Find a Victim by Ross MacDonald Read Free Book Online

Kerrigan?”
    “A phony, in my opinion. He come to town along toward the end of the last war, had a job at the Marine Base—public-relations officer or something like that. He was younger then, and a lot of the girls went for the uniform and the big line. Annie wasn’t the only one.”
    He had said too much, and covered quickly: “Look at the girl he married, Judge Craig’s daughter. She come from one of the best families in town if that means anything, but Kerrigan got her dancing to his tune. He sold off the Craig ranch property the first year they were married, and went into real estate. Then he shifted to the liquor business. Then he decided there was more money in motels. He’s no businessman, I can tell you that. I gave him five years when he started. Well, he’s lasted seven so far.”
    “How’s his credit?”
    “Pretty shaky, I hear.”
    “Seventy thousand dollars’ worth of bourbon is a big order for a man with a bad credit rating.”
    “Biggest I ever handled for him. But that ain’t my worry. They tell me what they want hauled and I haul it.”
    “Do you do all his hauling?”
    “Far as I know.”
    “Did he know what driver you were going to use?”
    “I guess he did at that. Tony’s the only one bonded for that amount.” His small eyes peered at me from underbunched gray eyebrows. “What kind of lines are you thinking along, boy? You think he ’jacked his own whisky?”
    “It’s a possibility.”
    “If I thought that, I’d cut out his liver and lights and eat them for breakfast.”
    “It’s a little early to plan a menu,” I said. “I need more facts. Right now I need a hundred dollars from you.”
    “Damn it, I thought you forgot about that.”
    He turned his back on me, but I caught a glimpse of his roll. It would have choked a brontosaurus. He thrust it back into his jacket pocket and buttoned the leather flap. Two reluctant fifties changed hands.
    “Anything else?”
    “As a matter of fact, there is. About your daughter Anne, has she been in trouble before?”
    “Nothing serious. Just the usual.” He sounded a little defensive. “Annie was a motherless girl, see. Me and Hilda did the best we could, but we couldn’t always control her. She ran with a fast crowd in high school, and after she went to work she spent more than she earned. I had to bail her out a couple of times.”
    “How long has she worked for Kerrigan?”
    “Three-four years. She started as his secretary. Then he gave her a course in management down south so she could run his motel business. I wanted her to come home and keep my books for me, only that wasn’t good enough for Annie. She wanted a life of her own, she said. Well, she’s got it.”
    “What kind of a life has she got?”
    “Don’t ask me.” He hefted the twin burdens of his shoulders. “Annie left me when she was fifteen and I hardly seen her since. Only time I do is when she wants something.”
    He shuffled to the fireplace and stood looking down into the dead ashes. The light from the naked ceiling fixturefell on his head like the glare of loneliness.
    “Annie never cared about me, neither of them ever cared about me. Sure, Hilda comes and sees me once in two-three months. Probably her husband puts her up to it, so he’ll inherit the business when digger gets me. Well, he can wait, the bastard can wait.” He turned and announced in a loud, hoarse voice: “I’m going to live to be a hundred, see.”
    “Congratulations.”
    “You think it’s funny?”
    “I’m not laughing.”
    “Laugh if you want to. I come from a long-lived family and I’ll have the last laugh, boy. Digger won’t get me for a long time yet.” His feelings shifted suddenly, away from himself: “What about Annie? Is she mixed up in this some way?”
    “It was your idea. There may be something in it. She’s close to Kerrigan, and pretty close to Aquista, I understand.”
    “You understand wrong. Tony was stuck on her, all right. She couldn’t see him for