Chapter 20 Chapter 20: Laudanum

Dick Frye was sitting in a rental car parked on the corner.I told him to drive me around Dinah Bland's house, and I walked the rest of the street. "You look tired," she said as I followed her into the living room. "Working all the time?" "Attended a peace conference that would have resulted in at least a dozen killings." the phone is ringing.She picked it up and called me. Reynold Starkey's voice came: "I thought you might be interested. Noonan was shot dead as he got out of his car in front of his house. Totally dead. Thirty bullets." "thanks."

Dinah's big blue eyes asked. "Taler the Whisperer wins the first peace conference," I told her. "Where's the gin?" "It's Raynor calling, isn't it?" "Yes. He thinks I'm going to want to know there's no police chief in Poison Town now." "You mean—" "According to Raynor, Noonan is screwed tonight. Do you have any gin at all? Or do you want me to ask for it?" "Do you know where to put it—did some cute trick of yours do it?" I went to the kitchen, opened the top shelf of the refrigerator, and grabbed an ice pick with a round blue-and-white striped handle and a six-inch tapered blade to cut ice.Girl standing in corridor asking questions.I didn't answer, busy filling two glasses with gin, lemon juice, soda water and ice.

"What did you do?" she demanded as we entered the restaurant with drinks. "You look horrible." I put the glass on the table, sat down to look at the wine, and complained, "This damn city is eating me up. If I don't leave soon, I'll be as bloodthirsty as the people here. Look at me What happened after that? There were a dozen or two murders. Donna Wilson, Ike Bush, four Italian laborers and the cops from the Cedar Hill Inn, Jerry, Lou Yard, the Dutchman Jack Wall, Silver Arrow's Black Boy Whalen and Putt Collins, Cop Big Nick who was brought down by me, Blonde Kid who was dealt with by Whisperer, Old Elihu's Shorty Yakima, and now Noonan. Sixteen dead in less than a week, and more will follow."

She frowned at me and said sharply, "Don't think so." I smiled and continued: "Before I had to, I had arranged one or two murders. But this is the first time I have been obsessed with it. Blame this damn city, you can't do anything here Straight to the point. I was tied hand and foot from the start. After old Elihu dumped me, I had no choice but to find a way to make them kill each other. I tried my best to think in the best possible way Get the job done, but what can I do if the best way leads to a massacre? There's no way this can be done without Elihu's support."

"Well, what's the use of worrying about it when you can't do anything else? Drink your wine!" I drank half of the glass in one gulp, and had the urge to continue talking again. "There are two consequences of playing the killing game too much. One is to make you sick, and the other is to make you like it more and more. Noonan is the first. After Yade was killed, he was pale and vomiting , willing to make peace at any cost. I persuaded him and suggested that he meet with other survivors to iron out differences. "We had a meeting at Wilson's tonight. It was a nice party. I pretended to tell the whole story and tried to clear everyone up. I stripped Noonan - and Raynor - to them. As a result, the meeting broke down, and the Whisperer announced his withdrawal. Pete analyzed the position of everyone present, saying that fighting and killing hindered his bootlegging business. Deal with it. Whisperer doesn't look impressed. Raynor isn't impressed either."

"Of course they don't react," the girl said. "What did you do with Noonan? I mean, how did you strip him and Raynor?" "I told the others he knew all along that it was McSwain who killed Tim. That was the only lie I ever told. Then I told them the bank robbery was actually planned by Raynor and the Chief, took Jerry, and Killing him on the spot was trying to plant the Whisperer. I know it must be because if you told me right, Jerry was shot as he got out of the car and walked to the bank, and the bullet hole was in the He's on his back. Combined with the fact that McGraw said the car was turning onto King Street when he last saw it, it makes sense. Those guys are going back to City Hall to make an alibi for being in a cell."

