"Elrod, P N - Jack Fleming - The Vampire Files 02 - Lifeblood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elrod P N)

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Lifeblood by P.N. Elrod
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Chapter 1
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"BE A SPORT," I said to the bartender, not quite meeting his eye, "I'm
nursin' a broken heart."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, and continued polishing a glass with a gray
rag.

"No foolin', I got the money." And I fumbled five singles from my shirt
pocket and let them flutter onto the damp black wood of the bar. "Come
on, that's worth a bottle, ain't it? I won't make no trouble."

"You can make book on it."

He had a right to be confident. We were nearly the same height, but I'm
on the lean side and he was built like a steam shovel and just as solid.
He thought he could take care of me.

He stopped polishing the glass and put it down next to the bills. I
smiled and tried to look friendly, which was a hell of an act under the
circumstances. This was one of those cheaper-than-two-bit dives where
you take your life in your hands just by going to the men's room. From
the smell of things, the facilities were located just outside the front
door against the wall of the building, gentlemen on the left, ladiesтАж
I renewed my hopeful smile and rustled the bills temptingly.

He looked at them, then gave me a fishy eye, gauging my apparent
drunkenness against the lure of the money. It was a slow night and the
money won. His hand made a move for it, but mine was a little faster and
covered three of Washington's portraits first.

"Wise guy," he said, and took a bottle of the cheap stuff down from the
shelf behind him. Hell, it was all cheap, but that hardly mattered to
me, I only wanted an excuse to hang around.

"I've had some, but not that much." I left two bucks on the bar, took
the bottle, glass, and remaining money, and tottered to the second booth
in line along the wall. With my back to the front door I settled in,
using the careful movements of a drunk who wants to show people he
isn't. I spent a lot of time counting my three dollars and putting them