All He Saw Was the Girl by Peter Leonard Read Free Book Online Page A

weaved and hit him with a right hook to the jaw that
stunned him. Then somebody tried to tackle him from behind. McCabe throwing an
elbow that hit him in the face and he let go. Then something crashed into the
side of his head and he staggered and went down, looking up at the long-haired
guy standing over him. He rolled over on his hands and knees trying to get up,
still dizzy and fell over.
        Chip
said, "We better get on, get a seat."
        Trish
said, "If McCabe doesn't go, I'm not going."
        Chip
said, "He'll be here. Have I ever lied to you?"
        "Probably,"
Trish said.
        She
gave him a dirty look.
        "What
kind of attitude is that? Let me get you a drink, take the edge off."
        Chip
finished his beer and held the bottle up, telling the bartender he wanted
another one. "Last call," Chip said.
        The
girls shook their heads. They were packed in the loud, crowded bar in the
Stazione Termini in Rome. The train for Messina was leaving in twenty minutes.
        "Why
don't we call school, see if he's there," Trish said.
        "Maybe
he's mad at you," Brianna said to Chip, "for telling your dad he
stole the taxi."
        "He
doesn't care," Chip said.
        "I
would."
        "You're
a girl."
        The
bartender handed Chip a beer. He pulled two five- euro notes off a roll of
bills and left them on the bar top. Now Chip and the girls picked up their
backpacks, left the bar, crossed the main floor of the station and walked to
Track 17. The sign said Messina. Departure time: 20:10. They found seats
in a first-class car and Chip drank his beer, looking out the window. He
watched a porter push a cart piled high with luggage. A conductor in a blue
uniform walked along the side of the train, announcing its imminent departure.
Chip looked down the boarding platform toward the station. He was sure he'd see
McCabe running into the picture, but it didn't happen and the train started to
move.
    ----
        

Chapter Six
        
        In
the dream Ray could hear a phone ringing, sounding far away at first, then
close and loud. He turned on his side, opened his eyes and saw the message
light flashing. It seemed like it was synched up to the pounding in his head.
He looked at his watch. It was 6:50 a.m. He was on duty in ten minutes and he
wasn't going to make it, Jesus, wouldn't make it if he had an hour the way he
felt. His cell phone vibrated on the nightstand next to the bed. He watched it
slide around in a circular motion and then stop. He was still in his clothes
from the night before, lying on the bedspread. His cell phone vibrated again,
telling him he had another message. He knew who it was and what it was about.
        He
tried to piece things together. Remembered being at the bar with Sturza. They
were going to have a couple, but only a couple because they were both on duty
the next morning, early. He remembered talking to a dark-haired girl sitting
next to him, already on his third Dewar's and water when Sturza got up and said
he was hitting it, and Ray better do the same. They had to be ready to go in
seven hours.
        The girl
was from Indianapolis and said she was in New York for a dental convention. She
was attractive in an ethnic way, and reminded him of Sharon when she was
younger, dark shoulder-length hair, bangs, brown eyes and a nice body, what he
could see of it.
        Ray
said, "Are you a dentist?"
        The
girl turned to her two friends who were sitting next to her at the bar.
        "He
wants to know if I'm a dentist," she said.
        All
three of them laughed like it was some inside joke.
        The
girl said, "I'm a sales consultant. I sell dental equipment, we all
do."
        Ray
said, "Like what?"
        'Like
titanium implants, disposable fluoride trays and x-ray mounts." She perked
up now. Talking about her job seemed to excite her, energize her.
        "What
about dental floss?" he said, having fun with