Part 23 (2/2)

”Hmm?” He peered at something on the side of my head.

”This is bad news. Either call the police, or we take him someplace and do him.”

Cody nodded, then leaned in to take a closer look at the side of my head. ”You're bleeding pretty bad.”

”From the temple?”

He shook his head. ”More the ear.”

I noticed a distant, high-pitched hum in there for the first time. ”Inner or outer?”

”Both.”

”Well, you did take a few good swings.”

He seemed pleased. ”Thanks. I wanted to make sure I did it right.”

He took the gun barrel out of my nostril and sat back on the floor in front of me, kept the .38 pointed at the center of my face.

As I watched, the idea grew in his brain, and an icy realization billowed in his eyes and sucked the heat out of the room.

I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

”What if we really did kill him?” Cody asked Leonard.

Leonard's eyes widened and he put the towel filled with ice down on the counter in front of him.

”Well...”

”You'd expect a bonus, of course,” Cody said.

”Mr. Falk, sure, yeah, but we'd need to really think this through.”

”How so?” Cody winked at me from the other side of the gun hammer. ”We have his wallet and keys. That's his Porsche parked in front of the Lowensteins'. We pull the car into the garage, dump him in the trunk, and then drive him somewhere.” He leaned forward, grazed the gun barrel across my lips. ”And shoot-no, stab him to death.”

Leonard's wide eyes met my own.

”You know, Leonard,” I said, ”you 'do' me. Just like in the movies.”

Cody reached out and slapped me again. It was starting to get annoying.

”Killing someone,” Leonard managed, ”is not something you just decide to do, Mr. Falk.”

”Why's that?”

”It, ahm...well-”

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