Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen The Handy Repairman

Andre Gillian was in the kitchen preparing the dishes: spaghetti with roasted meat, a large plate of Italian salad and a large pear stuffed cake.Suddenly he heard an ominous crack.After a while, the comforting hum of the central air conditioner slowly died down. Andre stomped his feet: "Damn! We're going to play cards tonight, so don't make a mistake!" He hurried into the family tool room, found the switch box, and flipped the switches one by one.Nothing works. Alas, Mr. Pope is going to lose his temper.Certainly!Andre knew how much his employer valued the Friday card parties.It's been a traditional gathering for many years, and it's always been attended by those amazing people.There is no air conditioner in the room, so how can I stand it!September weather in New Orleans is not something civilized humans can tolerate.Even after the sun had set, the steamy heat still held its own.

Andre went back to the kitchen to look at the clock.Four o'clock.The guests come at eight o'clock.Andre wanted to call Mr. Pope to report the incident, but he remembered that the lawyer had said that he would be in court all day today.He was so busy that he needed a rest.But now the air conditioner is off! Andrei took the small black phone book from a drawer in the kitchen, found a number, and dialed the dial. After the bell rang three times, a metal-like voice came back: "This is the Eskimo Air Conditioning Service Company. Our mechanical technician is temporarily unavailable. Please leave your Name, phone number and a short description, we will contact you as soon as possible."

hell!Only in America do you have to talk to a machine. "Di--" An annoying scream came into Andre's ears.He said into the microphone: "This is Mr. Perry Pope's house at 42 Charles Street. Our air conditioner is out. Please send someone to fix it right away. Quick!" He put down the phone heavily.No one will come.In this damn place, probably the air conditioners in the whole city are broken.It's hot and humid, and the air conditioner can't handle it, alas, better send a repairman right away.Mr. Pope has a bad temper.His temper is terrible. Andre Gillian had been a cook for Lawyer Pope for three years and knew how powerful his employer was.It's unbelievable.He is so young, yet so talented.Perry Pope knew everybody.As long as he gestures, people will come to listen to him.

Andre Gillian felt that the temperature in the room had begun to rise.Oops!If the air conditioner can't be fixed in time, there will be a big mess. Andre went on to slice the salami and smoked cheese into paper-thin slices for the salad.He has been worrying in his heart that he must be unlucky tonight. Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang, by which time Andre's clothes were drenched with sweat and the kitchen was as hot as an oven.He hurried to open the back door. Two men in overalls stood at the door with toolboxes.One was black and tall, and the other was white, a few inches shorter, with a weary look.In the driveway behind the house.park their field car.

"What's wrong with the air conditioner?" asked the black man. "Yeah! Thank goodness you're here. Gotta fix it fast, the guests are coming." The black man walked to the oven, sniffed the cake baked in the oven and said, "It smells so good." "Excuse me," said Jillian, "help!" "Let's go and see the heating room," said the short one. "Where is it?" "follow me." Andre hurriedly led them down the aisle to a utility room.The air conditioner is right there. "It's a fine machine, Ralph," said the negro to his companion.

"Of course, Allie. You can't make such a good air conditioner these days." "Then how can something go wrong?" Gillian asked. Both repairmen turned to stare at him. "We've just come in," said Ralph precipitously.He knelt down, opened a small door at the bottom of the air conditioner, took out a flashlight, and looked in on the ground.After watching for a while he stood up. "That's not the problem." "Where is that?" Andrei asked. "There must be a short circuit in one of the output lines. Maybe the whole air conditioning system line is shorted because of the short circuit. How many vents are there in this house?"

"Each room has a vent. Let me think about it, there are at least nine." "There could be a problem here: the converter is overloaded. Let's check." The three walked back down the aisle."Mr. Pope's house is beautiful," said Allie as he passed the living room. The living room was tastefully furnished with all kinds of priceless antiques, and the floor was covered with Persian rugs in pastel colours.To the left of the living room is a grand dining room.On the right is a study.In the middle of the study is a large card table covered with baize.There was a round table in the corner of the room, and the table for dinner was already set.Two repairmen came into the den, and Allie shone a flashlight on the vent above the wall.

He let out a "huh" and looked at the ceiling above the card table again. "What room is upstairs?" "It's the attic." "Go and see." Two repairmen followed Andre to the attic.It was a long room with a low ceiling, full of cobwebs and dust. Allie went to the switch cabinet on the wall and inspected the intertwined wires. "Ha ha!" "Did you find the problem?" Andre asked anxiously. "The capacitor is dead. The air is too humid. I've had at least a hundred phone calls this week, and it's all because of the humidity and the machine is malfunctioning. Need to replace the capacitor."

