"Callahan 05 - Lady Sally's House 02 - Lady Slings the Booze v1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Spider)

"So what's the plan? You give me a Grand Tour of the place, visiting-fireman-style, and along about dawn I come back and give you my answer? No hard feelings if I take a pass?"
"Something like that."
I thought about it. I'd been to a few Houses before...but never anyplace near as classy as this. And all I'd ever gotten to see of them was a crummy parlor-in one case, more of a bus station waiting room-and a hallway and a crib. It came to me that, given a choice, I'd almost rather tour a whorehouse than use one. Especially this one.
And there was no reason the two had to be incompatible. As Clint Eastwood once said, "It do present mind-boggling possibilities, don't it?" There were a lot worse ways to earn two hundred bucks...
"I'd be a fool to refuse," I said.

"YOU certainly would," Lady Sally agreed. "I don't give many tours of my House-and this will be the first one I've given for free. Well, let's say, 'on spec.' All right, let's get this show on the road if we're going. Mary!"
I looked around. Still just the three of us.
"Yes, Lady," said a cheerful voice that seemed to come from the middle of the room.
"Is Tim busy just now?"
There was a five-second pause; "Not any more. His eleven o'clock just left."
"Ask him to come see me here, would you, dear?"
"Sure thing. It'll be a few minutes."
"Naturally. Thank you, love."
"You're welcome, Lady!" WhOever she was, she was jolly.
"Tim will show you around," Lady Sally told me. "Just tell him you're thinking about hiring on, and duck every question you can."
I frowned. "I still don't know if that's the way to go. Look, I'm pretty good with my mouth. When I was born I passed myself off as a doctor; if I could have reached the doorknob I'd have got away clean. I could fake being a hooker to a civilian, no sweat. But I don't think I can fool another hooker for very long. Especially if you're right, and I don't really know much about it. There's nothing I hate more than trying not to look surprised."
She shook her head. "Listen to me, Joe: in the first place, I would venture to guess that less than a quarter of the men who seek to enter my employ have ever worked professionally before. And those who have are nearly always as ignorant as you are of how things are done here. Tim won't be surprised if you look a little...well, confused."
"If you say so," I agreed dubiously.
"And you'll find that people don't ask a lot of personal questions without encouragement."
"All right. Before he gets here, why don't you tell me a little bit more about the specific problem you want me to deal with?"
"No."
"How am I supposed to know what to keep my eyes out for?"
"Joe," she said patiently, "if you report to me at dawn that you are not prepared to go undercover as one of my artists, you are not ever going to know any more than you already do about my problem. If we proceed, you'll be briefed. Just soak up the place."
That made sense. "Fair enough."
"I'll see you at sunrise. Most people find Tim fairly non-threatening. If you-"
The invisible Mary interrupted. (This place certainly seemed to have its share of people that weren't there.) "Pris-"
"Yes, Mary?"
"Developing situation at the Bower; Class Three."
I was a little surprised. It didn't make Priscilla look happier; just more alert. "On my way!"
"Kate will meet you," Mary said, but Priscilla, was already gone. She moved like a panther chasing a cheetah, and nothing she did including closing the door behind her made the slightest sound. I felt almost sorry for the ass or asses who were making trouble in the Bower, whatever that was. (Bower-y bums?)
Lady Sally watched her go expressionlessly. "As I was saying-" she began, but the door opened again and a tall slender guy came in.
I love it when she does that' he said eyes shining. Like a cat on ice skates. She cornered in third gear, and I swear she wouldn't have left a trail on rice paper."
He was in his late twenties, medium length black hair, green eyes, six two or three, a hundred and sixty pounds tops, very fit. He had a pleasant, youthful face. If you were his agent you'd have pitched him as the Hero's Best Friend, or the Eager Rookie. He wore dark slippers, dark slacks, and a green silk shirt.
It was buttoned up to one short of his throat, but the sleeves were unbuttoned. That made me look closer. They weren't bracelets. They were rope marks.
Most people found him non-threatening...
"Excuse me," he said to me. "I could just watch Priscilla run like that for hours."
"Pleasure to meet a fellow sports fan," I told him.
He turned to Lady Sally. "You called, Your Ladyship?"
"Tim, this is...I'm sorry, what is your name?"
"Taggart," I said. "Ken."
"Hi, Ken. Pleased to meet you too." We shook hands. Nice grip.
"Mr. Taggart might be joining the staff, Tim," Lady Sally. said. "I'd like you to take him on an inspection tour. Would you mind?"
"I'd be happy to. My dance card is clear for the rest of the night."
"Any problems just now?" she asked obliquely.
He grinned. "Naw. I've got her right where I want her: I'm eating out of the palm of her hand."
"How are things generally, dear?"
"With me? Couldn't be better," he said, with obvious sincerity. "Why do you ask?"
She smiled back at him. "You know perfectly well why." "Yes, I do," he said, and made a little bow. Not a Von Stroheim, a Japanese monk kind. "I love you too."
"Very satisfactorily. Now be off with you, children; Mother wants to brood. Tim, you go ahead, and Ken will catch right up with you, all right?"