Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The Levantine
Spade did not look at the pistol.He raised his arms and leaned back in the chair, fingers crossed behind his head.He kept staring at Kai Luo's black face, and there was no special expression in his eyes.
Kai Luo coughed apologetically, and smiled nervously, his lips turned pale.His black eyes were watery, timid and sincere. "Mr. Spade, I am going to search your office. I warn you that if you try to stop me, I will shoot you."
"Go ahead." Spade's voice was as emotionless as his face.
"Please stand up," the man with the pistol said, pointing the gun at the other's thick chest, "I want to make sure you don't have a weapon on you."
Spade stood up, straightened his legs, and pushed the chair back with his calves.
Kylo came around behind him, switching the pistol from his right hand to his left.He lifted the hem of Spade's coat and looked at it, then put the gun against Spade's back, touched Spade's body with his right hand, and patted his chest.The Levantine's face was now just below Spade's right elbow, less than six inches apart.
Spade turned to the right while sinking the elbow.Kylo's face jerked back, but to no avail: Spade's right foot on the toe in his patent leather shoe pinned the shorter man to his elbow, and the elbow slammed downward. His cheekbones, bumping him so that he faltered.He would have fallen if Spade hadn't stepped on his foot.Spade elbowed past the stunned black face and slapped the pistol with outstretched hands.As soon as his fingers touched the gun, Kylo let go.The pistol looked small in Spade's hand.
Spade moved his foot off Kylo, turned, and grabbed the shorter man's collar with his left hand, squeezing the green ruby tie over his knuckles.At the same time, Spade stretched out his right hand and put the seized weapon into his pocket.His sallow eyes were gloomy, and his face was dull, with a hint of displeasure hanging from the corner of his mouth.
Kylo's face contorted in pain and annoyance.Tears welled up in his dark eyes, and his face was ashen, except for the redness of his cheeks where he had been bumped by the elbow.
Spade grabbed the Levantine by the collar, pulled him in a slow half-circle, and pushed him back to stand in front of the chair he had been sitting on before.The anguish on that leaden face gave way to bewilderment.Then Spade smiled, a gentle, even dreamy smile.His right shoulder was raised a few inches, and his bent right arm was raised with it.The fist, wrist, forearm, bent elbow, and upper arm appear as one unit, with only the flexible shoulders controlling the movement.The fist suddenly stretched out and hit Kai Luo's face, hitting half of his chin, the corner of his mouth, and most of his cheek.
Kylo closed his eyes and lost consciousness.
Spade laid Kylo's limp body on the chair and let him sprawl, his head slumped back on the back of the chair, mouth open.
Spade methodically emptied the unconscious man's pockets, arranged them in a heap on the table, and moved his limp body if necessary.When the last pocket had been rummaged out, he returned to his chair, rolled a cigarette, lit it, and began examining his loot.He took his time and meticulously checked what he had in hand.
There was a large black soft leather wallet containing several banknotes of different denominations, a total of three hundred and sixty-five dollars, plus three five-pound notes; five folded sheets of pink, covered with writing that appears to be in Arabic; a ragged-edged newspaper clipping announcing the discovery of the bodies of Archer and Thursby; The picture on the postcard shows a dark-skinned woman with breathtakingly beautiful eyes and slightly drooping corners of her gentle mouth; a large piece of old yellowed silk handkerchief with cracks along the creases; a small stack of printed A "Mr. Joe Carroll" business card, and a ticket for a front row seat at the Gilly Theater that evening.
Besides the purse and its contents, there were three brightly colored silk handkerchiefs that smelled of chypre; a white gold Longines watch on a white and rose gold watch chain with a small A silver pear-shaped pendant; a coin of dollars, pounds, francs, Chinese coins; a key ring with six keys; a silver fountain pen inlaid with onyx; a metal comb in an imitation leather case; A nail file in a leatherette case; a small San Francisco street guide; a luggage ticket for the Southern Pacific Railroad; half a pack of violet incense sticks; a business card for an insurance broker in Shanghai; Notes, one of which had Samuel Spade's name written on it in neat small letters, along with the address of his office and apartment.
Spade even opened the back of the case to see if there was anything hiding inside.After examining the items carefully, he leaned over and pulled the unconscious man's wrist between his thumb and forefinger, feeling for his pulse.Then he let go of his wrist, sat back in the chair, rolled another cigarette and lit it.When he smoked, except for an occasional involuntary movement of his lower lip, his face in deep thought was so calm that it seemed a little dull; but when Kylo's eyelids quivered and he moaned, Spade's expression changed. Be gentle, eyes and mouth ready for a friendly smile.
Joe Kylo woke up slowly.He opened his eyes first, but it took a full minute for his eyes to find focus and fall on a corner of the ceiling.Then he closed his mouth, swallowed his saliva, and breathed heavily through his nose.He retracted one leg and extended one hand to rest on his thigh.He raised his head from the back of the chair, looked at the office in a daze, saw Spade, and immediately sat up straight.He startled himself just as he was about to speak, and reached out and lightly touched the face where Spade had punched him, where it was now red and swollen.