"Holy shit! Need a long leaf?" "No. We have new capacitors in the car." "Please hurry up," pleaded Andre, "Mr. Pope will be back soon." "Don't worry," Allie said. Back in the kitchen, Andre said, "I have to make the salad dressing. Can you go back to the attic yourself?" Allie held up a hand. "Don't worry, buddy. You do your job, we do ours." "Thank you, thank you so much." Andre watched the two of them walk back to the field vehicle and fetched two large canvas bags. "Call me if you need anything."

"rest assured!" The two repairmen went upstairs, and Andre returned to the kitchen. After Torff and Allie went into the attic, they opened their canvas bags and took out a small folding chair, a steel-tipped drill, a plate of sandwiches, two cans of beer, and a Chase 12×40 high-power telescope and two hamsters injected with 3/4 mg acetyl promazine. The two started to work. "Ernestine's gotta compliment me this time," Allie said with a smile as he worked. Airy was adamantly against the plan at first. "Are you crazy, ma'am? I don't want to mess with Perry Pope. That young man could have kicked me in the mud."

"Don't worry, he won't hurt anyone again in the future." They lay naked on mattresses warmed by electric heating in Ernestine's apartment. "There's a reason you're doing this, baby?" Allie asked. "He's a bad guy." "Hey, dear, there are bad things everywhere in the world, and you can't kill them all!" "I tell you, it was done for a friend." "For Tracy?" "That's right." Allie liked Tracy very much.On the day she was released from prison, the three of them had dinner together. "She's a well-bred, nice woman," Allie said, "but are we worth our lives for her?" "If you refuse to help, she will find someone far worse than you to do it. If she is caught, they will send her back to prison." Allie sat up, staring at Ernestine puzzled. "Are you really that worried about her, baby?" "yes." She could never make him understand why.In fact, the reason is very simple, Ernestine is unwilling to let Tracy return to the hands of big Bertha.Ernestine was not only worried about Tracy, she was even more afraid of losing face.Now that she has become Tracy's protector, if Bertha takes Tracy away, Ernestine will be laughed at! So she said, "Yes. My dear, I'm worried about her. Would you like to go?" "I can't do it alone," Allie grumbled. Ernestine knew he had said yes.She kissed his long, lean body and said, "Didn't Ralph be released a few days ago?" It wasn't until 6:30 that the two returned to the kitchen where Andre worked, with dusty faces and sweat all over their bodies. "Is it fixed?" Andre asked anxiously. "It's fucking hard." Airy said. "Do you know, your capacitors are AC-DC cut-off..." "Don't tell me that," Andre interrupted impatiently, "Is it fixed?" "All done. Have your air conditioners running in five minutes, as good as new." "Great! Please put your bills on the kitchen table..." Ralph shook his head. "Don't worry, the company will send the bill." "Thank you. Goodbye." Andre watched as two repairmen walked out the back door carrying canvas bags.Out of Andre's sight, the two went around to the yard, opened a tank cover, and found the capacitor connected to the house's air conditioning system.With Ralph holding the flashlight, Allie reconnected the wires they had disconnected two hours ago.Immediately the air-conditioning system came back on with a hum. Airy copied down the phone number on the warranty sticker attached to the capacitor.A short time later he dialed the Eskimo Air Conditioning Service on that number and heard a recorded reply.Airy said, "This is Perry Pope's house at 42 Charles Street. Our air conditioner is working fine. Don't send someone to fix it. Thank you." The poker party, held every Friday night at Perry Pope's house, was an event eagerly awaited by several poker friends.Attendees were a select few each time: Antony Ursady, Joe Romano, Judge Henry Lawrence, a city senator, a state senator, and, of course, the host.The stakes are high, the food is exquisite, and the gamblers are powerful figures. Perry Pope changed into a pair of white silk wide-leg pants and a sweatshirt in the bedroom.He hummed happily while imagining the upcoming party.He's always been lucky.In fact, I've been lucky all my life in the big casino of the world, he thought. In New Orleans, anyone who wants to get in the way of a lawsuit should go to Perry Pope.His influence comes from his connection with the Usadhi family.He is called a "diplomat". Whether it is violating traffic rules and getting a ticket, or committing drug trafficking or even homicide, he can mediate to your satisfaction.Perry Pope is waiting for the spring breeze. Antoine Wusa brought a visitor. "Joe Romano isn't coming any more," Wusa said. "You all know Inspector Newhouse, don't you?" Everyone shook hands and greeted each other. "Drinks are in the sideboard, gentlemen," said Perry Pope. "We'll have dinner later. Let's play, shall we?" Everyone found their familiar seats and sat down around the green baize card table.Wu Sadi pointed to the empty chair that belonged to Joe Romano and said to Inspector Newhouse, "Mel, this is your seat from now on." While people were opening