"But didn't the bank security say he shot Jerry? The paper said so." "That's what he said, but that's just his way of saying it. He probably emptied the gun with his eyes closed and thought he was the one who fell. Didn't you watch Jerry go down? " "Yeah, I saw it. He was facing the bank, but it was so chaotic I couldn't see who fired it. Lots of people were shooting, and—" "Well, it must be. Then I revealed the fact—or at least I thought it was the truth—that Raynor killed Lou Yard. Raynor was a tough guy, wasn't he? Noonan was shy, and Raynor just Saying 'what's up', how nice and polite. They were two on two - Pete and Whisperer against Noonan and Raynor. But neither could expect his partner to back him up when he shot himself. In fact, the meeting As soon as it was over the pair split. Nonan was straight out of it, Raynor and the Whisperer were up against each other, and Pete was up against both of them. So, while I was messing with death and destruction, they sat in a circle, staring at each other .

"The Whisperer left first, and it looked like he had plenty of time to get a few guns and put them in front of Noonan's house, waiting for the Chief to come home. The Chief was killed. If Finn Pete had his word—he looked Someone like that—he would take care of the Whisperer. And Renault, like Noonan, was responsible for Jerry's death, so the Whisperer should have troubled him. Knowing this, Renault must want to do it first Deal with the Whisperer, but this will block Pete's way. In addition, Reynolds still has a lot of things at hand. He has to deal with people who used to work under Lu Yard but are now disobedient to him. Such a disturbance is not a Is it muddy?"

Dinah Bland reached out and patted mine across the table.With troubled eyes, she said, "It's not your fault, honey. You said there was nothing you could do. Finish your drink and we'll have another." "There are still many things I can do." I retorted, "Old Elihu wanted to get rid of me at first, just because those guys had too many things in his hands, and he didn't want to take risks unless he was sure he could get rid of them all." He couldn't see what I could do, so he continued to work with them. He wasn't as murderous as they were, and he considered the city his private property and didn't want it to be taken from them. Walk.

"I can go to him in the afternoon and tell him I'm going to ruin them. He'll let me talk the shit out of it, and then he'll fall on my side and give me the support I need to get the whole thing done in a legal way. I was supposed to do that, but it seemed easier to kill them all, easy and safe, so now I find it more satisfying, but I don't know how to explain to the society. If the old man finds out what I'm doing, Definitely throw me in the frying pan. Blame this damn place, Poison Town lives up to its name, I'm literally poisoned. "Look, I sat at Wilson's table tonight and played with 'em like trout and had a good time. I looked at Noonan and knew there was less than one in a thousand chances that he'd live another day, Because of what I did to him. I smiled and felt warm and happy inside. This is not me. Although I have nothing but a soul, I have dealt with crime for twenty years; Although I can face any Murders are ignored, I just see that this is my job, my routine, but it's so unnatural for me to plan murder like this. This place has made me like this."

