Read Online So Nude, So Dead by Ed McBain - Free Book Online

glass.
    “Who were these men in her life?” Ray asked.
    Babs straightened, took a pull at her drink, sighed deeply. “Well, there’s Charlie Massine. Ever hear of him?”
    “No.”
    “She saw him just about every day. He’s the drummer on Kramer’s band. Pretty good, too.”
    “Was she—”
    “Who knows? Knowing Charlie, I wouldn’t doubt it for a moment.”
    “Who else?” Ray asked.
    “Tony Sanders.”
    The name rang a familiar bell in his head. “The playboy?”
    “The very same. He’s been slumming with Eileen for quite some time now.”
    “And Kramer knew about all this?”
    “Sure.” She took another swallow. “And then there’s Scat Lewis, a very nice guy. I wouldn’t be surprised, though—”
    “Your opinion of Eileen isn’t a very high one, is it?”
    “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t disapprove at all. I’m merely trying to give you a good picture of the situation.” She paused and eyed Ray steadily. “After all, she wasn’t a particularly discriminating person. The hophead who killed her—”
    “We’re not sure of that yet,” he snapped.
    “Well, at any rate, he was a pickup. And she had no scruples as far as he was concerned.” She saw the look on his face and smiled. “You still don’t understand, policeman. I’m not very moral, either.”
    He stood up. “Well—”
    “Leaving so soon?” She rose with him, put one hand on his arm.
    He thought of the pickup again, of Eileen’s hotel room, of the heroin. He fought the desire that was climbing up into his throat, the need for the drug.
    She moved close to him, leaning backward slightly.
    “Let’s dance some more, policeman.”
    “Why?” he asked.
    Her eyes met his, held them in a solid grip. Her fingers tightened on his arms.
    “Because I like the way you tremble when you dance.”
    “Trem—” He realized then that she’d mistaken his need for the drug as—
    “Yes,” she said softly. Her hands moved up behind his neck. “You tremble beautifully.”
    He found her lips against his, warm and moist. She dropped her hands to the small of his back, pulled him forward.
    But he wasn’t with it. He wasn’t with it, and he knew he wouldn’t be with it unless he could get a fix. Or unless he knew there would be a fix waiting when this was all over.
    “Look,” he said, moving his mouth away from hers. Her eyes had become smoky, and her heavy lashes almost touched now. She stared up at him in confusion. “This is no good,” he said softly.
    She tried to move close again, but he held her away. How many times, he wondered, had he left Jeannie while he’d gone in search of a needle? Poor kid, what he’d put her through.
    He shook his head. “It’s just no good,” he said.
    Her voice was husky when she answered. “I thought it was pretty damn good, myself.”
    “I mean—” he fumbled for an excuse. “I’ve got to be back at the station in ten minutes.”
    “Oh!” She smiled and moved up against him again. “For a minute there, I thought I was slipping.”
    She brought his mouth down against hers and her lips moved expertly. And then she pulled away, held him at arm’s length, and looked up into his eyes.
    “I just wanted to make sure you’d be back, policeman.” She turned him around and started him for the door.
    “Now go punch your clock.”

Chapter Six
    Massine, Alfonso
    Massine, Alfred
    Massine, Bartholomew
    Massine, Carol
    Massine, Charles
    He fumbled in his jacket pocket for a pencil, annoyed when he could find none. He glanced over toward the drug counter, saw that the clerk was busy, and hastily ripped the page from the phone book. He left the drugstore, paused outside to look at the address again. He folded the page and stuffed it into his side pocket. The large clock outside the jeweler’s across the street said six-eighteen.
    * * *
    Ray knocked on the door and waited.
    He was getting nervous again. He didn’t like this kind of work. It made him sweat. And he didn’t like the idea of