several new decks, Pope began handing out chips.He explained to Inspector Newhouse: "The black chips are five dollars, the red chips are ten dollars, the blue chips are fifty dollars, and the white chips are one hundred dollars. At the beginning, each person needs to buy five hundred dollars in chips. We play chip betting, You can raise three times, and the dealer will call." "Very well," said the Inspector. Antoine Wusady is in a bad mood today. "Okay, let's get started." His voice was hoarse as if someone had stuck his neck.This is not a good sign. Perry Pope was dying to know what had happened to Joe Romano, but the lawyer knew it was too much to ask.When the time comes, Usadi will talk to him about it. Wuzadi mused darkly: I treated Joe Romano like a father, trusted him, and promoted him to stewardship.This bastard stabbed me in the back, and if that stupid French bitch hadn't called, he'd probably have run away by now.Hmph, there is no way to escape now.Aren't you smart?Throw you there to feed the fish and see what you can do! "Tony, do you follow the cards?" Anthony Wusady returned his attention to the card table.Big money is won in and out here.Anthony Usady was angry when he lost, and it wasn't about the money.He can't lose anything, because he thinks he is a born general who always wins.Only the invincible and strong can occupy his high position.For the past six weeks, Perry Pope has had some lucky luck and has been undefeated.Tonight Antoine Wusady decided to break his luck. Since the established rule is that the banker calls, whoever sits on the banker can choose his most confident method of play.They had played "five cards," "seven cards," "bet low," and "outs"—but no matter what they played tonight, Antony Wusardy always lost.He started upping the ante, betting hard.Want to get back the lost money.By the time they stopped playing cards at midnight and went to enjoy the dishes Andre had prepared, Wusady had lost fifty thousand, and Perry Pope was the biggest winner. The dishes are very delicious.Usually Usadi would be happy to enjoy the free dinner, but tonight he hurried back to the poker table. "Why not, Tony?" Perry Pope said. "I'm not hungry." Wu Sadi reached for a silver coffee pot not far from him, poured coffee into a Victorian "Hylander" porcelain cup, and sat down at the card table.He was eager to win the money back. He was stirring his coffee when a small crumb fell into his cup.Wu Sadi unhappily picked it up with a tea spoon and looked closely, it seemed to be plaster on the wall.He looked up at the ceiling when something hit him on the forehead.He suddenly heard a whizzing sound above his head. "What the hell is up there?" Antoine Wussard asked. Perry Pope was telling Inspector Newhouse an anecdote. "I'm sorry. What did you just say, Tony?" The whizzing sound became more pronounced, and debris of marl fell on the green baize table. "You seem to have rats here," said the Senator. "No way." Perry Pope was getting a little angry. "There must be something up there," Wuzadi said angrily. A larger shaving of lime fell on the baize table. "I asked Andre to check it out," Pope said. "If the gentlemen have finished eating, shall we resume the game?" Antony Wussard stared up at a small hole in the ceiling just above his head. "Wait a minute, let's go upstairs and have a look." "What, Tony? Andre would..." Usadi had stood up and was walking towards the stairs.The others exchanged glances and followed behind him. "Maybe a squirrel got into the attic," guessed Perry Pope. "It's the season they're running around, maybe they're hoarding walnuts for the winter," he joked, laughing. Going to the attic, Wusa opened the door and Perry Pope turned on the light.They saw two white hamsters running around the house. "Jesus!" said Perry Pope. "There are mice here." Anthony Wusardi did not listen to him, but surveyed the room with round eyes.In the middle of the attic was a folding chair with some sandwiches and two open cans of beer.A pair of binoculars lay on the floor by the legs of the chair. Wu Sa walked over and picked up those objects one by one to examine.Then he knelt on the dusty floor and moved a small cylindrical block of wood, exposing a peephole through the ceiling downstairs.Wu Sadi moved his eyes closer, and could clearly see the card table facing him downstairs. Perry Pope stood in the middle of the attic, frozen. "Who brought this junk here? I'm going to give Andre a good lesson." Wusa stood up slowly and brushed the dust off his trousers. Perry Pope looked at the floor. "Yo!" he yelled. "There's a hole drilled in the floor! What a disgrace to the repairman these days." He knelt down and looked into the borehole, his face pale.He stood up and looked at the people in the attic in horror.Everyone stared at him coldly. "Hey!" said Perry Pope. "You don't think me? . . . Listen to me, boys. Don't you know me? I don't know a thing about it. I won't lie to you. For God's sake, we're good friends!" ’ He raised his hand to his mouth and bit his fingers nervously. Wusa patted his arm. "Don't worry." The voice was so low that it was almost inaudible. Perry Pope gnawed furiously on the thumb of his right hand.