Read Hard Case Crime: Honey in His Mouth Online
Authors: Lester Dent
Hard Case Crime: Honey in His Mouth (26 page)
Harsh felt his throat closing up.
“Don’t do this, Vera Sue. Don’t let them do this. You know who I am.”
She stood up. Her voice when she spoke was low and vicious. “Sure, I know who you are. You’re a nasty son of a bitch. How could I forget that?”
Harsh watched Lawyer Arnick take her arm and they walked away together. He was sure he would never see her again.
The cell window through which the intense South American sun poured in had four bars on it. But the figure four did not fit in with anything else. Harsh lay on the bunk and tried to associate the figure four with something, with anything, but without success. The digit did not fit in with anything, it did not fit in with fifty thousand dollars which had burned, nor with sixty-five million, nor did it fit with seven, the number of people involved, Mr. Hassam and Doctor Englaster and Brother and Miss Muirz and
El Presidente
and Vera Sue and himself. Ten persons if you counted D. C. Roebuck and the two house servants at Brother’s place, or twelve if you included the two Highway Patrolmen who had arrested him, thirteen if you threw in the judge down here who had sentenced him to hang. Thirteen was a hot number. He guessed he would have to throw in Attorney Arnick and make it fourteen. There, he finally had something with four in it.
One thing for damn sure, he thought, Mr. Hassam had been wrong. Mr. Hassam had told him that he could never grasp how much sixty-five millions was, could not grasp such magnitude. Well, Hassam had been dead wrong, because Harsh could figure out how much sixty-five millions was. He could do that, all right. If he paid out one dollar for each breath he took, that would be paying out about fifteen dollars a minute, wouldn’t it? He counted his own breathing through what he estimated to be one minute. He timed the minute by counting chimpanzees the way he did in the photographic darkroom, “One chimpanzee, two chimpanzee,” and so on. One minute, fifteen breaths. All the minutes in one hour were sixty, which times fifteen was nine hundred dollars an hour. That times twenty-four for one day, that was how much? Nine hundred times twenty-four was twenty-one thousand and six hundred dollars. That was one day. In dollars. All the days in the year were three hundred and sixty-five if you didn’t screw around with leap year, and this times twenty-one thousand and six hundred dollars per day was still only, what, seven or eight million? He lay back. His breath came and went with such dryness it parched his lips. So sixty-five million was all the breaths you could take in five, six, seven, eight years, with change left over. It was a lot of honey for no one to taste, ever. That was sure.
If he had it, maybe he could use it to buy those eight years. But he didn’t have it, not a penny of it, and he didn’t have any eight years either. Or eight months or eight weeks or eight days. Outside the cell window he heard the stamping feet of the
descamisada,
the shirtless ones. He remembered enough of the Spanish Mr. Hassam had taught him to know they were calling for his blood.
Eight
minutes
—how much would that cost? He counted desperately on his fingers. Hundred twenty dollars. It would take four or five sales calls with his camera to earn that. His camera. He wondered what had become of it.
Eight seconds? Could he even buy eight seconds more of life? It would only cost a dime or so. One thin dime. Surely he had that much on him somewhere!
He was still feeling of his pockets when they came to his cell to collect him.
Don’t Let the Mystery End Here. Try These Other Great Books From
HARD CASE CRIME!
Hard Case Crime brings you gripping, award-winning crime fiction by best-selling authors and the hottest new writers in the field. Find out what you’ve been missing:
by
DOMENIC STANSBERRY
WINNER OF THE EDGAR
®
AWARD!
She was young, beautiful.. and dead!
Jake Danser has it all: a beautiful wife, a house in the California hills, and a high-profile job as a forensic psychologist. But he’s also got a mistress. And when she’s found strangled to death with his necktie, the police show up at his door. Now it’s up to Jake to prove he didn’t do it. But how can he, when all the evidence says he did?
As Jake’s life crumbles around him, he races to find proof of his innocence. And with every step, the noose is tightening...
P
RAISE FOR THE
B
OOKS OF
D
OMENIC
S
TANSBEREY
:
“Fascinating, beautifully written...an enviable achievement.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“A murky, moody slice of noir.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“A compelling and incredibly dark modern noir shocker.”
— Publishers Weekly on
The Confession
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
Shamus Award Winner for Best Original Paperback Novel of the Year
by
RICHARD ALEAS
Three years ago, detective John Blake solved a mystery that changed his life forever—and left a woman he loved dead. Now Blake is back, to investigate the apparent suicide of Dorothy Louise Burke, a beautiful college student with a double life. The secrets Blake uncovers could blow the lid off New York City’s sex trade...if they don’t kill him first.
