Ellroy, James L.A. 01 The Black Dahlia

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.I wired back, saying I had to be in Dago tomorrow afternoon, and I'd pick her up.Then I picked her up, and she begged me to drive her up to LA.I said--"Millard held up a hand."Did Betty say why she had to get to LA?""No."Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html"Did she say she was meeting somebody?""No.""You agreed to do it because you thought she'd put out for you?"Manley sighed."Yes.""Go ahead, son.""I took Betty with me on my rounds that day.She stayed in the car while I called on customers.I had some calls in Oceanside the next morning, so we spent the night in a motel there, and--""Let's have the name of the place again, son.""It was called the Cornucopia Motor Lodge.""And Betty CT'd you again that night?""She.she said she had her period.""And you fell for that old chestnut?""Yes.""Did it make you mad?""Goddamn it, I didn't kill her!""Sssh.You slept in the chair and Betty slept on the bed, right?""Right.""And in the morning?""In the morning we drove up to LA.Betty went with me on my rounds and tried to float me for a five-spot, but I turned her down.Then she handed me a cock-and-bull story about meeting her sister in front of the Biltmore Hotel.I wanted to get rid of her, so I dropped her in front of the Biltmore that night, right around five o'clock.And I never saw her again, except for all that Dahlia stuff in the papers."Millard said, "That was five o'clock, Friday, January tenth when you last saw her?"Manley nodded.Millard looked straight at the glass, adjusted the knot of his necktie, then stepped outside.In the corridor, officers swarmed him, hurling questions.Harry Sears slipped into the room; next to me a familiar voice rose above the commotion."Now you'll see why Russ keeps Harry around."It was Lee, grinning a shit-eating grin, looking like a million tax-free dollars.I cuffed him around the neck."Welcome back to earth."Lee cuffed me back."It's your fault I look this good.Right after you left, Kay slipped me a Mickey Finn, some stuff she got at the drugstore.I slept seventeen hours, got up and ate like a horse."Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html"Your own goddamn fault for bankrolling her chemistry classes.What do you think of Red?""A pussy hound at worst, a divorced pussy hound by the end of the week.You agree?""In spades.""You get anything yesterday?"Seeing my best friend looking like a new man made it easy to twist the truth."You read my FI report?""Yeah, at University.Good work on the juvie warrant.You get anything else?"I lied flat-out, a trim sharkskin figure dancing in the back of my head."No.You?"Staring through the one-way, Lee said, "No, but what I said about getting the bastard still goes.Jesus, look at Harry."I did.The mild-mannered stutterer was circling the interrogation room table, twirling a metal-studded sap, whacking it hard into the tabletop each time he circuited."Ka-thack's" filled the speaker; Red Manley, arms wrapped around his chest, quivered as each blow reverberated.Lee nudged me."Russ has got one rule--no actual hitting.But watch how--"I shrugged off Lee's hand and stared through the one-way.Sears was tapping the sap on the table a few inches in front of Manley, his stutterless voice dripping cold rage."You wanted some fresh gash, and you thought Betty was easy.You came on strong, and that didn't work, so you begged.That didn't work, so you offered her money.She told you she was on the rag, and that was the final straw.You wanted to make her bleed for real.Tell me how you sliced her titties.Tell me--"Manley screamed, "No!" Sears smashed the sap into the ashtray, the glass cracked, butts flew off the table.Red bit his lip; blood spurted out, then dribbled down his chin.Sears sapped the pile of broken glass; shards exploded all over the room.Manley whimpered, "No no no no no"; Sears hissed, "You knew what you wanted to do [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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