Read Online Everybody Had A Gun by Richard Prather - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Richard Prather
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that angle for me. The door had probably locked, but even if I didn't have to shoot off the lock, I didn't like the idea of stepping into that darkness.
I snapped at Iris, "Baby, I've been confused long enough. What the hell is this all about?"
"Sader will kill us," she said. "He wants to kill us."
This gal was stuck on that line. I told her, "You said that beforeâand I was already convinced. Now, why?"
"He shot that man in the paper-that Lobo."
I opened my mouth to ask her what that had to do with us, and then I noticed the light over the door on my left blink out.
Chapter Seven
"COME ON!" I grabbed Iris by the arm and ran with her back out the door I'd first come in. I shut it quietly behind us and we were in darkness. I left her for a moment, stepped to the dumb-waiter, and threw the doors wide open. At least Iris could get out of the way.
Sure. Next week, maybe. My groping hand found a mess of space and a rope. Cookie or the boss had retrieved their property.
It had been five or ten seconds since the light winked out. I stepped back to Iris and grabbed her arm with my left hand. This whole party was making a little more sense now, and whoever the visitors were, I was pretty sure they weren't going to kiss us. If I remembered the setup of the club, we were now almost at the opposite side from the elevator, with the main room straight ahead through some draperies.
"Iris," I whispered, "where's the entrance from here into the club?"
She didn't answer, but pulled me by my left hand through the darkness. I hoped she knew what she was doing; I'd have hated kicking a gong around right now.
She stopped, and when I put my hand out I could feel the drapes I remembered. I pulled at them and looked through the opening in the middle.
Over at the right of the darkened club, the electrically operated door of the elevator was about half open, light spilling out of it from its one dim bulb, shining part way across the main room of the Pit. We couldn't stay where we were. I grabbed Iris by the hand and slipped through the curtains and into the room as guys started coming out of the elevator.
I didn't have to tell Iris to be quiet; we could both see the men on our right in the light from the elevator, even though they couldn't see usâyet Four guys came out, and four guns were in their respective fists.
What I wanted to doâthe only thing I could think of doing nowâwas to get to the far side of the club and around to the far side of the elevator while the four guys were going to our right. I put my mouth up to Iris' ear and said, so softly she must have had to strain to hear me, "Get to the far wall of the club. Can you lead the way without banging anything?"
She squeezed my hand, moved out in front, and started pulling me after her. The faint light from the elevator didn't reach this far across the room, and I could have banged into a table or chair before I ever saw it. I hoped Iris knew her way around well enough to get us across. There was carpeting under our feet, so we moved soundlessly enough as long as we didn't bang anything, and we might be O.K. if nobody found a big light switch.
I figured if we could get around the club and to the elevator before the four guys finishedâDamn! There were five guys.
The fifth one came out of the elevator and stepped around to his left and stopped right on the fringe of the light that had outlined him. I didn't see a gun in his hand, but it wasn't tough to imagine one.
Iris slowed up and pressed my hand and I yanked my head around from where I'd been staring to my right and looked at her almost indistinguishable outline ahead of me. Then she moved slowly to her left and I followed. I put out my hand and it brushed against a cloth-covered table. Then she started moving faster, making time till we reached the far side of the club.
I got my mouth up against her ear again and said, "Take a right now, honey. Keep it going. Those boys won't be in Sader's office
I snapped at Iris, "Baby, I've been confused long enough. What the hell is this all about?"
"Sader will kill us," she said. "He wants to kill us."
This gal was stuck on that line. I told her, "You said that beforeâand I was already convinced. Now, why?"
"He shot that man in the paper-that Lobo."
I opened my mouth to ask her what that had to do with us, and then I noticed the light over the door on my left blink out.
Chapter Seven
"COME ON!" I grabbed Iris by the arm and ran with her back out the door I'd first come in. I shut it quietly behind us and we were in darkness. I left her for a moment, stepped to the dumb-waiter, and threw the doors wide open. At least Iris could get out of the way.
Sure. Next week, maybe. My groping hand found a mess of space and a rope. Cookie or the boss had retrieved their property.
It had been five or ten seconds since the light winked out. I stepped back to Iris and grabbed her arm with my left hand. This whole party was making a little more sense now, and whoever the visitors were, I was pretty sure they weren't going to kiss us. If I remembered the setup of the club, we were now almost at the opposite side from the elevator, with the main room straight ahead through some draperies.
"Iris," I whispered, "where's the entrance from here into the club?"
She didn't answer, but pulled me by my left hand through the darkness. I hoped she knew what she was doing; I'd have hated kicking a gong around right now.
She stopped, and when I put my hand out I could feel the drapes I remembered. I pulled at them and looked through the opening in the middle.
Over at the right of the darkened club, the electrically operated door of the elevator was about half open, light spilling out of it from its one dim bulb, shining part way across the main room of the Pit. We couldn't stay where we were. I grabbed Iris by the hand and slipped through the curtains and into the room as guys started coming out of the elevator.
I didn't have to tell Iris to be quiet; we could both see the men on our right in the light from the elevator, even though they couldn't see usâyet Four guys came out, and four guns were in their respective fists.
What I wanted to doâthe only thing I could think of doing nowâwas to get to the far side of the club and around to the far side of the elevator while the four guys were going to our right. I put my mouth up to Iris' ear and said, so softly she must have had to strain to hear me, "Get to the far wall of the club. Can you lead the way without banging anything?"
She squeezed my hand, moved out in front, and started pulling me after her. The faint light from the elevator didn't reach this far across the room, and I could have banged into a table or chair before I ever saw it. I hoped Iris knew her way around well enough to get us across. There was carpeting under our feet, so we moved soundlessly enough as long as we didn't bang anything, and we might be O.K. if nobody found a big light switch.
I figured if we could get around the club and to the elevator before the four guys finishedâDamn! There were five guys.
The fifth one came out of the elevator and stepped around to his left and stopped right on the fringe of the light that had outlined him. I didn't see a gun in his hand, but it wasn't tough to imagine one.
Iris slowed up and pressed my hand and I yanked my head around from where I'd been staring to my right and looked at her almost indistinguishable outline ahead of me. Then she moved slowly to her left and I followed. I put out my hand and it brushed against a cloth-covered table. Then she started moving faster, making time till we reached the far side of the club.
I got my mouth up against her ear again and said, "Take a right now, honey. Keep it going. Those boys won't be in Sader's office
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