Richard Aleas’ first novel, LITTLE GIRL LOST, was among the most celebrated crime novels of the year, nominated for both the Edgar and Shamus Awards.
But nothing in John Blake’s first case could prepare you for the shocking conclusion of his second...
R
AVES FOR
SONGS OF INNOCENCE:
“An instant classic.”
— The Washington Post
“The best thing Hard Case is publishing right now.”
— The San Francisco Chronicle
“His powerful conclusion will drop jaws.”
— Publishers Weekly
“So sharp [it’ll] slice your finger as you flip the pages.”
— Playboy
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
Sexy Suspense From an MWA Grandmaster!
The Girl With the
LONG GREEN HEART
by
LAWRENCE BLOCK
SHE WAS EVERY MAN’S DREAM — AND ONE MAN’S NIGHTMARE
Johnny Hayden and Doug Rance had a scheme to take real estate entrepreneur Wallace Gunderman for all he was worth. But they needed a girl on the inside to make it work.
Enter Evelyn Stone: Gunderman’s secretary, his lover—and his worst enemy. Gunderman promised to marry her, but never came through. Now she’s ready to make him pay.
A
CCLAIM
F
OR
LAWRENCE BLOCK:
“The narrative is layered with detail, the action is handled with Block’s distinctive clarity of style and the ending is a stunning tour de force.”
— New York Times
“Block is awfully good, with an ear for dialogue, an eye for lowlife types and a gift for fast and effortless storytelling that bear comparison to Elmore Leonard.”
— Los Angeles Times
“Wonderful.”
— USA Today
“Lawrence Block is a master of entertainment.”
— Washington Post Book World
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
More Fine Books From
HARD CASE CRIME !
The Peddler
by
RICHARD S. PRATHEROVER 40,000,000 BOOKS SOLD
In the cutthroat world of organized crime, Tony Romero was headed straight for the top. But his path was littered with bodies and broken dreams—some of them his.
Say It With Bullets
by
RICHARD POWELLAUTHOR OF ‘A SHOT IN THE DARK’
Bill Wayne’s bus tour through the West becomes more than he bargained for when bodies start turning up at every stop!
The Last Match
by
DAVID DODGEAUTHOR OF ‘TO CATCH A THIEF’
From the casinos of Monaco to the jungles of Brazil, from Tangier to Marrakech to Peru, the chase is on when a handsome swindler tries to escape the beautiful heiress out to reform him.
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
More Fine Books From
HARD CASE CRIME!
The Gutter and the Grave
by
ED MCBAINMWA GRANDMASTER
Detective Matt Cordell was happily married once, and gainfully employed, and sober. But that was before he caught his wife cheating on him with one of his operatives.
The Guns of Heaven
by
PETE HAMILLACCLAIMED JOURNALIST
Terrorists from Northern Ireland plan to strike in New York City—and only one newspaper reporter stands in their way.
Night Walker
by
DONALD HAMILTONCREATOR OF ‘MATT HELM’
When Navy lieutenant David Young came to in a hospital bed, his face was covered with bandages and the nurses were calling him by a stranger’s name...
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
More Great Books From
HARD CASE CRIME !
Grifter’s Game
by
LAWRENCE BLOCKMWA GRANDMASTER
Con man Joe Marlin accidentally steals a suitcase full of heroin, then plots to kill the man he stole it from—with help from the man’s wife!
Top of the Heap
by
ERLE STANLEY GARDNERCREATOR OF PERRY MASON
The client had a perfect alibi for the night Maureen Auburn disappeared—but nothing made P.I. Donald Lam suspicious like a perfect alibi.
Two for the Money
by
MAX ALLAN COLLINSAUTHOR OF ‘ROAD TO PERDITION’
After 16 years on the run, will Nolan bury the hatchet with the Mob—or will they bury him first?
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit
More Great Books From
HARD CASE CRIME!
361
by
DONALD E.WESTLAKETHREE-TIME EDGAR® WINNER
The men in the tan-and-cream Chrysler destroyed Ray Kelly’s life. Now it’s Ray’s turn.
Home Is the Sailor
by
DAY KEENEPULP LEGEND
Swede Nelson just wanted to meet a nice girl and settle down. So how did he find himself on the run, wanted for murder?
Kiss Her Goodbye
by
ALLAN GUTHRIECWA DEBUT DAGGER NOMINEE
When his daughter is found dead, underworld enforcer Joe Hope will stop at nothing to find the man responsible.
Available now at your favorite bookstore. For more information, visit