The Mugger by Ed McBain Read Free Book Online

the sitter gets here, huh?”
    “Where are you going?” Jeannie asked.
    “I got to hack a while, and Molly’s taking in a movie.”
    “Oh,” Jeannie said, looking at Kling suspiciously.
    “So okay?” Bell asked.
    “Sure,” Jeannie replied.
    “I’ll take off this apron and comb my hair,” Molly said. Kling watched her as she rose. He could see the resemblance between her and Jeannie now, and he could now believe that Molly, too, had been a damned attractive woman once. But marriage and motherhood, and work and worry, had taken a great deal out of her. She was no match now for her younger sister, if she had ever been. She went out of the living room and into a room Kling supposed was the bathroom.
    “It’s a nice night,” Kling said awkwardly.
    “Is it?” Jeannie asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Molly! Hurry up!” Bell called.
    “Coming,” she answered from the bathroom.
    “Very mild. For autumn, I mean,” Kling said.
    Jeannie made no comment.
    In a few minutes, Molly came out of the bathroom, her hair combed, fresh lipstick on her mouth. She put on her coat and said, “If you go out, don’t come home too late, Jeannie.”
    “Don’t worry,” Jeannie answered.
    “Well, good night. It was nice meeting you, Bert. Call us, won’t you?”
    “Yes, I will.”
    Bell paused with his hand on the doorknob. “I’m leaving her in your hands, Bert,” he said. “Good night.” He and Molly went out of the room, closing the door behind them. Kling heard the outside door slam shut. The room was dead silent. Outside, he heard a car starting. He assumed it was Bell’s cab.
    “Whose idea was this?” Jeannie asked.
    “I don’t understand,” Kling said.
    “Your coming here. Hers?”
    “No. Peter’s an old friend of mine.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yes.”
    “How old are you?” Jeannie asked.
    “Twenty-four,” Kling said.
    “Is she trying to fix us up or something?”
    “What?”
    “Molly. Is she trying to finagle something?”
    “I don’t know what you mean.”
    Jeannie stared at him levelly. Her eyes were very blue. He watched her face, suddenly overwhelmed by her beauty.
    “You’re not as dumb as you sound, are you?” she asked.
    “I’m not trying to sound dumb,” Kling said.
    “I’m asking you whether or not Molly has plans for you and me.”
    Kling smiled. “No, I don’t think she has.”
    “I wouldn’t put it past her,” Jeannie said.
    “I take it you don’t like your sister very much.”
    Jeannie seemed suddenly alert. “She’s okay,” she answered.
    “But?”
    “No buts. My sister is fine.”
    “Then why do you resent her?”
    “Because I know Peter wouldn’t go hollering cop, so this must be her idea.”
    “I’m here as a friend, not as a cop.”
    “Yeah, I’ll bet,” Jeannie said. “You’d better drink your beer. I’m leaving as soon as that sitter arrives.”
    “Got a date?” Kling asked casually.
    “Who wants to know?”
    “I do.”
    “It’s none of your business.”
    “That puts me in my place, I guess.”
    “It should,” Jeannie said.
    “You seem a lot older than seventeen.”
    For a moment, Jeannie bit her lip. “I am a lot older than seventeen,” she answered then. “A whole lot older, Mr. Kling.”
    “Bert,” he corrected. “What’s the matter, Jeannie? You haven’t smiled once since I met you.”
    “Nothing’s the matter.”
    “Trouble at school?”
    “No.”
    “Boyfriend?”
    She hesitated. “No.”
    “Aha,” Kling said. “When you’re seventeen, it’s usually a boyfriend.”
    “I haven’t got a boyfriend.”
    “No. What then? Crush on someone who doesn’t care?”
    “Stop it!” Jeannie said harshly. “This is none of your business. You’ve no right to pry!”
    “I’m sorry,” Kling said. “I was trying to help. You’re not in any kind of trouble, are you?”
    “No.”
    “I meant with the law.”
    “No. And if I was, I certainly wouldn’t tell it to a cop.”
    “I’m a friend, remember?”
    “Sure,