"Harvey Jacobs - The Retriever" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jacobs Harvey)

"A friend of mine, Sharon Durman, used your service. She gave me your
card."
"Durman, Durman, Durman. It rings a bell. Oh, yes, Sharon Durman.
Fat ass. Short hair. Eye twitch. What's she up to these days?"
"I think she moved to Florida," Aurora said. "I haven't heard from her
in a while."
"Florida. Lucky bitch. Spring training," Luna said. "Excuse my
language. It's the smoking thing."
Aurora rocked the glove-chair back and forth. She could feel Luna
looking at her as if she was his cigarette lighter, waiting for her breasts to
flash. She thought about getting up and walking out but reconsidered. The
point of her visit was to get something done that needed doing, not to
judge the doer. "I lost a pendant," she said. "Nothing expensive. A pewter
cat on a silver chain. I would like it found if possible."
"Sentimental value, right?" Luna said. "Your husband gave it to you,
right?"
"Actually, no, my husband didn't give it to me."
"I get the picture," Luna said. He made a sucking sound.
"What picture? There is no picture to get. It was a gift from a friend."
Aurora wondered why she bothered to comment.
"Okay, if you say so. A missing pussycat on a chain. Put out an
all-points bulletin. Call in the Secret Service. So tell me, where when and
how?"
 "I feel silly enough having come here ready to pay your ridiculous fee to
find a worthless trinket," Aurora said. "I don't need you to trivialize...."
"You're absolutely right," Luna said, taking another drag. "Let's cut to
the chase. Where do you think you lost your pussy, when did you realize
she was unaccounted for, and how do you think she escaped?"
"Escaped? The cat didn't make a conscious decision to get lost. I think
the clasp on the chain snapped. It was quite old and not very well made. I
first noticed the pendant was missing two days ago. Since then I've
checked at my office, at the restaurant where I had dinner that night, in
the lobby and elevators of my building, everywhere I could think of
including my apartment. I even went through clothes where it might have
snagged on a sleeve."
"What about your purse? You'd be surprised how many times the
missing object ends up in her bag."
"Of course I emptied my purse."
"No cigar, heh? Did you bring something like a sketch of the item in
question? I need more to go by."
"Here," Aurora said, handing Luna her primitive drawing of the
pendant.
"Nice. Excellent. It's not a Picasso but I get the idea. All right. The
Retriever is on the case." Luna lifted the ashtray and dumped it into his
wastebasket. A puff of ashes made a little cloud that drifted toward
Aurora's shoes. She stood up quickly. "On your way out please stop at my
secretary's desk," Luna said. "Old Ironsides handles the money stuff. You
know there's a down payment, a charge for my time and talent and a small
bonus if I come up with the prize."
"No problem. Should I call you in a few days?"