Read Online The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes by Raymond Benson - Free Book Online
Authors: Raymond Benson
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twenties, like me, maybe even younger.
F EBRUARY 12, 1960
Freddieâs home! Yea!
Jimmy and I were planning a welcome home party for him, but Freddie specifically told me not to do it. Now that I think about it, he was right. We donât want Freddie to get too excited. Heâs got to stay calm and relaxed for a while, at least another month, before he can resume work. Freddie hates the way his diet has to change and he has to quit smoking. So far, heâs doing pretty well, though. Unless he was sneaking cigarettes into the hospital, he went six weeks without one. The challenge comes when heâs around other people smoking, and at the gym itâs going to be tough. Thereâs no way we could ban smoking in the gym. Everyone would just go somewhere else.
I have the details about what Freddie can or canât eat, so I sautéed some fresh fish I bought on Canal Streetâfrom a Chinese fish marketâand potatoes and carrots. I also gave him that record âTheme from a Summer Placeâ by Percy Faith that everyone loves. When he was in the hospital, he heard it on the radio and liked it. Lately, Iâve been listening to this wild âexoticaâ music from Polynesia and Hawaii. Once, when I was over at Lucyâs, Peter was there and he played a record called
Les Baxterâs Jungle Jazz
. It was strange but beautiful, so I bought it. Then the salesman at the Colony store on Broadway told me about Martin Denny, so I bought his
Quiet Village
record, and I
love
it. I like the way you can hear birds and crickets and stuff in the background. Makes me feel like Iâm on some island wearing a grass skirt.
Anyway, itâs good to have Freddie back.
F EBRUARY 18, 1960
Today Lucy and I went shopping to look for a wedding dress for her and a bridesmaid dress for me. We went to fancy Fifth Avenue shops, and she said she was buying. I offered to pay for my own dress, but she wouldnât have it.
She didnât like anything we saw, so we went over to Macyâs. Lucy ended up getting a beautiful white Casablanca gown thatâs curve-hugging and tight to emphasize her hourglass figure.
Mine is similar, but not as flowy, and itâs pink. I love it! I rarely dress up in formal gowns. I felt like a princess!
F EBRUARY 26, 1960
Billy and I had a scare tonight!
We were drilling with the âIron Palmâ and âIron Armâ conditioning exercises where we hit each otherâs palm with a fist, back and forth, over and over and over until your palm is numb, and then slap our forearms against each other on both sides, simulating a blocking maneuver, over and over and over. Ouch. Well, we were in the middle of it when the restaurant door started to open with keys rattling in the door.
âMy mother! Hide!â Billy whispered.
The only place to do so was behind the counter where the cash register was. I started for it, but Billy snapped, âNot there!â So I rushed over to where tables and chairs were pushed against the opposite wall. The door was opening just as I was climbing behind a table that was on its side, the top facing outward. She didnât see me.I stayed still and quiet as I heard Billy talking to his mother in Chinese. Then she went to the cash register counter and got something out of a drawer. More dialogue in Chinese, and then she left.
Close call!
Billy said she wondered what he was doing. He replied that he comes down to practice
wushu
every night. She needed a ledger or something from the drawer. Apparently the Flying Dragons want more and more records of the restaurantâs business. She will be forced to hand over the place soon, but theyâve given her a couple of months to come up with the money her husband owed. Billy is afraid theyâll have to move because they wonât be able to afford the apartment upstairs.
I told him I wanted to start hunting for the killers, but Billy said Iâm not ready yet. Iâm nowhere near
F EBRUARY 12, 1960
Freddieâs home! Yea!
Jimmy and I were planning a welcome home party for him, but Freddie specifically told me not to do it. Now that I think about it, he was right. We donât want Freddie to get too excited. Heâs got to stay calm and relaxed for a while, at least another month, before he can resume work. Freddie hates the way his diet has to change and he has to quit smoking. So far, heâs doing pretty well, though. Unless he was sneaking cigarettes into the hospital, he went six weeks without one. The challenge comes when heâs around other people smoking, and at the gym itâs going to be tough. Thereâs no way we could ban smoking in the gym. Everyone would just go somewhere else.
I have the details about what Freddie can or canât eat, so I sautéed some fresh fish I bought on Canal Streetâfrom a Chinese fish marketâand potatoes and carrots. I also gave him that record âTheme from a Summer Placeâ by Percy Faith that everyone loves. When he was in the hospital, he heard it on the radio and liked it. Lately, Iâve been listening to this wild âexoticaâ music from Polynesia and Hawaii. Once, when I was over at Lucyâs, Peter was there and he played a record called
Les Baxterâs Jungle Jazz
. It was strange but beautiful, so I bought it. Then the salesman at the Colony store on Broadway told me about Martin Denny, so I bought his
Quiet Village
record, and I
love
it. I like the way you can hear birds and crickets and stuff in the background. Makes me feel like Iâm on some island wearing a grass skirt.
Anyway, itâs good to have Freddie back.
F EBRUARY 18, 1960
Today Lucy and I went shopping to look for a wedding dress for her and a bridesmaid dress for me. We went to fancy Fifth Avenue shops, and she said she was buying. I offered to pay for my own dress, but she wouldnât have it.
She didnât like anything we saw, so we went over to Macyâs. Lucy ended up getting a beautiful white Casablanca gown thatâs curve-hugging and tight to emphasize her hourglass figure.
Mine is similar, but not as flowy, and itâs pink. I love it! I rarely dress up in formal gowns. I felt like a princess!
F EBRUARY 26, 1960
Billy and I had a scare tonight!
We were drilling with the âIron Palmâ and âIron Armâ conditioning exercises where we hit each otherâs palm with a fist, back and forth, over and over and over until your palm is numb, and then slap our forearms against each other on both sides, simulating a blocking maneuver, over and over and over. Ouch. Well, we were in the middle of it when the restaurant door started to open with keys rattling in the door.
âMy mother! Hide!â Billy whispered.
The only place to do so was behind the counter where the cash register was. I started for it, but Billy snapped, âNot there!â So I rushed over to where tables and chairs were pushed against the opposite wall. The door was opening just as I was climbing behind a table that was on its side, the top facing outward. She didnât see me.I stayed still and quiet as I heard Billy talking to his mother in Chinese. Then she went to the cash register counter and got something out of a drawer. More dialogue in Chinese, and then she left.
Close call!
Billy said she wondered what he was doing. He replied that he comes down to practice
wushu
every night. She needed a ledger or something from the drawer. Apparently the Flying Dragons want more and more records of the restaurantâs business. She will be forced to hand over the place soon, but theyâve given her a couple of months to come up with the money her husband owed. Billy is afraid theyâll have to move because they wonât be able to afford the apartment upstairs.
I told him I wanted to start hunting for the killers, but Billy said Iâm not ready yet. Iâm nowhere near
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