Cop Out by Ellery Queen Read Free Book Online

her.
    â€œIt’s just pretend, baby. Do you understand?”
    â€œI understand, but not why. ”
    â€œSome day I’ll explain the whole thing to you. But for now you’ve got to promise me you’ll do whatever they say. Promise?”
    â€œAll right. When will they bring me back?”
    â€œOh, I don’t know. A day, maybe two.”
    â€œWell,” Barbara said. “I don’t like to, but I guess I will. Goodbye, daddy.” She held her face up to be kissed. Valentine face. He kissed it. She jumped off his lap and ran to her mother.
    Ellen held on to her.
    â€œOkay, okay,” Furia said. Malone could have sworn he was grinning under the mask. “Let’s get the show on the road, like they say.”
    â€œEllen,” Malone said.
    The woman walked over and pulled Barbara from Ellen’s clutch. Sexy figure, flashy getup, hard voice—maybe late twenties, though it was hard to tell without a face to go by. And brains, she’s the brains. I know her from somewhere. I’ve heard that voice before. A long time ago.
    â€œCome on, honey,” the woman said. “We’ll have just buckets of fun.” She took Barbara’s hand. “Fure. It won’t hurt to buy insurance. With Barbara in the car, and you and her and me making like one happy family, it will look better if Hinch isn’t with us. That getup of his doesn’t go with the act.”
    â€œWhat, what?” Hinch said.
    â€œGoldie’s right,” Furia said. “You hoof it, Hinch. You can cut off that main road into the woods somewheres and stand a good chance of not even being stopped. If they stop you so what? One guy on the hitch. Stow your mask in the car. Also the heater—I’ll drop it in the river before we get to the checkpoint. We’ll meet you at the shack.”
    Hinch glanced at the Walther automatic in his hand. He’s not used to guns. Malone tucked the observation away. “If you say so, Fure. Not because of her.”
    â€œI say so.”
    â€œGoldie and you and the kid’ll meet me?”
    â€œYou worried about something?”
    â€œWho, me? I ain’t worried, Fure.”
    â€œThen do like I say. All right, Goldie.”
    The woman immediately said, “We’ll be seeing you soon, mommy. Won’t we, Bibs?” and they marched out through the archway and into the hall and out the front door and, incredibly, were gone.
    Furia backed his way out. At the door he said, “Remember, cop, that’s your kid we got. So don’t be a hero.”
    And he was gone, too.
    They were left alone with the black bag.
    Standing at the window watching the Chrysler back around and straighten out and head down Old Bradford Road toward Lovers Hill.
    Standing at the window until the sound of the Chrysler died.
    Then Ellen whirled and said in a voice full of hate, “You great big policeman you. You cowardly sonofabitch, you let them take my Bibby away. You let them!” and she was punching his chest and sobbing and he put his arms around her and said in a hoarseness of baffled rage, “Ellen, they won’t hurt her, I’ll kill them, they want that money more than anything, don’t cry, Ellen, I’ll get her back.”

THURSDAY

The Child
    Malone spent the first two hours trying to get Ellen to go to bed. She just sat in the rocker rocking. He kept at it like a gung ho D.I. because he could think of nothing else. Finally Ellen said, “How can I sleep when my baby is in the hands of those murderers?” and he gave up.
    At one thirty Malone said, “Would you like some coffee?”
    â€œI’ll make some.”
    â€œNo, I’ll do it. You sit there.”
    â€œI don’t want any.”
    â€œWatch the bag.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThe bag. With the money.”
    She stared at it with loathing. It was on the coffee table before the sofa. “How much is in it?”
    â€œI don’t