Read Online Half of Paradise by James Lee Burke - Free Book Online Page A

will be read between the advertisements of cure-all drugs and health tonics. J.P. came to be one of their favorite entertainers. They bought his records and wrote him letters, and he replied by sending them an autographed picture of himself and the band. He also received an increase in salary and replaced Seth as the main figure of the show. When the band appeared onstage J.P. acted as the spokesman and did most of the solos. He never used any accompaniment except his own guitar when he sang, his third record sold two hundred thousand copies, and Hunnicut had his name featured on the placards that were nailed to the frontsof the dance halls and roadhouses where they played.
    During the week the show toured the small towns and played one-night performances in any dance hall that was willing to pay three hundred dollars to have a band from the Louisiana Jubilee. Each weekday night J.P. sang his songs in the juke joints and highway clubs, and the days were spent traveling across the country in a state of complete fatigue. The band didn’t quit until early in the morning, and there was little time for sleep except while riding in the bus. When they returned at the end of the week for the Saturday night performance on the Jubilee, J.P. was physically spent. It was at this time that April introduced him to a doctor who pushed narcotics. She had begun to pay attention to J.P. since he had moved to the front of the band, and on Sunday afternoon she called him into her hotel room to meet a man whom he would not forget for a long time.
    “This is Doc Elgin,” she said. “He can give you something to make you feel better.”
    Elgin was a thin sallow man who reminded J.P. of a rodent. His body was wasted and bent, and his hands were like bone. He had an ingratiating smile that made you want to look away, and his body structure seemed so fragile that J.P. thought a suddenblow would cause it to break to pieces like brittle candy.
    “April says you need something to lift you up,” he said.
    “I feel wore out all the time,” J.P. said.
    “It happens to all of us, honey,” April said. “Doc will make you right.”
    “I have something that will help you,” he said. His black bag rested on a chair. He opened it and took out a small cardboard box. He handed it to J.P. “Take one of these whenever you need a push.”
    “This ain’t joy stuff, is it?”
    “It’s Benzedrine.”
    “What’s that?”
    “It won’t harm you.”
    “I don’t want no happy stuff, hear.”
    “This is just a stimulant.”
    J.P. slid the box open and looked at the row of pills on the cotton pad.
    “What do I owe you?” he said.
    “There’s no charge. That’s a sample a drug company sent me.”
    “Ain’t you supposed to have a prescription for this?”
    “No. These are mild. They won’t hurt you.” Elgin turned to April. “I’m going now. Give me a call when you need me.”
    “All right, Doc.”
    “It’s enjoyable meeting you, Mr. Winfield.”
    “Yeah. You bet.”
    Elgin went out. J.P. took one of the pills from the box and filled a glass of water from the pitcher on the dresser. He put the pill in the back of his mouth and drank the water.
    “I reckon I’ll go lay down,” he said.
    “You don’t have to leave.”
    J.P. looked at her. She was standing close to him. She held her face up. He could see she wanted to be kissed. He wondered if he could lay her. He didn’t want to lead up to it and get hot for her and then be rejected. He looked at her black hair and the blunt features of her face.
    “Troy figures you’re his girl,” he said.
    “Troy is an ass. Don’t you like girls?”
    “I ain’t interested in trading valentines.”
    “You’re a big boy.”
    He leaned down and kissed her. She moved her body against him and put her arms around his neck and breathed in his ear. He wanted her badly now. She widened her thighs and pressed her stomach tight against him. He worked his hand up her side and felt her breast.
    “Let’s