Someone to watch over me by Jill Churchill Read Free Book Online Page B

Only one underling would even see him personally, to tell him his chances were nil. This time he wasn’t looking for a job. He just wanted to see the city. He’d talked the Brewsters into footing the bill to subscribe to several city papers and had new things simply to look at.
    He arrived at what would have normally been the beginning of the morning rush hour, if it hadn’t been a Saturday, and checked his suitcase. The first thing he noticed was that the streets were strangely empty of apple sellers. He’d heard so much about them crowding the sidewalks peddling their wares, but as he walked along he saw none. Stopping by a shoeshine stand where an old man was hawking customers, he sat down—not for a shine, especially, but for information.
    “What’s become of the apple sellers? Don’t they work on weekends?“
    “They got priced right out, suh. The suppliers kept rising their cost and cutting their profits, which wasn’t much to start out. And the apples wasn’t as good as before, neither. Time was I could hardly set myself up here for them lined up a-cloggin’ up the whole sidewalk.... You here on bidness, suh?“
    “No, just taking a look around on my way to Washington,“ Jack said. He paid the man a nickel and went on his way, consulting a list he’d made up. There were so many buildings he wanted to see that were new since he’d last been here. First on the list was the Empire State Building. It had been built the year before and was the tallest building in the world. He’d spotted it towering over the city landscape from a distance on the train and wanted to look at it close-up.
    There was only a four-hour gap between his arrival and departure times, so he could see only a few: the Chrysler Building, built in 1930; the newly completed RCA Victor, the Ritz Tower, and half a dozen others were all on his list. It would be a challenge to decide which to see.
    He couldn’t figure out how, in the deepening financial depression, anyone could afford to put up new buildings. New York City really was a world unto itself. He passed a movie house that looked like a palace and was showing a new James Cagney film. Several people had mentioned that Jack faintly resembled the actor, and he never missed one of Cagney’s talkies when they finally got to Voorburg. It broke his heart to pass this one by.
    He was disappointed slightly by the Empire State Building. It was turning into a brutally hot, humid, cloudy day, and he couldn’t see the top of it from the street. Maybe there was an elevator to the top and the clouds might clear. But in the spectacular lobby, he gave up. The building was still so new that mobs of people with children filled the waiting area, to visit and ride the free elevators. He’d waste too much time.
    He stepped back outside, consulting his notes for addresses to find out which of his other chosen sites was closest.

    “I’m going to have to go down to the city today with this suit,“ Chief Walker said to Robert. “You are coming along with me, aren’t you? I don’t know New York City well.“
    “I do,“ Robert said. “Why can’t you just telephone the establishment that made it and describe the suit?“
    “I don’t speak the language of clothing,”
    Walker said. “I want them to take a look at it. It’s a long shot, but the guy in Albany thought it was a good enough idea to have a toadie drive it down here early this morning. Poor fella must have had to start out at about three in the morning. And he has to take it back as well. Frankly, I think it’s useless. No tailor would remember one of probably thousands of suits.”
    Robert disagreed. “Fine clothing makers are as obsessed as dentists about keeping records. They can trace a person just from the measurements in their files. They know when he started putting on weight, and how much he gained—and probably whether it was gained before or after his divorce.“
    “If you say so,“ Walker said.
    When they got to Grand