Read Online The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins - Free Book Online Page A

you’re looking to do.”
    “Wait a minute,” the voice said. The face withdrew. Then it reappeared. “Come to the back door.”
    At the back door Jackie Brown found a young girl inviting him in. She looked like Mia Farrow. He stared at her. “Who’re you?”
    “Come inside,” she said.
    Inside the bus there was a small sink and a double bed. There was a portable radio, AM-FM-Police Band. On the bed there was a forty-five automatic. A great many paperback books lay on the floor. There was a sharp-smelling smoke.
    “Look,” Jackie Brown said, “I came here to do business. You people want to fuck and blow a little pot, what the hell did you bring me for? I understood there was going to be somebody here that wanted to do business.”
    The puffy face came in from the front. “This is Andrea,” the voice said. “I’m Pete.”
    “I’m Jackie,” Jackie Brown said. “What the hell is Andrea doing here?”
    “This is Andrea’s,” the voice said, the hands indicating the bus. “Andrea’s got the money. Andrea wanted to see you.”
    “I wanted to see you,” Andrea said.
    “I’m sorry,” Jackie Brown said, “I must have the wrong number. I thought I was supposed to see somebody that wanted to buy something.”
    “You were expecting a black,” Andrea said.
    “Yeah,” Jackie Brown said.
    “That was Milt,” she said. “He’s with us. Milt is with us. He was talking about us. We were the people who wanted to see you.”
    “What about?” Jackie Brown said.
    “We understood you could get us some machine guns,” Andrea said in a soft voice.
    “Look,” Jackie Brown said, “you want to burn your fucking bra, all right. What the fuck do you want with a machine gun?”
    “I want to hold up a fucking bank,” she said.
    “I can get you five machine guns by Friday,” Jackie Brown said. “M-sixteen rifles. Three hundred and fifty dollars apiece. You want ammo, it’s extra.”
    “How much extra?” Andrea said.
    “Two hundred and fifty dollars for five hundred rounds,” Jackie Brown said.
    “That’s two thousand dollars,” Andrea said.
    “More or less,” Jackie Brown said.
    “Be here Friday night with the stuff,” she said.
    “Half now,” Jackie Brown said. “Machine guns’re hot items. A grand in advance.”
    “Give him a thousand dollars, Pete,” Andrea said.
    Jackie Brown accepted a packet of money. It consisted of twenty fifties.
    “Friday night at eight-thirty,” she said.
    “Friday afternoon at three-thirty,” Jackie Brown said, “you call this number and ask for Esther. Someone will tell you that Esther stepped out, and ask you for a number. Stay in the pay phone after you give the number. Hold the handset up to your ear and pretend to be talking. But hold the cradle down. The phone will ring in three minutes. You’ll get directions to a place that you can reach in forty minutes from downtown Boston. Forty-five minutes after you get those directions, the machine guns will be gone from that place, and you’ll lose your deposit.”
    “I don’t like that,” Pete said.
    “I don’t give a good fuck what you like,” Jackie Brown said. “I got two problems selling machine guns to people like you. The first is selling machine guns. That’s life in this State. The second is selling to people like you. You aren’t honest. You know where I’m going to be, and what time, I’m liable not to get the rest of my money. I’m liable to lose my machine guns. Another thing: you have the rest of the money with you. You show up with no money, no guns. And
you
show up. Keep this in mind. I got more than five machine guns. The rest’ll be pointed at you.”
    “Bastard,” Andrea said.
    “Life’s hard,” Jackie Brown said, “life’s very hard. Good night.”

10
     
    The stocky man seemed pressed for time, and had no patience for conversation. He said to Jackie Brown: “You owe me ten more guns. I need them fast. When am I going to get them?”
    Jackie Brown shrugged slightly.