Chapter 76 Chapter VII

There seemed to be a woman sitting by a lamp, and the light fell on my face, and I squinted my eyes again, trying to see her through my lashes.She was so white that her head shone like a silver fruit bowl. She is wearing a green travel outfit, men's cut, with a wide white collar draped over the chest.Standing by his feet was a sharp and shiny bag.She was smoking, with a glass of drink on her elbow, a tall, whitish glass. My eyes widened a little and I said, "Hey!" I remembered that her eyes, which I can never forget, were in the second-hand Rolls-Royce outside Sardi's restaurant.Those blue eyes are so tender and charming.That kind of look is very different from the prostitutes who surround the dude.

"How do you feel?" Her voice was as gentle as jade, sweet and moving. "Great, it just feels like someone built a gas station on my jaw," I said. "Mr. Karmady, what do you expect? Orchids?" "Oh, so you know my name." "You were in a deep sleep and they had plenty of time to turn you over. Everything was done except embalming your body." "Okay." I said. I could only move slightly, not much, and my hands were handcuffed behind my back.It's kind of deserved.A rope was tied under the handcuffs and bound down to my ankles. One end of the rope disappeared at the end of the couch, and it was tied somewhere else.I am now almost as helpless as a dead body trapped in a coffin.

"what time is it?" Her gaze moved aside, passed through the lingering smoke ring, and landed on her wrist. "10:17. Any appointment?" "Is this the house next to the garage? Where are the lads? Digging my grave?" "Kalmadi, you don't have to worry. They'll be back." "Unless you have the key to the handcuffs, you can give me that glass of wine." She stood up suddenly, holding the amber tall glass in her hand, and walked towards me.She leaned over, breathing lightly.I raised my head and drank gulp. "I hope they didn't hurt you," she said flatly, walking back. "I hate killing."

"You're Joe Meshavey's wife, shame on you! Give me some more liquor." She gave me another drink, and I felt the blood start to flow again in my stiff body. "I kind of like you. Even if your face looks like a leak pad." "Take a good look, even this look may be gone before long." She looked around quickly, as if listening to something, one of the double doors was ajar, she looked there, pale, but it was only the sound of rain. She sat down again by the lamp. "Why did you take the risk and take this trip?" She looked at the ground and asked slowly.The carpet is a patchwork of red and brown checks, the wallpaper is printed with bright green pine trees, and the curtains are blue.The furniture that catches the eye seems to have been lifted from the advertisement on the bus seat.

"I'm going to give you a rose," I said, "from Larry Bazel." She picked up something from the table and fiddled with it slowly. It was the dwarf rose. "I've got it," she said quietly. "There's another note, but they won't show it to me. Is that addressed to me too?" "No, that was for me. It was left on my desk before he went out and was killed." Her face collapsed instantly, like the one you dream about in a nightmare, her mouth was wide open and her eyes were wide open , like a black hole, she was silent.After a while, her face returned to its usual calm beauty.

"They didn't tell me about it either," she said softly. "He was shot because he found out what Joe and Rashi Yeager did to Dade O'Mara and they just took him out." It didn't bother her at all, and she said calmly, "Joe didn't do anything to Dade O'Mara. I haven't seen Dade in two years, and the papers that I met with him are bullshit .” "It wasn't in the newspaper," I said. "Well, it's bullshit no matter where it comes from. Joe's in Chicago now, and he flew out yesterday to sell. If the business goes well, Rashi and I are going to find him. Joe's not a murderer. "

I stare at her. Her eyes became anxious again. "Is Larry... is he..." "He's dead," I said, "hitman did it with a submachine gun. I mean they didn't do it themselves." For a while, she pursed her lips, her teeth clenched tightly on her lips, and I heard her hard and slow breathing.She poked out the cigarette in the ashtray and stood up. "Joe didn't do it!" she was furious. "He didn't do it, I know that very well. He—" She fell silent, stared at me coldly, touched her hair, and pulled her down suddenly.It is a wig, and the hair hidden in the wig is short, like a boy.Highlighted with yellowish brown streaks, darker at the roots.It doesn't affect her beauty at all.

This made me laugh, "Did you come here to escape your shell, didn't you, silver wig? I wondered if they were trying to hide you - to make people think you absconded with Dade O'Mara .” She was still watching me, as if she didn't hear a word I said.Then she strode toward the mirror on the wall, put on and straightened her wig, and turned to face me. "Joe didn't kill anybody," she repeated in a low, strained voice. "He's a scoundrel, but he's not one of those scumbags. He doesn't know more than I do about where Dade O'Mara is going. And I don't know anything."

"He just got tired of that rich lady and ran away by himself." I said in a low voice.She was closer to me now, her white fingers hanging by her sides, glistening in the light.Her head was above me, hidden in shadow.The rain was pattering down. My jaw was swollen and hot, and the nerves around my jaw were tingling and painful. "Rashi only has the car parked outside," she said softly. "If I cut the rope, can you make it to Rialit?" "Okay, then what?" "I've never been involved in a murder. I won't be, and I won't be." She walked out of the room and returned with a long kitchen knife, sawing the rope around my ankle. Ripped off, and cut the rope tied with the handcuffs.Halfway through she stopped and pricked up her ears to hear some movement, but it was just the sound of rain.

I turned into a sitting position and stood up.My feet are numb but should be fine in a while.I can still walk and even run if necessary. "The key to the handcuffs is with Rashie," she said dully. "Let's go," I said, "Is there a gun?" "No, I'm not going. You go. He could be back any minute. They're just moving something out of the garage." I approached her, "You let me go and stay here? Wait for that murderer to come? Are you crazy. Come on, silver wig, you have to come with me." "No." "Suppose," I said, "that he actually killed O'Mara? Then he killed Larry. That must be it."

"Joe never kills!" she almost growled at me. "Then, let's say Yeager did it." "Kalmady, you're lying. Just scaring me. Get out. I'm not afraid of Rashi Yeager. I'm his boss' wife." "Joe Meshavey's a piece of shit. Girls like you only go wrong when the guy's a piece of shit. Let's run," I snarled. "Get out!" she said hoarsely. "Okay." I turned and walked out the door. She almost ran ahead of me into the hall, opened the front door, and looked out into the dark, rainy night.She motioned me to go forward. "Goodbye. I want you to find Dud and find out who killed Larry. But it wasn't Larry." I took a step closer to her, almost pushing her against the wall with my own body. "Silver wig, you're still awake. Goodbye." She instantly raised her hands to my face.A pair of cold hands, cold.Her cold lips quickly covered mine and kissed me. "Run, strong guy. We'll see each other again. Maybe in heaven." I stepped out the gate, down the slippery wooden steps from the porch, past the gravel in the grass ring, through the sparse The scrub came to the road, and I followed that road to Foothill Drive.The heavy rain touched my face with its cold fingers, but it was not as cold as her hands. My car, with the curtains drawn, was still parked slantedly, with the left axle pinned to the tarred shoulder of the freeway.The spare wheel and a tire with its rim removed were thrown in the gutter. They may have searched, but I still have hope.I crawled to the back, banged my head on the steering wheel, turned away and fumbled with my handcuffed hands for the secret pocket where I kept my gun.My hand touched the barrel and the gun was still inside. I got the gun, got out of the car, held the gun in my right hand, and looked around. With the gun pressed against my back to keep it from getting wet, I started walking back toward the house.