Speak Softly My Love by Louis Shalako Read Free Book Online

bad, although being in a strange place had its
disadvantages. It might also have some advantages. They were young
and life was good. The thing to do was to accept it, let go, and
let the current take them.
    Hubert
wanted to call home, as the lady friend would be expecting to hear
from him. Tailler had endured the fellow lying flat on his back, on
Tailler’s bed no less, and engaging in one of the mushiest, and
most endearing conversations he’d ever shamelessly eavesdropped
on.
    And now
this.
    Every
coin had two sides, in his observation.
    As for
Tailler, other than his frail and elderly mother, there really
wasn’t much going on in his life at all. Before leaving, he’d made
a quick call and his sister had promised to check on mother around
bedtime. In his mother’s case, that meant seven o’clock in the
evening these days.
    It
really was good to get away.
    “ All right. One thing at a time. I’m hungry. And we really
ought to go see Roche. It can’t take more than five minutes. It’s
the least we could do for the guy.”
    Hubert
grinned.
    “ Yes, it is.”
    Tailler
was nothing if not a growing boy and that impressive frame must be
fed.
    They
finally got into their waiting taxi, the meter still ticking
inexorably over.
    “ Driver.”
     
    ***
     
    “ Oh, my God.” Emile Tailler couldn’t tear his eyes
away.
    “ What?”
    Etienne,
otherwise known as Detective Hubert, belched softly and eyed up the
tall but rapidly diminishing pitcher of the house draft.
    “ Holy.”
    Holy was
right, thought Hubert. It was like the guy had never seen a naked
girl before, and for all he knew that might be true. His head was
showing signs of stiffness, perhaps tightness in behind the eyes
was a better description. There was a very good chance that Hubert
would have a headache if not an outright hangover in the
morning.
    He was
prepared to take that risk.
    Grinning
at his thoughts, he eyed his friend. Surely he could call him that.
Tailler was working out pretty well and there was every indication
that he would be there in another six months or so.
    Each
having drawn a couple of hundred francs in expense money, it was
like suddenly they were flush with cash, and in between paydays and
everything.
    It was
about time the guy loosened up. It was a co-conspiracy after
all.
    The club
was small, intimate, and minimalist. The floors were bare boards
painted dark brown, and the narrow black cracks hinted at damp
cellars and dirt floors down below. The interior walls were a warm
sort of ruddy multi-toned brick. They had been sandblasted back
into a kind of glowing cleanliness which nevertheless revealed the
history of the building. There were skylights three floors up. It
was a tall, vast and narrow space, really quite beautiful, and one
had to wonder what the neighbouring buildings looked like inside.
Probably nothing like this.
    “ I have to admit, I’m impressed.”
    Hubert
burst out laughing.
    “ That’s what I like about you.”
    Mona, a lithe and acrobatic young
dancer with strong Gypsy features, had finally gotten down on all
fours. She went into her act on a tiger skin that must have been
three metres long. Hubert assumed it was real. He’d read one or two
stories where tigers figured prominently.
    Hubert
looked away and sipped at his brew. He was hoping that Tailler
could take a hint, but the boy was apparently away from home for
the very first time, and overnight in a strange city at that. He
didn’t seem all that good at holding his liquor. Tailler probably
thought he’d had enough, but if so he was wrong.
    The girl looked impishly at them, first over one shoulder and
then the other. She was down on hands and knees and presenting a
pretty fine cul in their general direction. The show would take in all
available points of the compass. Tables surrounded the small stage
on three sides. There was what would be called Perv’s Row, bench
seating right up against the stage. Based on past experience,
Hubert must assume that the