"Block, Lawrence - Scudder 1982 - Eight Million Ways To Die" - читать интересную книгу автора (Block Lawrence)

'What do you call it? What you do.'

You could call it hustling a buck, except that I don't hustle a whole lot. The work finds me. I turn down more than I handle, and the jobs I accept are ones I can't think of a way to turn down. Right now I was wondering what this woman wanted from me, and what excuse I'd find to say no.

'I don't know what to call it,' I told her. 'You could say that I do favors for friends.'

Her face lit up. She'd been doing a lot of smiling ever since she walked in the door but this was the first smile that got as far as her eyes. 'Well, hell, that's perfect,' she said. 'I could use a favor. As far as that goes, I could use a friend.'

'What's the problem?'

She bought some thinking time by lighting another cigarette, then lowered her eyes to watch her hands as she centered the lighter on top of the pack. Her nails were well manicured, long but not awkward, lacquered the color of tawny port. She wore a gold ring set with a large square-cut green stone on the third finger of her left hand. She said, 'You know what I do. Same as Elaine.'

'So I gathered.'

'I'm a hooker.'

I nodded. She straightened in her seat, squared her shoulders, adjusted the fur jacket, opened the clasp at her throat. I caught a trace of her perfume. I'd smelled that spicy scent before but couldn't recall the occasion. I picked up my cup, finished my coffee.

'I want out.'

'Of the life?'

She nodded. 'I've been doing this for four years. I came here four years ago in July. August, September, October, November. Four years and four months. I'm twenty-three years old. That's young, isn't it?'

'Yes.'

'It doesn't feel so young.' She adjusted the jacket again, refastened the clasp. Light glinted off her ring. 'When I got off the bus four years ago I had a suitcase in one hand and a denim jacket over my arm. Now I've got this. It's ranch mink.'

'It's very becoming.'

'I'd trade it for the old denim jacket,' she said, 'if I could have the years back. No, I wouldn't. Because if I had them back I'd just do the same thing with them, wouldn't I? Oh to be nineteen again and know what I know now, but the only way that could be is if I started tricking at fifteen, and then I'd be dead by now. I'm just rambling. I'm sorry.'

'No need.'

'I want to get out of the life.'

'And do what? Go back to Minnesota?'

'Wisconsin. No, I won't be going back. There's nothing there for me. Just because I want out doesn't mean I have to go back.'

'Okay.'

'I can make lots of trouble for myself that way. I reduce things to two alternatives, so if A is no good that means I'm stuck with B. But that's not right. There's the whole rest of the alphabet.'

She could always teach philosophy. I said, 'Where do I come in, Kim?'

'Oh. Right.'

I waited.