Hugger Mugger by Robert B. Parker Read Free Book Online Page A

and put her feet up on the coffee table. I was ableto observe that her jeans fit her very well. It was about the only thing I’d observed all day.
    â€œYou got him in your sights?” she said.
    â€œI think I know somewhat less than I did this morning.”
    â€œOh dear,” Penny said.
    We each drank some Coke.
    â€œI gather my sister came to visit,” Penny said.
    â€œWhere did you gather that?” I said.
    She smiled and shrugged.
    â€œDaddy likes to know what SueSue and Stonie are up to,” she said.
    â€œSo you keep an eye on them?”
    â€œIt’s a small community,” Penny said. “I usually know what’s going on in it.”
    â€œSomeone at the motel tipped you.”
    She smiled.
    â€œBecause you’d alerted them,” I said.
    She continued to smile.
    â€œBecause you figured she’d come to call,” I said.
    â€œSueSue is predictable,” Penny said.
    â€œWho keeps an eye on you ?” I said.
    â€œI’m self-regulating,” Penny said, and her smile increased so that the laugh parentheses at the corners of her mouth deepened. “I hope SueSue wasn’t offensive.”
    â€œNot at all,” I said.
    â€œShe has a problem with alcohol,” Penny said.
    â€œI gathered that she might.”
    â€œAnd men,” Penny said.
    I was quiet. Penny was quiet.
    Finally Penny said, “Did she come on to you?”
    â€œI wondered how you were going to get to it. Straight on is good.”
    â€œThank you. Did she?”
    â€œI think that’s between SueSue and me,” I said.
    Penny nodded.
    â€œOf course,” she said. “I’m sorry to be cross-examining you.”
    â€œJust doing your job,” I said.
    â€œIt’s not like it sounds,” she said. “My sisters are both, what, wild? Daddy is just trying . . . He’s being a daddy.”
    â€œHow are the marriages?” I said.
    â€œThey don’t work very well.”
    â€œChildren?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œHow’s Daddy feel about that?”
    â€œHe wants an heir.”
    â€œIs it up to you?” I said.
    She almost blushed.
    â€œNot yet, not now,” she said. “I’ve got too much to do here. Three Fillies is a huge operation, Daddy can’t run it by himself anymore.”
    â€œGee, he looks fine,” I said.
    â€œOh, he is. But he’s got too much money now. He’s . . . too important. He travels a great deal now. He and Dolly. He just can’t concentrate anymore on the day-to-day grind of it.”
    â€œHow about the sons-in-law?” I said.
    She shrugged. “They’re married to his daughters,” Penny said.
    â€œIsn’t Cord the executive VP?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd Pud is . . . ?”
    â€œVP for marketing.”
    â€œAre they real jobs?” I said.
    â€œWell, you come straight at it too, don’t you?”
    â€œSusan does subtle,” I said. “I’m not smart enough.”
    â€œOf course you’re not,” Penny said. “No, they aren’t real jobs. I think Daddy hoped they would be. But Pud is . . . well, you saw Pud.”
    â€œI saw him at his worst,” I said.
    â€œTrue, and he’s not always that bad. When he’s sober he’s kind of a good old boy.”
    â€œWhen is he sober?”
    â€œAlmost every day,” Penny said, “until lunch.”
    â€œAnd Stonie’s husband?”
    â€œCord.”
    I nodded. She looked out at the line of stalls. Hugger Mugger, third from the end, was looking out of his stall past the Security South guard as if he were pondering eternity.
    â€œYou think he’s pondering eternity?” I said.
    â€œHugger? He’s pondering lunch,” Penny said.
    â€œHow about Cord?” I said. “Is he a good old boy, when he’s sober?”
    She looked almost startled.
    â€œNo, Cord isn’t a drinker,”