Read Online The Widening Gyre by Robert B. Parker - Free Book Online Page B

finished a cup I brought with me.“
    Vinnie nodded. ”Ed, go get us two coffees,“ Vinnie said. ”Both black.“
    ”Hey, Vinnie,“ Ed said. ”I ain’t no errand boy.“
    Vinnie turned his head and looked at him. Ed’s septum had been deviated enough so he had trouble breathing through it. I could hear the faint whistle it made.
    ”Two black,“ Ed said.
    ”Large,“ I said.
    ”Two large,“ Vinnie said.
    Ed nodded and went out.
    ”Slipping punches wasn’t his long suit,“ I said. ”You still with Broz?“
    Vinnie nodded.
    ”Joe send you over?“ I said.
    Vinnie shook his head.
    I leaned back in my chair and waited.
    ”You been in Springfield?“ Vinnie said.
    I nodded.
    ”You been making a pain in the balls of yourself in Springfield?“
    ”It’s the least I can do,“ I said. ”Spread it around.“
    Vinnie nodded patiently. ”Want to tell me what you been doing out there?“
    ”No.“
    ”It’s one of the reasons I like you, Spenser. I can always count on you to be a hard-on. Really consistent, you know. A hard-on every time.“
    ”Well, if I ever fail you, Vinnie, it won’t be for lack of trying.“
    Vinnie grinned. There wasn’t a lot of warmth in the grin, but it seemed real enough. It was probably as warm as Vinnie could get.
    Ed came back in with the coffee in a paper sack. He’d bought one for himself. I wondered if that was considered exceeding orders. Rebellious bastard.
    ”Thanks, Ed,“ I said when he put mine on the desk. I took the cover off and put it into the wastebasket, then I reached over and took Vinnie’s cover and dropped it into the wastebasket. I sipped some. First sip of the day’s last cup. Coffee got me sort of jumpy lately. Time to cut back. Man of iron will, no problem. I’d begin cutting back today.
    Ed tore a little half circle out of the cover of his coffee. He put the torn-out piece back into the empty bag and put the bag on the corner of my desk. I took it and put it into the trash. Neat work space, orderly mind. I drank the second sip of my last cup of the day. Ed slurped some of his coffee through the hole he’d torn in the cover.
    Vinnie said, ”You went and talked with Louis Nolan. You told him that I sent you. How come?“
    ”I wanted to see if he was connected to you and Joe.“
    ”And?“
    I shrugged. ”And he is. He jumped up and lapped my face when I mentioned your name. Offered me some fruit.“ I sipped more coffee and smiled at him. ”And here you are.“
    ”You know more than that,“ Vinnie said. ”You know he put those two stumblebums to work on my job.“
    ”Yes,“ I said. ”I do know that.“
    ”So, what do you make of it?“
    ”You wanted Alexander’s attention,“ I said. ”You wanted to remind him of the kind of folks he was dealing with. So you had Louis hire a couple of local biceps to lean on anyone at all in Alexander’s campaign. Couple of college kids were easy, and the two stiffs went for them.“
    Vinnie looked at me for a long minute. Without moving his eyes he said, ”Ed, wait in the corridor.“
    Ed turned and went out and closed the door behind him. Vinnie got up and moved his chair around so he was sitting beside me.
    ”What do you figure we want from Alexander?“ he said. His voice was soft. Ed couldn’t hear it if his ear were flat to the door.
    ”I figure you want him to lose.“
    ”Because?“
    ”Because you have a piece of Robert Browne and you and Joe like only sure things.“
    Vinnie nodded thoughtfully. I drank a bit more coffee. Two cups a day was plenty.
    ”You’re still good,“ Vinnie said. ”You always been good, and you haven’t slipped any.“
    ”Kind of you to say, Vinnie.“
    ”How’d you make the connection?“
    ”Saw you in the background of a Browne campaign picture.“
    ”What made you look?“ Vinnie said.
    ”Somebody interferes with Alexander’s campaign,“ I said. ”Browne’s a logical suspect. I just started looking at everything I could find on him.“
    Vinnie drank