Read Online Girl on a Slay Ride by Louis Trimble - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Louis Trimble
Ads: Link
was something offbeat—the way you and the girl looked. Furtive is, I believe, the word I want. Naturally I had your car examined. The camping equipment gave me an idea. I acted on it.”
“So you trailed us to the motel?”
“Yes, but carefully. I didn’t want to alarm you.” Graef smiled. “But apparently my second examination of your car did just that. You almost escaped from me. And I do need you, as I explained.”
“You’ll never get away with it,” Mallory said. “The F.B.I. as well as the police are looking for you by now.”
“Not for me,” Graef corrected him. “For Blalock. Nick and I wore masks when we gassed those sheriffs. And the police know very little about me. When I decided to get the money, Nick and I took a trip. Not even our friends will wonder at our being gone, you see.”
“Where are you from?” Mallory asked.
“Kansas City,” Graef said promptly enough. “I was in racing—I laid off bets on the horses. And, as a gambler, I’d naturally heard of Rick Lawton, although I never met him.”
He rose abruptly. “Now let’s buy the extra camping equipment Nick and I will need.” He paused and stared from his cold, muddy eyes at Mallory.
“Don’t try anything, Mallory. Just remember that nothing you say or do is going to stop me from getting that hundred thousand dollars. We killed one man already. By accident, it’s true, but in the eyes of the law Nick and I are as guilty of murder as if I’d planned it that way.”
His voice became flat and dead. “So one or two or a dozen more killings mean nothing to us now.”
Chapter IX
G RAEF questioned each piece of camping equipment Mallory bought. As if, Mallory thought, he suspected it might be used against him. In the end Graef agreed to purchase four sleeping bags with air mattresses, extra dishes and cutlery, and additional groceries.
Mallory carried the equipment to the wagon. His own helplessness filled him with a kind of impotent anger. He finished stowing the gear and got behind the wheel. He did not glance at Denise but started the motor as soon as Graef took his seat.
Mallory drove to the highway and turned north. He drove in silence. Graef said lightly, “Mallory’s sulking because he’s helpless.”
Mallory said flatly, “Where do we turn?”
“I’ll tell you when,” Graef said. He opened the sack of food he’d brought from the café. He gave Denise a sandwich and a carton of coffee. He passed the sack back to Thoms. He turned then and stared at the still empty road ahead.
They passed the forest road where Mallory had originally planned to turn into the mountains. He was reminded of the briefcase. He wondered what his boss was going to think when he didn’t appear with the forty thousand dollars. Call the police? Not at once, Mallory thought. But by nightfall he would. And Mallory knew that the first police reaction would be to tab him as a criminal.
He laughed in sudden, sour amusement. He felt Denise turn and stare in surprise at him. He glanced down and saw that she had not touched her food. The carton of coffee and the sandwich still rested in her lap. Her fingers squeezed nervously on the carton, denting its rounded cardboard sides.
Mallory thought about that coffee, and he felt the first stirrings of an idea.
But he would have to be careful, he knew. So far Graef had outmaneuvered him easily. Mallory took his hands from the wheel one at a time. He wiped nervous sweat from his palms. He caught Graefs smile at his telltale movements. It mocked Mallory.
A speed-zone sign showed ahead. Mallory kept the wagon at its same pace.
Graef said, “Don’t try to get arrested for speeding, Mallory. It won’t help anybody—especially Mrs. Lawton.”
Mallory felt Denise stiffen beside him. He dropped his speed to twenty-five.
He drove the wagon carefully through the small town of Forks. Its streets were filled with Saturday shoppers. Mallory saw a sheriff’s car parked at the curb. The uniformed man
“So you trailed us to the motel?”
“Yes, but carefully. I didn’t want to alarm you.” Graef smiled. “But apparently my second examination of your car did just that. You almost escaped from me. And I do need you, as I explained.”
“You’ll never get away with it,” Mallory said. “The F.B.I. as well as the police are looking for you by now.”
“Not for me,” Graef corrected him. “For Blalock. Nick and I wore masks when we gassed those sheriffs. And the police know very little about me. When I decided to get the money, Nick and I took a trip. Not even our friends will wonder at our being gone, you see.”
“Where are you from?” Mallory asked.
“Kansas City,” Graef said promptly enough. “I was in racing—I laid off bets on the horses. And, as a gambler, I’d naturally heard of Rick Lawton, although I never met him.”
He rose abruptly. “Now let’s buy the extra camping equipment Nick and I will need.” He paused and stared from his cold, muddy eyes at Mallory.
“Don’t try anything, Mallory. Just remember that nothing you say or do is going to stop me from getting that hundred thousand dollars. We killed one man already. By accident, it’s true, but in the eyes of the law Nick and I are as guilty of murder as if I’d planned it that way.”
His voice became flat and dead. “So one or two or a dozen more killings mean nothing to us now.”
Chapter IX
G RAEF questioned each piece of camping equipment Mallory bought. As if, Mallory thought, he suspected it might be used against him. In the end Graef agreed to purchase four sleeping bags with air mattresses, extra dishes and cutlery, and additional groceries.
Mallory carried the equipment to the wagon. His own helplessness filled him with a kind of impotent anger. He finished stowing the gear and got behind the wheel. He did not glance at Denise but started the motor as soon as Graef took his seat.
Mallory drove to the highway and turned north. He drove in silence. Graef said lightly, “Mallory’s sulking because he’s helpless.”
Mallory said flatly, “Where do we turn?”
“I’ll tell you when,” Graef said. He opened the sack of food he’d brought from the café. He gave Denise a sandwich and a carton of coffee. He passed the sack back to Thoms. He turned then and stared at the still empty road ahead.
They passed the forest road where Mallory had originally planned to turn into the mountains. He was reminded of the briefcase. He wondered what his boss was going to think when he didn’t appear with the forty thousand dollars. Call the police? Not at once, Mallory thought. But by nightfall he would. And Mallory knew that the first police reaction would be to tab him as a criminal.
He laughed in sudden, sour amusement. He felt Denise turn and stare in surprise at him. He glanced down and saw that she had not touched her food. The carton of coffee and the sandwich still rested in her lap. Her fingers squeezed nervously on the carton, denting its rounded cardboard sides.
Mallory thought about that coffee, and he felt the first stirrings of an idea.
But he would have to be careful, he knew. So far Graef had outmaneuvered him easily. Mallory took his hands from the wheel one at a time. He wiped nervous sweat from his palms. He caught Graefs smile at his telltale movements. It mocked Mallory.
A speed-zone sign showed ahead. Mallory kept the wagon at its same pace.
Graef said, “Don’t try to get arrested for speeding, Mallory. It won’t help anybody—especially Mrs. Lawton.”
Mallory felt Denise stiffen beside him. He dropped his speed to twenty-five.
He drove the wagon carefully through the small town of Forks. Its streets were filled with Saturday shoppers. Mallory saw a sheriff’s car parked at the curb. The uniformed man
Similar Books
