The Best American Mystery Stories 1998
- Автор: Ballard David, Bartels Scott
- Год: 1998
- Язык: английский
- Год: Houghton Mifflin
- ISBN: 978-0-395-83586-9
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «The Best American Mystery Stories 1998». Краткое содержание книги:
The diverse styles and themes employed in this collection showcase an impressive array of talent certain to further the popularity of the genre. Already a bestseller in its first year, The Best American Mystery Stories, as evidenced by this year’s edition, promises to keep readers intrigued and coming back for more.
As if to punctuate his introduction, he produced a long, rusty fish-hook from inside his sleeve after Harrison refused the handshake, and began teasing at lacerations in his palm with it.
Harrison swallowed. This definitely was not developing well. “What did I tell you, Mr. Corillian, we would find our Sport out here playing games. What sort of games do you like to play, Mr. Harrison? I’ll bet Hide-and-Seek is one of your favorite games.”
Harrison’s legs felt like bee hives. He looked over hopefully at Lex, still wagging his tail and waiting for someone to throw the Frisbee. No help there.
Harrison swallowed his initial panic and continued to pace his breathing, gaining control. He could take charge of this situation, with the right approach. He had done it a thousand times before, with a reluctant witness on the stand, or a suspicious client unsure of legal procedure. It was just a matter of setting the tone, controlling the conversation, directing the course of negotiations, and maintaining superiority over these opponents.
“I take it,” Harrison opened, “that you two are here representing the interests of Mr. Shaw.”
“You take it very well,” said Fish-Hook, who then savagely punched Harrison in the stomach.
Harrison’s grip on the carriage handle withered as he folded over and sucked wind. Lex whined in confusion and dropped the Frisbee, but he kept wagging his tail, ready to resume play.
“I don’t have the sixteen thousand,” Harrison managed after a moment with his hands on his knees. “Look, I expect to get at least ten times that much in my divorce settlement. It’s just that the papers haven’t come through yet.”
Fish-Hook arched one eyebrow and glanced down at Mr. Corillian, who shook his head.
“This is very bad, Mr. Harrison,” Fish-Hook said, “but such is not our concern. You will have to talk to our employer.”
“But I can’t—”
Harrison stopped as he noticed for the first time another figure walking up the park path. The man was huge.
Where Mr. Corillian was thick and massive, this man was all fat. His face was pink and completely hairless, with splashes of red stinging his cheeks. His gray eyes were intelligent and playful, and his blubbery smile was impish. A hearing aid was virtually lost in the expansive folds of one ear, and his face ended in an abundance of chins overlapping like snow drifts into his buttoned overcoat. He waddled as he walked, with his right hand poised out in front of him, as if he were carrying a phantom cane.
When the fat man spoke, his voice was gruff, but friendly. “Mr. Harrison. We had an agreement. I am somewhat disappointed.”
“Look, I thought I would have the sixteen thousand this morning, but I know I will have it for sure by Friday. You just have to give me a little more time.”
“Ahhh, Mr. Harrison, it appears you fail to grasp an essential truth here. By Friday, the amount you owe will no longer be $16,000. It will be $128,000. Compound interest, my friend. Compound interest.” At this he began to chuckle, a throaty, rumbling laugh that rocked his whole body. “Someone once asked Albert Einstein what he believed to be the most powerful force in the universe, and do you know what he responded? ‘Compound interest.’ In your case, my friend, it may also prove to be the most destructive.”
The fat man then bent down toward Lex and picked up the Frisbee. Lex sprang up in anticipation.
“A beautiful animal you have here, Sir. I have always loved a good sporting dog. You love sports, do you not, Mr. Harrison?”
The fat man then swung his arm forward to throw, but the Frisbee merely fluttered to the ground as soon as it left his hand. Lex scooped it up anyway, and brought it back.
“I propose a solution to our dilemma,” the fat man said, with a twinkle in his eye. “I am prepared to forgive your debt and wager you $100,000.” From within his broad overcoat, the fat man withdrew five thick stacks of cash, tightly banded, with hundred dollar bills visible under the rubber bands. He tossed all five stacks into the baby carriage.
At the sight of the money, Harrison tasted warm silver in his mouth. “What’s the bet?”
The fat man chuckled, as he picked up the Frisbee again. “Oh, that is very good, Mr. Harrison. I see you are interested. Very good, indeed. I have been watching you throw this device to your beautiful animal. How graceful he is. He is in his element here, is he not? This is what they were bred to do, and I see you have treated him well.”
The fat man looked Harrison directly in the eyes, his pupils like pinpricks. “I am prepared to wager $100,000 on whether this beautiful dog can catch this saucer eight times in a row.”
Harrison flinched only slightly, assuring himself that he heard the fat man correctly. “He could catch that thing a hundred times in a row!”
“Very well, then! Let’s make it a hundred—”
“No!… no,” interrupted Harrison. “Eight is good. I’m sure he can manage eight.”
“Very good, Sir. Eight times in a row, throwing from this walkway. Let’s say the throws have to go as far as that trash can. That’s approximately fifty yards. Does that seem fair to you?”
Harrison chewed on his thumbnail and considered it. The further the better, actually.
“All he has to do is catch it, right?”
“That is correct. Eight times in a row, without letting the saucer touch the ground. You win two thousand dollars per catch, and you can stop at any time.”
“And if he drops it?”
“Well, then,” the fat man began, and he reached into the baby carriage and softly stroked Adam’s tiny exposed hand. “How exactly did Rumpelstiltskin phrase it? ‘Living things are more important to me than all the treasures in the world.’”
Harrison’s stomach lurched — it felt worse than the punch FishHook had given him. He grabbed the carriage handle and wrenched it away from the fat man. “You’re crazy!”
“Perhaps, for as you say, your lovely animal could catch many more throws than that on which I am prepared to wager.”
“Pick something else! I’m not betting on my son’s life!”
“Now, Mr. Harrison, you are committed to nothing. If at any point during the wager you wish to quit, you simply pocket your cash and walk away. At which point my associates will take it from you and remove one of your eyes as collateral for the balance owed. I do not believe you will enjoy their method.”
Harrison’s mouth went dry.
“Hang on a second,” rasped Harrison. He looked again at the trash can. “Say I accepted your wager. What’s to keep me from just running away with Adam if I lose? There are houses all around here. If I scream loud enough that my son is being kidnapped, someone should come out.”
The fat man smiled, a cold eel grin that showed no teeth. “That is true, Mr. Harrison, you could. We do not have to claim such a fine prize tonight. We have many means at our disposal. For example, please gaze at what Mr. Corillian is holding.”
Harrison had not even seen the silent hulk move. In a hand as broad as a tablet, Mr. Corillian held a laminated security card from the Little Treasures Day Care Center, with Adam’s picture on it, the I.D. needed to enter the Center’s front door.
My God, thought Harrison. They only give those cards to parents!
“How the hell did you get—”
Mr. Corillian snapped his hand shut and tucked the card into his coat pocket.
“So you see, Mr. Harrison,” chortled the fat man, “we have our means. This is only one potential avenue of collection. We are very resourceful, would you not agree?”
Harrison looked over at Lex, still wagging his tail, still full of energy. They had been playing only five minutes, and Lex looked like he could go another fifteen. The trash can wasn’t that far. Lex had done this a million times.