Long White Con: The Biggest Score of His Life by Iceberg Slim Read Free Book Online Page A

was that Kid had sent the packet, including a crisp fake telegram. Folks removed the telegram from the envelope and extended it to Stilwell.
    He said, “Cecil, read this.”
    Stilwell took it, and stared down at it. A broad smile blossomed on his face.
    He chortled, “You’re a sly one, bless your heart! Mister Lee has already left for Indiana to evaluate and expedite our deal. What a beautiful meeting of minds!”
    He seized Folks in a warm embrace. Then Folks went into his bedroom thinking the mark’s greed made him deserve everything he was getting. After all, he intended to shaft Folks for four times the fair market value of his white elephant parcel of land.
    Two hours later, Folks heard the mark stirring. He peeped through the key hole and saw that he was fully dressed at the front door. He had a furtive, excited look on his face in the half dark. He very carefully opened the door, eased himself through the door and very quietly pulled it shut.
    Folks picked up the bedroom phone and called the tailers across the hall. One of them picked up. He told him to call in a report on the mark’s actions as frequently as was possible. Fifteen minutes later, Kid called. They could predict the mark’s thinking at this point, so they planned the choreography of the mark’s blow-off in some detail.
    Forty-five minutes later one of the tailers called in. He said, “I went in on foot to eye that egg. He came in with a camper he’d rented and a brand new shovel. You would’ve busted your guts laughing at that lopear when he dug down to nothing. He just stood there beaming a flashlight into the empty hole. Then he screamed like his putz was in a vise. He almost wrecked the camper coming out and he gave a couple of trooper cruisers the twice over coming in, just like he should. He’s convinced our troopers burned him for the stash. He’s on his way downtown in a cab. Sweet blow-off! Toodle-oo, Wonder.”
    Shortly, the mark showed back. Folks heard him anguishing about. Folks went into a deep slumber bit when he heard him approach his door. The mark eased it open and just stood there. Christ! This is eerie, Folks thought. And dangerous! I know that a guy with his documented malice, under stress, could brainstorm and try to do me maximal harm if the tumblers of the swindle accidently clicked into place inside his head. I couldn’t really win a death bout with him. Say I managed to kill him, my purse would be the death house. But the mark shut the door.
    Folks soundlessly locked the door. He had selected the suite in a wing of the hotel that gave visual access to the lobby. He put high-powered binoculars to his eyes and saw Kid sitting casually, smoking a cigarette in the moderately crowded lobby. He was gazing across the lobby through a window at the early morning crunch of workers scampering to their jobs.
    A morning newspaper delivery truck pulled to the curb outside the hotel. The delivery man leapt from the cab of the truck with a bundle of papers, then went to the concession stand. He placed hisbundle of newspapers into a rack adjacent to the concession stand, then carried a surplus of three newspapers away under his arm as he came across the lobby on his way to the exit.
    Kid snapped his fingers at the passing delivery man. The delivery man rolled one of the papers quickly as he turned and took the paper to Kid in exchange for a coin, then turned away. Kid spread the legitimate newspaper across his knees. Folks watched Kid take their prop newspaper from his coat pocket.
    Then his binoculars followed Kid as he flung the legit newspaper into a trash can. He moved across the lobby and went to the newspaper rack at the concession stand. A young female clerk smiled at him behind the counter as Kid plucked several cigars from a box. At the same time, his other hand slipped the prop newspaper into the newspaper rack atop the pile. Then Kid placed money on the counter. He turned his head and snapped his fingers.
    A bellboy came to