She watched me take out the flask, and went on: "His name is Sepe, Wally Sepe. He did it all by himself. He didn't tell me about the pearls. He didn't say a word. Fifteen years later, They told him to pardon him if he gave up what he had stolen. He gave up everything except the pearl." "Where did he keep them?" I asked. "In his hat?"

"Look, this is no joke. I got a clue about those pearls." I covered my mouth with my hand to make my expression look serious. "He said he'd never seen the pearls, and they must have believed them in a way, or they wouldn't have pardoned him. But the pearls were in that batch of mail, but no one has seen them since. " I began to feel that my throat was a little congested, so I didn't speak. Kathy Holm went on to say: "During his time at Leavenworth, on one occasion, for the only time in so many years, Wally Sapp wrapped himself tightly in a shipping white shellac It looks like a fat woman's belt. A short man in his cell named Piller Mardo was sentenced to 27 months in prison for tampering with 20-dollar bills. Saipe told He, he buried the pearl somewhere in Idaho."

I lean forward a little. "Getting interested, huh?" she said. "Well, look, Pierre Maldo lives in my house right now. He's a cocaine junkie and talks a lot in his sleep." I sit up straight. "Jesus," I said, "I'm almost spending my bounty." She stared at me coldly.After a while her expression softened again. "Well," she said with a touch of desperation, "I know it sounds incredible. After all these years, how many smart people have tried to get involved in this matter, people from the post office, private institutions and so on. Now a cocaine addict puts It's a mess. But he's a nice little guy, I don't know why, and I trust him. He knows where Sipe is."

I asked, "Did he say all this in his sleep?" "Of course not. But you know me, a former policewoman who likes to inquire about things. Maybe I'm nosy, but I think he's an ex-con, and I'm worried he's taken too much cocaine. He's my The only tenant now. I just approached his door and secretly listened to him talking to himself. In this way, I knew how to encourage him and comfort him. Later he told me some other things. He thought Someone help him find the pearl." I leaned forward again, "Where's Sipe?" Kathy Holm shook his head with a smile: "This is one of the things he didn't say, and the other thing is that he didn't mention the name we called Cyp. But what you can know is that he was in the north. Somewhere, in Olympia, Washington or thereabouts. Peeler saw him there and asked about him. Said Sapp ignored him."

"What is Peeler doing here now?" I asked. "Here's where he was taken to Leavenworth. You know, an old crook still visits where he's lost. But he doesn't have any friends here now." I lit another cigarette and took a sip of wine. "You said, Sipp has been released from prison for 4 years, and Peeler has only been in prison for 27 months. What has he done since he was released from prison?" Kathy Holm opened her porcelain blue eyes and said sympathetically, "Perhaps you thought there was only one prison he could go to." "Okay," I said, "is he going to talk to me? Guess he needs help with the insurance guys, maybe those pearls really exist and Sep just gave them to Peeler. Like that Bar?"

Kathy Home sighed. "Yeah, he'll talk to you, he'd love to talk to you. He's scared of something. Can you go now? Before he smokes cocaine at night." "Of course—if you wish me to." She took a key from her satchel, wrote an address on my pad, and rose slowly from her chair. "My house is two rooms joined together. My room is independent. There is a door in the middle, which can be opened from my side with a key. This key is for you, in case he doesn't open the door, you can use it." "Okay." I said, exhaled on the ceiling, and looked at her.

She walked toward the door, stopped again, turned back, and stared at the floor. "I don't hold out much hope," she said. "Probably not at all. But if I've got a thousand or two thousand dollars on hand when Johnny gets out, maybe—" "Maybe you can make him straight and good," I continued her words. "It's a dream, Kathy, it's all a dream. But if this one isn't, you get a third of the money. " She took a breath and stared at me, actually to keep herself from crying.She walked toward the door again, stopped and walked back. "And that's not all," she said, "and that old man, that Sipe. He's been in jail for fifteen years, and he's paid his price, a heavy price. Don't you think it's a little mean?"

I shake my head. "He stole pearls, didn't he? And he killed people. By the way, what does he support himself now?" "His wife is rich," Kathy Home said, "and he just keeps some goldfish for fun." "Goldfish?" I said, "What a goddamn one." She walked out.