Read Online Everybody Had A Gun by Richard Prather - Free Book Online
Authors: Richard Prather
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the coat out from his body.
"Turn around."
"All right," he said easily.
There wasn't a gun in sight anywhere, but I said, "Now the coat pockets, Sader. Inside out."
He shook his black head. "I'll say one thing for you, Mr. Scott. You're thorough." His white, pleasant smile came back. "Maybe that's why you're still alive."
While I tried to figure out if there were anything between those lines, he started to dip his right hand into his right coat pocket.
"Uh-uh," I said. "Left hand."
"Awkward," he grumbled, but he reached across his body, first with the left hand, then with the right, and turned the pockets inside out. If he had a gun on him I'd eat it.
"All right, Mr. Scott? That enough? This isn't very neatâand there's a lady present."
I wonder what it took to get him rattled. I nodded at him and walked over to Iris. She whispered to me, but there was no point in whispering. It was so loud and ragged you could hear it bouncing off the walls.
"Thank God you came! They'll kill us. They'd have killed me, Shell. Get me out of here." She was coming apart at her beautiful seams. I listened, but somehow she didn't have to repeat that bit about Marty's wanting to kill us; even if it didn't make good sense yet, that idea had never been out of my mind. Well, I'd wanted in here, and I was here, and now that I was, I was dying to get far away.
Iris' hands were taped together, and I reached behind her and felt for the end of the tape and yanked. She let out a little gasp, but in a few seconds she had her hands free and was rubbing them together.
Then she stood up and pressed against me, clinging to my left arm. This was one hell of a time for her to start pressing against me, but I didn't shove her away. I'm weak. I could feel her heart beating fast like a rabbit's.
She whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so damned sorry."
Sader spoke up. "It won't work, Scott."
"What won't work?"
"You won't get out. Even if you should, you couldn't get far. It will take you exactly sixty seconds to go up in the elevator." He stopped speaking and frowned. "How did youâ" He clamped his teeth together and ridges of muscle bulged at the sides of his square jaw. He glanced up toward the ceiling above the wall in front of himâthe wall separating this office from the rest of the club. I followed his gaze and saw a small unlighted light bulb above the close door leading into the club. He looked back at me and said, "But of course you didn't use the elevator. Stupid of me. I deserve this."
Then he glared at Iris. It had suddenly hit him how I'd come inâand how Iris had got away from him earlier. He said to her, "Then I did lock you in, didn't I? I'm glad to know I wasn't that careless." He shrugged and added more to himself than to any of us, "I've been careless enough."
Iris whispered, "Let's go. Let's get out of here."
That was fine. That was great. What were you supposed to do, dissolve? I couldn't see both of us squeezing into that dumb-waiter. Not that it wouldn't have been fun; there just wasn't room. And, besides, our three chums couldn't be expected to twiddle their thumbs while we played footsie in the dumb-waiter. Or, for that matter, while we were crawling twenty feet in an elevator.
Sader said to me, "Complicated, isn't it, Mr. Scott?"
They were just idle words. I could have sent Iris up the lift while I stayed here like Galahad, but I was damned if I was letting her out of my sight again till she'd cleared up all the loose ends that were dangling around me. But there had to be another way out besides the dumb-waiter and the slow-moving elevator.
"Sader, how about that front exit? There must be more ways out of here than the elevator. Where are they?"
He looked at me and shook his head slowly.
"I'd hate to rough you up, Sader. But we're leaving."
He didn't say anything.
I was temporarily stumped. I could shoot them all, but obviously if I entertained ideas like that I was getting as near the padded cells and strait
"Turn around."
"All right," he said easily.
There wasn't a gun in sight anywhere, but I said, "Now the coat pockets, Sader. Inside out."
He shook his black head. "I'll say one thing for you, Mr. Scott. You're thorough." His white, pleasant smile came back. "Maybe that's why you're still alive."
While I tried to figure out if there were anything between those lines, he started to dip his right hand into his right coat pocket.
"Uh-uh," I said. "Left hand."
"Awkward," he grumbled, but he reached across his body, first with the left hand, then with the right, and turned the pockets inside out. If he had a gun on him I'd eat it.
"All right, Mr. Scott? That enough? This isn't very neatâand there's a lady present."
I wonder what it took to get him rattled. I nodded at him and walked over to Iris. She whispered to me, but there was no point in whispering. It was so loud and ragged you could hear it bouncing off the walls.
"Thank God you came! They'll kill us. They'd have killed me, Shell. Get me out of here." She was coming apart at her beautiful seams. I listened, but somehow she didn't have to repeat that bit about Marty's wanting to kill us; even if it didn't make good sense yet, that idea had never been out of my mind. Well, I'd wanted in here, and I was here, and now that I was, I was dying to get far away.
Iris' hands were taped together, and I reached behind her and felt for the end of the tape and yanked. She let out a little gasp, but in a few seconds she had her hands free and was rubbing them together.
Then she stood up and pressed against me, clinging to my left arm. This was one hell of a time for her to start pressing against me, but I didn't shove her away. I'm weak. I could feel her heart beating fast like a rabbit's.
She whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so damned sorry."
Sader spoke up. "It won't work, Scott."
"What won't work?"
"You won't get out. Even if you should, you couldn't get far. It will take you exactly sixty seconds to go up in the elevator." He stopped speaking and frowned. "How did youâ" He clamped his teeth together and ridges of muscle bulged at the sides of his square jaw. He glanced up toward the ceiling above the wall in front of himâthe wall separating this office from the rest of the club. I followed his gaze and saw a small unlighted light bulb above the close door leading into the club. He looked back at me and said, "But of course you didn't use the elevator. Stupid of me. I deserve this."
Then he glared at Iris. It had suddenly hit him how I'd come inâand how Iris had got away from him earlier. He said to her, "Then I did lock you in, didn't I? I'm glad to know I wasn't that careless." He shrugged and added more to himself than to any of us, "I've been careless enough."
Iris whispered, "Let's go. Let's get out of here."
That was fine. That was great. What were you supposed to do, dissolve? I couldn't see both of us squeezing into that dumb-waiter. Not that it wouldn't have been fun; there just wasn't room. And, besides, our three chums couldn't be expected to twiddle their thumbs while we played footsie in the dumb-waiter. Or, for that matter, while we were crawling twenty feet in an elevator.
Sader said to me, "Complicated, isn't it, Mr. Scott?"
They were just idle words. I could have sent Iris up the lift while I stayed here like Galahad, but I was damned if I was letting her out of my sight again till she'd cleared up all the loose ends that were dangling around me. But there had to be another way out besides the dumb-waiter and the slow-moving elevator.
"Sader, how about that front exit? There must be more ways out of here than the elevator. Where are they?"
He looked at me and shook his head slowly.
"I'd hate to rough you up, Sader. But we're leaving."
He didn't say anything.
I was temporarily stumped. I could shoot them all, but obviously if I entertained ideas like that I was getting as near the padded cells and strait
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