Read Online Yellow Dog Contract by Ross Thomas - Free Book Online Page B

approximately that many. But they’re not all close friends, of course.”
    â€œEight hundred?”
    â€œWhy, yes. How many do you send?”
    â€œLast year I think we sent around nine.”
    â€œNine hundred?” He was impressed.
    â€œNo, just nine cards. We got ten, so we’re still ahead.”
    â€œThey are beautiful cards.”
    â€œRuth does each one individually.”
    â€œThat remarkable woman.”
    â€œYou said you turned up virtually nothing. What does virtually mean?”
    â€œWell, first, of course, there was the possibility of a kidnapping. The union has scads of money now, you know. Not quite like the old days. But there’s been no ransom demand. Then, of course, I totted up Mix’s enemies and, I must say, they’re absolutely legion. He seems to have a most acerbic personality.”
    â€œAny particular enemies? As you say, he has a lot.”
    My uncle shrugged and finished the last swallow of his martini. “Well, there’re at least a dozen governors, fifteen or twenty mayors, and perhaps a couple of dozen city managers to whom he is simply anathema—not to mention a host of county officials. Then, too, there seem to be a couple of hundred dissidents within the union. I’m not talking about the rank and file members, but rather about local and regional officers of varying power and prestige who absolutely loathe him. I don’t think loathe is too strong a word.”
    â€œProbably not,” I said.
    â€œAnd then, of course, there’s Audrey, the woman scorned.”
    â€œWhen did you find out about them?” I said. “It was supposed to be a secret.”
    â€œDear boy, it was common gossip around town at least six months ago. Certain friends of mine even delighted in giving me regular reports about the affair’s progress. It almost got into the papers, in fact, especially after Mix broke it off.”
    â€œWell, Audrey isn’t much of one to sneak around.”
    â€œNo, she isn’t. I’ve often wondered how she ever met him.”
    â€œI introduced them,” I said.
    â€œYou?”
    It took a lot to surprise or startle Slick, but when I saw that I’d succeeded I smiled. “It was a cocktail party,” I said. “One of those fund-raising things that Audrey sometimes gets involved in until she gets bored. I don’t even remember what it was for. Something chic and wholesome. Anyway, Ruth was in town to see her dentist and we called Audrey just to say hello and she insisted that we go to the thing.”
    â€œRuth and you at a cocktail party?” Slick shook his head in mild wonder. I was full of surprises that day.
    â€œIt was the first one we’d been to in three years. Maybe even more. Arch Mix was there and he came over to me, probably to trade insults, and I introduced him to Audrey who was on her best behavior. You know, all wit and sex and charm.”
    Slick nodded. “The woman can be an absolutely fascinating voluptuary when she chooses.”
    â€œHave you ever seen Mix’s wife?”
    He nodded again. “I’ve talked with her several times.”
    â€œI suppose Audrey was on the prowl. She gets like that occasionally. Well, Mix didn’t stand a chance. Not many men would. So that’s how it started.”
    â€œAnd lasted a year?”
    â€œAbout that.”
    â€œAnd how is Audrey?” he said. “I know I’ve already asked that, but what I mean is how does she look to you?”
    I shrugged. “All right. Somebody seems to have her under surveillance of some kind.”
    â€œWhat do you think it is, drugs or Mix?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. I ran one of them off with a rube act that shouldn’t have bothered anyone. He showed me a badge and some ID that said his name was Knaster. James Knaster—with a K. He’s supposed to be a detective. About thirty.”
    Slick stared at me for a