Read Online Infinity One by Robert Hoskins (Ed.) - Free Book Online Page B

“He’s got medics and nurses hopping in and out of his pad like he had the Asian crud.”
    “Better him than you,” said Pete, automatically laughing. But he was thinking Maria!
    As soon as he could, he found out where Al Finch was living. When Pete saw a truck from a pet shop deliver a large triple cage of singing birds, he knew his hunch was right. Finch was making book with Maria’s mind-reading ability.
    “Maria,” Pete called in his head. “Maria, answer me! I know you’re there. What you’re doing, reading numbers, is wrong. It’s causing a lot of trouble. It’ll get you in trouble, too.”
    Pete, came Maria’s voice in his head, sweetly, happily.
    Pete, Pm not hungry any more and l have so many pretty birds. And you should see how nice Pa looks now he's got a good job. Pm clean, and my whole room is clean. I've got pretty dresses.
    Her giggle was light and tinkling. Smelly men come and poke me around. They say they want to fix me. They can't, of course. Some of them say it out loud and some tell Al they can. Then they say inside they can't, that Pm a hopeless case. She giggled again as if this amused her.
    “Maria, I won’t say Al isn’t trying to help you and make you happy. But he gets more out of you than you get out of him. He’s using you. You miss getting the numbers through once and he’ll hurt you.”
    Maria’s laugh bubbled up. I don't let myself get hurt. And Al's all right. He thinks the damnedest things sometimes. and Pete felt a strange sense of shock at her language. She giggled naughtily, He says he's my sugar-daddy.
    “Maria, you shouldn’t use such words.”
    Maria’s incredible laugh chimed through his head. Al says it's cute the way I talk. And he really does like me.
    “I’ll bet,” Pete snapped. “Look, Maria, you can have the birds and the good food and a good job for your father but get them from other people. Al Finch is dangerous! He’s got a record for assault, attempted homicide, you name it. I’m afraid he’ll hurt you.”
    He wouldn't dare, Maria replied with complete self-assurance. I'm very important to him, and l know he means it. Do you know I have my own Coke machine?
    “Maria, Maria,” Pete groaned. Oh God, how do 1 explain? How, please, do I have the nerve to try?
    “Maria,” he called again as loud as he could in his mind. “Maria, just promise me one thing. You get scared . . . worried . . . call Wizard or Pirate. Any of the dogs. They’ll protect you. Call the dogs!"
    Wizard barked twice, paused, barked twice again. So did three stray dogs across the street. And a cat walking on a nearby fence meowed in the same sequence.
    Pete tried not to worry. But she was so frail, well-fed or not, she couldn’t have great reserves of energy. Finch might kill her without meaning to. He’d have to find a way to stop it.
    On his day off, following a strong hunch, Pete hung around the betting windows at the Brandywine Raceway. Sure enough, Maria’s father shuffled up to the $10 window, just before the second race. Pete went right to him.
    “You tell Al to be careful with Maria,” he said. “He can use her too much, you know. He could kill her. And the cops’ll tumble to Finch soon enough. They got a lead.”
    “Who’re you?” the little man asked nervously, his face twitching as his red-rimmed eyes slid over Pete’s face. “Fuzz?” He scurried away.
    Pete had had a good look at his face, though, and was able to identify him in the rogue’s gallery as Hector Barres. He had a record: vagrancy, drunk and disorderly, petty larceny. Now that he had been spotted in Al Finch’s company, he was also suspected of numbers running.
    No appeal based on Maria’s frailty would reach Barres. He had right now all he wanted from life. Barres’ thoughts were only for the money'rolling in today. Tomorrow, and Maria’s welfare, were far from his mind.
    Now that he had Maria’s last name, Pete checked hospital records and found her date of birth. Her mother had