Til Death by Ed McBain Read Free Book Online

gag. Come on into the bedroom, will you?”
    They followed him through the house. In the bedroom, Tommy took a white tie from the dresser top and handed it to Carella. “Here,” he said. “See what you can do with this damn thing, will you?”
    He faced Carella. He lifted his chin, and Carella began working on the tie.
    “I checked on Sokolin,” Carella said.
    “Yeah?”
    “I don’t want you to start worrying…but he’s in this city. Got out of jail in April.”
    “Oh.”
    “Still think it’s a gag?”
    “Gee, I don’t know. You think a guy would carry a grudge all this time? For something that happened in Korea? Or really, for something that didn’t even—”
    “Were you in Korea?” Kling asked, interested.
    “Yeah. You?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Army?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I was in the Signal Corps,” Tommy said. “With the Tenth Army Corps at the Inchon landings.”
    “I was in on the Seoul liberation,” Kling said. “With the Ninth Corps.”
    “Under General Walker?”
    “Yes.”
    “Hell, we linked up with the First and Ninth around Seoul!” Tommy said. “Jesus, I’ll bet we were close enough to touch.”
    “You were on the drive to the Yalu?”
    “Sure.”
    “How do you like that?” Kling said. “It’s a small world, all right.”
    “And you’re a cop now, huh?”
    “Yes. What are you doing?”
    “I work in a bank,” Tommy said. “I’m training to be an executive.” He shrugged. “It’s not really what I want to be.”
    “What do you want to be?”
    “I’d like to be a baseball announcer. I used to be a pretty good catcher when I was a kid. I know the game inside out and backwards. Ask Jonesy when he gets back.” He turned to Carella. “You didn’t happen to see him downstairs, did you?”
    “Who?” Carella said. “There. Your tie’s tied.”
    “Jonesy. My best man. My best friend, too. He went downstairs about a half-hour ago, said he needed some air.”
    “Was he in a monkey suit?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Didn’t see anybody dressed for a wedding. Did you, Bert?”
    “No.”
    “Well, he’ll be back,” Tommy said. “Jesus, I hope he has the ring. What time is it, Steve?”
    “Two o’clock. You’ve still got an hour. Relax.”
    “Well, I’m supposed to get there a little earlier, you know. I’ve got to go back to the rectory. I’m not supposed to see the bride until she comes down the aisle. Your mother is a lulu, Steve.”
    “How so?”
    “I’m not complaining. She’ll probably make an excellent mother-in-law. But I called a little while ago, and she wouldn’t even let me talk to Angela. That’s going a little far, don’t you think?”
    “She was dressing,” Carella said.
    “Yeah?” Tommy’s eyes glowed. “How does she look? Beautiful, I’ll bet.”
    “Beautiful.”
    “Yeah, I knew it. Was she nervous?”
    “Very.”
    “Me, too. You want some coffee?”
    “No, thanks.”
    “A little drink?”
    “No. Do you want to hear about Sokolin?”
    “Sokolin? Who’s—? Oh, sure. Sure.” Tommy pulled on his jacket. “There. I’m all set. How do I look? Did I shave close enough?”
    “You shaved close enough.”
    “I’ll probably need another one by the time we check in tonight. I’ve got a heavy beard. You blond guys are lucky, Bert. Do I look all right, Steve? Is the tie straight?”
    “The tie’s straight.”
    “Good. Then I’m ready to go. You think we ought to leave now? It’s past two, isn’t it?”
    “I think you ought to do something before you leave,” Carella said.
    “Yeah? What?”
    “Put on your pants.”
    Tommy looked down at his hairy legs. “Oh, God! Oh, Jesus! Boy, am I glad you’re here! How could a guy forget to do something he does every day of his life? Boy!” He shucked the jacket and took his black trousers from a hanger in the closet. “What about Sokolin?”
    “He spent a year in jail because he got into an argument about his dead Korean buddy.”
    “That doesn’t sound so good.”
    “It sounds pretty