The Pariot GAme by George V. Higgins Read Free Book Online Page B

go and kill another guy. That concerns me, Doctor.”
    Walker stopped grinning. “Gentlemen,” he said, “shall we sit down and have our conference?”
    “Sure,” Riordan said. He took the chair at the other end of the table. Dietz and Mayes sat down. Riordan pulled the Luckies out of his pocket and removed one cigarette from the pack. He commenced tapping it down. He looked around the office. He said: “Ken, is there any chance of getting Ruthie to bring an ashtray in here? I haven’t got any cuffs on these pants, and besides, it makes my legs hot when the coals catch fire.” Walker reached around behind him and punched the intercom button. Riordan lit the cigarette. Mayes’s face was still red.
    “Would you mind not smoking, please?” Mayes said.
    “Yes,” Riordan said, “very much so.”
    “The smoke irritates my sinuses,” Mayes said.
    “Good,” Riordan said. “But enough about your sinuses, Doctor. Leave us chat about Mikie-mike Magro.”
    The buzzer sounded on the intercom, Walker reached back and pushed the button. “Ruthie,” he said, “would you bring in an ashtray for this roughneck visiting us?” Her laugh was audible over the intercom. “Thank you,” Walker said. He turned back to face the people at the table. “Pete,” he said, “…  oh … do I have to call you Doctor?”
    “Nah,” Riordan said. “We’ve known each other a long time, Ken. Call me Pete, like always.”
    “Thank you,” Walker said. He opened the folder in front of him. “Tell you the truth, Pete, I know about as much about Magro as I do about seven hundred other guys in this little resort.”
    “In other words,” Riordan said, “he’s a vicious beast.”
    “He is not a vicious beast,” Dietz said. “We go through this every time you come here, Riordan. He was convicted of a crime. He was not charged with being a vicious beast and he was not convicted of being a vicious beast. He is a human being who was convicted of a crime.”
    “And,” Mayes said, “he has shown reliable indications of being rehabilitated.”
    “Sure,” Riordan said. “That’s how he plans to get out, bamboozling guys with stars in their eyes. I didn’t say he was totally stupid. He wasn’t convicted of that, either. He was convicted of murder one. He wasn’t smart enough, or lucky enough, to get away with it, but now he’s had some time to reflect on the whole matter, and he’s figured out that he’s got at least one babe in the woods —” Riordan stared at Mayes —“and possibly two—” Riordan stared at Dietz—“that he can deceive.”
    “Magro is not deceiving anybody,” Mayes said, angrily.
    “Of course he isn’t,” Riordan said. “Man who’d commit Murder One wouldn’t lie to a guy that could maybe pave the way to getting him out. Never happen. Would you play Little Boy Blue to get out eight years early, even if it meant making a good Act of Contrition to the guys that could get you out? Of course not. You’d never do such a thing. Neither would Magro. He’s a prince of a fellow. Blew a guy’s head off and did it for money, of course, but nobody’s perfect.”
    “I won’t stand for this,” Mayes said, standing up.
    “Nobody asked you to, Fred,” Walker said. “You can sit down for this, just like the rest of us.” Mayes glanced at Walker and sat down. To Riordan, Walker said, “What makesyou interested in this particular guest of ours, Pete? He do something federal? Because he’s been boarding with us for quite a few years now, and he’s only had two or three brief furloughs. If he did something while he was on vacation from here, he sure must be quick.”
    “Not that I know about,” Riordan said. “And it doesn’t matter a damn if he did something before he signed your register, because he’s been in for over seven years, way I understand it, and almost all our statutes of limitations run out in five. No, it’s not what he did before he came in, and I haven’t heard of anything