The Old Turk's Load by Gregory Gibson Read Free Book Online Page A

someday. She’s the future, and the future is pretty damned soon.This Gallagher is turning her against me. Ever since she started going around with him—no, even before—it’s been different. First, it was poverty and civil rights.That wasn’t so bad, even if it was unrealistic. Then it was the war. We had plenty of arguments, believe me, but I could still respect her position. She just hasn’t seen enough, doesn’t understand how things work.”
Kelly could imagine the arguments. Stubborn old man, headstrong rich girl. This guy had been through the Depression and World War II. He’d seen the system and he trusted it. All his kid could see was the bullshit, the hypocrisy.
“She’s an idealist. Maybe that’s not so bad.”
“That’s beside the point, dammit. She’s turned into a fanatic about what she refers to as moral issues.We do construction and real estate, see? Nothing to do with the government. But ever since this Gallagher’s gotten hold of her, she’s thinking of this company— our company—as part of the system. Part of the problem. Now it’s the people’s struggle. Fuckin’ revolution.”
Mundi stopped, in distress.
“What does her mother think of all this?”
“My wife died ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. What’s your daughter’s name?”
“Gloria.This was supposed to be her second year of law school. Columbia. She’s a smart one, I’m telling you. But that’s in the shitter now. This Gallagher’s stolen her mind.”
In Kelly’s view, it was never a good idea for men like Richard Mundi to show pain. It was blood in the water. Kelly nodded respectfully, helping bring him down a little.
“I think I understand what you mean.”
“Anyway, she knows who my people are. She’d be furious if she found out I was . . .”
Kelly thought he could see it pretty clearly. It wasn’t Gloria. It wasn’t Gallagher, either.This was some kind of come-on. Mundi wanted him around for some obscure reason—something he wasn’t owning up to—and that captured Kelly’s interest. He gave a sympathetic nod.
“So it’s really about this Gallagher.”
“I just want her to see the truth about the people she’s running with.”
“Something messy.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But that’s the way you’d like it.”
“All right, goddamn it. I don’t care what it is. I want him gone. You interested in the job or not?”
“All I can promise you is information. Anything else, we’ll just have to see what happens. And it’ll cost you a hundred a day plus expenses.”
Mundi reached in his pocket and came out with a dainty, banded stack of bills. A grand, Kelly guessed. He took a white envelope from the file folder, slipped the bills inside, placed it in the file, and handed the whole thing to Kelly.
“Do your job and there’s more.”
Kelly took it from him, stared at the shape of the empty desk, was reminded suddenly of a coffin, of the dead Mrs. Mundi, of this guy trying to steer an only child into adulthood. Misreading Kelly’s silent stare as a comment on the emptiness of his desk, Mundi broke into his reverie. “I move people, Kelly. Not paper.”
Kelly nodded, rose. “I’ll look this stuff over. If I think I can help I’ll send you a weekly report with consultation any time you ask for it. If the job’s not for me, you’ll get the money back tomorrow.”
But that was just client talk. The world had already redefined itself around Mundi’s problem. Kelly’s job now was to figure out what his new employer’s problem really was, and how to solve it if it could be solved, and how to stay unharmed while doing so, in a manner that resulted in his being further paid cash money or otherwise rewarded. Kelly was happiest absorbed like this.
He walked past his own office and on to Sammy’s, thinking of the wad in the white envelope, imagining what kind of information the money might buy. He didn’t want to look in the folder yet. He didn’t want details about the girl and her