She smiled so softly, her words were full of doting. "Honey, your reaction is so exaggerated. They deserve it. I really hope you don't do this again, you scare me like this." I smiled, picked up the glass and went to the kitchen for some gin.When she came back, she frowned, her black eyes were full of worry, and she asked, "What are you doing with the ice pick?" "Tell you what I think. A few days ago, I saw it and thought it would be a good tool for crushing ice." I ran a finger along the half-foot round steel blade all the way to the tip of the needle, "Not a murder weapon that nails people and clothes together. To be honest, that's what I'm thinking about now. Even seeing a lighter for lighting cigars, I would want to fill it with nitroglycerin and give it to someone I don't like. You There was a copper wire in the gutter in front of the house - very thin and soft, just long enough to hold both ends around a man's neck. I had a hard time refraining from picking it up and putting it in the mouth bag, just in case—" "You're crazy." "I know. I've been telling you about it and I'm getting bloodthirsty." "Oh, I don't like that. Put that thing back in the kitchen, sit down, and calm down." I did so for two thirds. "The problem with you now," she scolded, "is that your nerves are burning out. You have been stimulated too much these days. If you continue like this, you will definitely be nervous and have a nervous breakdown." I raised one hand with five fingers apart, and the hand was very steady. She looked at my hand and said, "It doesn't mean anything, it's your heart. Why don't you go away for a few days to rest? The fire you set here will burn itself. Let's go to Salt Lake City, it will be good for you .” "No, my sister, someone has to stay here and count the bodies. Besides, the whole plan is based on the current personnel combination. If we go out of the city, it will affect the balance, and it may cause the whole thing to repeat itself." "You don't have to let anyone know that you left. As for me, it has nothing to do with it." "When did it start?" She leaned forward, narrowed her eyes, and asked, "What the hell are you doing?" "Nothing, just don't understand how you suddenly became an uncaring bystander? Did you forget that it was Donna Wilson who started the whole thing because you were killed? Forgot that it was you who revealed to me The inside information about the Whisperers brought things to a head?" "You and I both know that these are not my fault." She said angrily, "Besides, these things have passed. You bring up old things again because you are in a bad mood and want to have a fight." "What happened last night hasn't passed yet! At that time, you were afraid that the Whisperer would come and kill you. You were so scared to death." "Can you stop talking about murder?" "Obury Jr. told me that Bill Quint threatened to kill you," I said. "Shut up!" "You seem to have a talent for evoking murderous thoughts in your male friends. Aubrey over there is awaiting trial for killing Wilson, and the Whisperer over here has made you tremble and hide in a corner. Even I There's no escape, and look what I've become. Besides, I've always had a secret thought that one day Dan Rolfe will have his hands on you, too." "Dan! You're crazy. Why? I—" "That's right. He's tubercular and down and out. You took him in, gave him a home, supplied him with the laudanum, and treated him like a servant, slapping him in front of me and everyone else. slap him in the face. He loves you. There will come a day when you wake up in the morning and he's cutting your neck." Shaking all over, she stood up and laughed. "It would be nice if either of us knew what you were talking about. But do you really?" she said, picking up two empty glasses and going through the kitchen door. I lighted a cigarette and wondered why I had such a thought.I learned to psychic?Is this hunch coming because I'm aware of something, or is it just a neurosis? "If you don't want to leave now, it's better..." The girl came back with two full glasses and said to me, "Get yourself drunk and lose your memory for a few hours. I put a double gin in your glass Wine. You need it." "I don't need it." I said, I don't know why I said it, but I said it happily, "I need you. Whenever I mention killing people, you will lose your temper with me. This is how women think. You think if I don't Mention, even God doesn't know how many people in this city are trying to kill you. It's a stupid idea. It won't affect the Whisperer if we say nothing, I'm just giving an example-" "Please, please stop talking! I'm stupid, I'm afraid of hearing those words, I'm afraid of him. I—oh, why didn't you kill him when I asked you to?" "I'm sorry." I said sincerely. "You think he—" "I don't know," I said to her, "and I think you're right that it's no use talking about it. Let's have a drink, but the gin doesn't seem strong." "That's your problem, not the gin. How about a real drink?" "I'm even drinking nitroglycerin tonight." "You'll have something similar to that later," she assured me. She rattled through the bottles and jars in the kitchen for a while, bringing out a glass of something similar to what we had been drinking.I sniffed and said, "Dan's laudanum? He's still in the hospital?" "Yeah, I guess he's got his head hurt. You can drink, sir, if you want." I poured the spiked gin down my throat and immediately felt much better.We drank and talked, and felt that we were living in a beautiful, happy, friendly and peaceful world, and time flew by. Dinah drank only gin.I drank for a while, too, and then another gin and laudanum. Then I played a game, trying to pretend to be awake with my eyes wide open, although I couldn't see clearly.When it was no longer possible to deceive her this way, I gave up. The last thing I remember is her helping me to lay down on the couch in the living room.