Enduring the pain, he mumbled, "Mr. Spade, I could have given you a shot."
"You could have tried it," Spade conceded.
"I didn't try."
"I know."
"Then why did you beat me after you disarmed me?"
"I'm sorry," Spade said, with a sly grin showing his molars, "but think of the embarrassment I'll be having when I find out that five thousand dollars was just nonsense."
"You are mistaken, Mr. Spade. The money was, and is, sincerely intended to be given."
"What the hell?" Spade's surprise was sincere.
"I'm going to pay five thousand dollars to get the statue back." Kylo moved his hands away from his bruised face, and returned to sitting upright. "Is something in your hand?"
"Not here."
"If it's not here," said Kylo politely, "why would you risk serious injury by preventing me from searching it?"
"Should I sit still and have someone come in and point a gun at me?" Spade pointed a finger at Kailo's things on the desk, "You have the address of my apartment, have you been there? "
"Yes, Mr. Spade. I was prepared to pay five thousand dollars for the restoration of the statue, but it is only natural that I should first try to save the owner the expense, if possible. "
"Who is the owner?"
"Forgive me for not being able to answer this question."
"Really?" Spade leaned forward and smiled with pursed lips, "Carol, I have a handle on you. You came here to tie yourself to last night's murder, which is enough for the police Satisfied. How about it, now you have to play with me."
Kai Luo smiled reservedly, not intimidated. "I have made a thorough investigation of you before coming here," said he, "and I am sure that you are a reasonable man who will not allow other thoughts to interfere with a profitable business."
Spade shrugged. "Where's the money?" he asked.
"I'll pay you five thousand dollars—"
Spade tapped Kailo's wallet with the back of his finger and said, "It doesn't look like there are five thousand dollars in it. Would you like to bet your eyes? You can come to my door and say that you will pay me a million dollars to find it." A purple elephant, but what the hell does that mean?"
"I understand, I understand," Kailo narrowed his eyes and thought, "You want me to prove my sincerity." He flicked his red lower lip with his fingertips, "A little advance payment, is that okay?"
"Maybe."
Kai Luo reached for his wallet, hesitated again, then withdrew his hand and said, "How about a hundred dollars?"
Spade picked up his wallet and took out a hundred dollars.Then he frowned and said, "Two hundred dollars is better." He took out another hundred.
Kylo said nothing.
"Your number one assumption is that I have the bird," Spade said crisply, pocketing the two hundred dollars and throwing the wallet back on the table. "That's not the case. What's your number two assumption?" ?”
"You know where things are, or, if you don't know exactly, where to find them."
Spade neither denied nor admitted, as if he hadn't heard.He asked, "What evidence do you have that can prove to me that your boss is the owner of the statue?"
"Basically not, unfortunately. One thing though: the others have absolutely no hard evidence of their ownership either. And if you know as much about it as I would expect - otherwise I wouldn't be here —you should understand that the way the statue was taken from him justified his claim to it more than anyone else—certainly more so than Thurs.”
"What about his daughter?" Spade asked.
Kai Luo was so excited that his eyes widened, his mouth opened wide, his face flushed red, and his voice became sharp: "He is not the owner of the statue!"
Spade gave a gentle, vague "Oh."
"Is he here in San Francisco now?" Kylo asked, his voice less strident, but still agitated.Spade blinked sleepily and suggested, "We'd better get this out of the way."
Kai Luo was shocked and regained his composure: "I think it's better not to do this." His voice became gentle again, "If you know more than me, I get your information, and you get five thousand dollars; if You don't know as much as I do, it was a mistake for me to come to you, and doing what you say will only make my mistakes worse."
Spade nodded coldly, waved at the things on the table, and said, "Your things." After Kailo put the things back in his pocket, Spade said again, "We agreed, you pay me to find this The cost of a blackbird, and pay me five thousand dollars when it's done?"
"Yes, Mr. Spade. I mean, five thousand dollars minus the advance. You'll get five thousand dollars."
"Okay. Also, is this business legal?" Spade looked serious, but winked at Kylo, "You didn't hire me to kill people and steal goods, you just asked me to get Blackbird Come back, and if possible, try to use honest and legal means."
"If possible," Kylo agreed.He also had a serious face, except for his eyes. "It's up to you." He stood up, picked up his hat, and said, "If you want to contact me, I live in Room 635 of the Belvedere Hotel. Mr. Spade, I look forward to our cooperation. Maximize the benefits, I am confident." He paused, and then said, "Can you give me back my pistol?"
"Of course. I forgot." Spade took the pistol out of his coat pocket and handed it to Kylo.
Kylo pointed the pistol at Spade's chest. "Put your hands on the table, please," said Kylo earnestly, "I'm going to search your office."
"Damn it to me," Spade said, with a throaty laugh. "Okay, search, I won't stop you."
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