The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp Read Free Book Online Page A

it. Not valuable stuff, but shit that collectors will pay a bundle for." "Like what?"
    "Like costumes."
    Sometimes I play Dumb Cop to pump more information out of people. In this case, I felt like Dumb Cop. "I don't get it," I said. "The Head of Security is probably pulling down 125 big ones plus stock options and other goodies, and he's stealing what--rabbit suits?" Daves shook his head. "People pay good money for those sweatshirts and hats and shit with the characters' pictures on it. Imagine what they'd pay if they could get their hands on an actual costume that Rambo Rabbit wore. Thousands. I'm not kidding, thousands of American dollars." "Un-fucking-believable," Terry said.
    "And not just costumes. It was all sorts of gewgaws and whatnots. Like if the characters marched in a parade waving flags, them flags would just vanish into thin air. Sometimes, even pieces of floats would disappear. Shit like that." "How did this Ben Don guy get caught?" I asked.
    "He didn't really get caught. Somebody high up in the organization was on eBay one day and saw that a woman in Kansas was selling a pair of shoes that she claims was worn by an actual Lamaar character. So the executive, he bids on it, and he buys it. Sure enough, it's the real deal. That's when the shit hit the fan. They audited the books and realized they were replacing a ton of items that had gone missing. They couldn't pin it on Marvin, but they knew it was too big an operation to
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    The Rabbit Factory
    be going down without him. So they canned him."
    "Do you think he did it?" I asked..-;
    "Oh, yeah," Daves said, without missing a beat. "Ben Don was smart. As scams go, I'd say it was pretty clever. Plus it didn't really hurt nobody." "Thanks, you've been a big help, Marlon," I said.
    "One more thing before we go," Terry said. "You're thinking that Elkins was killed by someone who knew him. But is it possible Ben Don was so angry at getting fired that he decided to come back and get even with the company?"'. Daves didn't ponder this one either. "Nope," he said. "Black marketing the costumes was your basic victimless crime. Marvin made a bundle, got caught, and was shipped out, hush-hush. Never prosecuted. Why would he come back and commit Murder One? It doesn't add up." "You think anyone else would want to hurt the company?"
    "Nobody I know. Most folks love Lamaar. If somebody has a beef with the company, they ain't gonna come around and kill Rambo. I'm sticking with my original theory. Find out who this Elkins guy was fucking and follow the rabbit droppings."
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CHAPTER 10
    Five minutes later we were back on the 405, doing eighty. "We did real good, partner," Terry said. "The Sheriff told us to keep our eye on the rabbit shit, and Amy Cheever wants us to keep the murder out of the press for the sake of the children. For the sake of her corporate ass is what she means. Which by the way I couldn't help notice that you were noticing. You interested?" "First, I'm not about to date a principal in a homicide investigation, and second, I thought we had an agreement. No meddling in my social life." "I wasn't meddling in your social life. I was trying to help you get one."
    "I'm having dinner with my father tonight. You can help me with a good Teamster joke."
    "Okay, how do you know if a Teamster is dead?"
    "The Danish falls out of his hand. I need a new joke." m. If "I got a new fat joke."
    "He doesn't think of himself as fat," I said. "He's big. His name is Big Jim, not Fat Jim. And he's a Teamster. I need Teamster
    I jokes."
    "It's too bad he's not a proctologist. I got a great proctology joke."
    "Gosh, when I was a kid, I always wished my Dad were an astronaut or a quarterback. I never thought about wishing for a proctologist." He thought for a few seconds. "Alright, here's my best shot. How come Teamsters don't have anal sex?" "I give up."
    "They're too lazy to get off their fat asses and bend over."
    I actually laughed. "Not bad," I said, "but it's