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The Circuit Riders · 20 Short Science Fiction Stories

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Speaker 1: Section nine of twenty short science fiction stories by various authors.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Circuit
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Speaker 1: Writers by R. C. Fitzpatrick. On the board, they were
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Speaker 1: just little lights that glowed, but out there in the
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Speaker 1: night of the city jungle, they represented human passions, virulent passions,
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Speaker 1: and deadly crimes to be He was an old man
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Speaker 1: and very drunk, very drunk, or very sick. It was
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Speaker 1: the middle of the day and the day was hot,
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Speaker 1: but the old man had on a suit and a
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Speaker 1: sweater under the suit. He stopped walking and stood still,
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Speaker 1: swaying gently on widespread legs, and tried to focus his eyes.
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Speaker 1: He lived here, around here, somewhere around here. He continued on,
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Speaker 1: stumbling up the street. He finally made it home. He
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Speaker 1: lived on the second floor, and dragged himself up the
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Speaker 1: narrow staircase with both hands clutching the railing. But he
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Speaker 1: was still very careful on the paper bag under his arm.
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Speaker 1: The bag was full of beer. Once in the room,
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Speaker 1: he managed to take off his coat before he sank
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Speaker 1: down on the bed. He just sat there, vacant and
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Speaker 1: lost and empty, and drank his beer. It was a hot,
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Speaker 1: muggy August afternoon Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The broad rivers put
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Speaker 1: moisture in the air, and the high hills kept it there.
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Speaker 1: Light breezes were broken up and diverted by the hills
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Speaker 1: before they could bring more than a breath of relief.
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Speaker 1: In the East Liberty Precinct station, the doors and windows
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Speaker 1: were wide open to snare the vagrant breezes. There were
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Speaker 1: eight men in the room, a desk sergeant, two beat
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Speaker 1: cops waiting to go on duty, the audio controller and
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Speaker 1: Deangelus operator, two reporters, and a local book businessman. From
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Speaker 1: the back of the building the jail proper, a voice
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Speaker 1: of a prisoner asking for a match floated out to
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Speaker 1: the men in the room, and a few minutes later
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Speaker 1: they heard the slow, exasperated steps of the turnkey as
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Speaker 1: he walked over to give his prisoner a light. At
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Speaker 1: three thirty two pm, the Deangelist board came alive as
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Speaker 1: half a dozen lights flashed red and the needles on
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Speaker 1: the dials below them trembled. In the seventies and eighties,
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Speaker 1: every other light on the board showed varying shades of pink,
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Speaker 1: registering in the sixties. The operator glanced at the board
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Speaker 1: started to note the times and intensities of two of
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Speaker 1: the dials in his log, scratched them out, then went
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Speaker 1: on with his conversation with the audio controller. The younger
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Speaker 1: reporter got up and came over to the board. The
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Speaker 1: controller and the operator looked up at him. Nothing, said
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Speaker 1: the operator, shaking his head in a negative. Bad call
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Speaker 1: at the ball game. Probably, He nodded his head towards
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Speaker 1: the lights on the DeAngelis. They'll be gone in five
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Speaker 1: ten minutes. The controller reached over and turned up the
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Speaker 1: volume on his radio. The radio should not have been there,
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Speaker 1: but as long as everyone did his job and kept
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Speaker 1: the volume low. The captain looked the other way. The
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Speaker 1: set belonged to the precinct. The announcer's voice came on,
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Speaker 1: ing up. He's fuming, Doc is holding Sarah back. What
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Speaker 1: a beef. Bruetok's got his nose not two inches from
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Speaker 1: Frascoli's face, and brother is he letting him have it? Oh? Oh,
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Speaker 1: here comes Gilbert off the mound. He's stalking over. When
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Speaker 1: gil puts up a hauler, you know he thinks it's
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Speaker 1: a good one. Brutok keeps pointing at the foul line.
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Speaker 1: You can see from here the chalk's been wiped away.
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Speaker 1: He's insisting the runner slid out of the base path.
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Speaker 1: Frascali's walking away, but Danny's going right aft. The controller
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Speaker 1: turned the volume down again. The lights on the De
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Speaker 1: Angelis board kept flickering, but by three thirty seven all
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Speaker 1: but two had gone out. One by one, these two
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Speaker 1: showed readings in the high sixties. One flared briefly to
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Speaker 1: seventy eight point two, then went out. Burtock was no
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Speaker 1: longer in the ballgame. By three forty one, only one
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Speaker 1: light still glowed, and it was steadily fading. Throughout the long, hot,
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Speaker 1: humid afternoon. The board held its reddish, irritated overtones, and
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Speaker 1: occasional reading flashed in and out of the seventies. At
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Speaker 1: four o'clock, the new duty section came on. The Deangelus operator,
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Speaker 1: whose name was Chuck Matsik, was replaced by an operator
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Speaker 1: named Charlie Blaney. Nothing to report, Chuck told Charlie rhuebarb
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Speaker 1: down at the point at the Forbes Municipal Field, but
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Speaker 1: that's about all. The new operator scarcely glanced at the
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Speaker 1: model board. It was that kind of day. He noted
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Speaker 1: an occasional high in his log book, but most signals
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Speaker 1: were ignored. At five fourteen, he noted a severe reading
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Speaker 1: of eighty seven, which stayed on the board. At five sixteen,
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Speaker 1: another light came on, climbed slowly through the sixties, then
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Speaker 1: soared to seventy seven, where it held steady. Neither light
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Speaker 1: was an honest read. Their angry overtones chased each other rapidly.
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Speaker 1: The Deangelus operator called over to the audio controller. Got
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Speaker 1: us a case of crinkle fender I think where, the
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Speaker 1: controller asked. Can't tell yet, Blainey said, A hot head
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Speaker 1: and a citizen with righteous indignation. They're clear enough, but
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Speaker 1: not too sharp. He swiveled in his chair and adjusted
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Speaker 1: knobs Before a large circular screen. Pale streaks of light
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Speaker 1: glowed briefly as the sweep passed over them. There were
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Speaker 1: milky dots everywhere. A soft light in the lower left
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Speaker 1: hand corner of the screen cut an uncertain path across
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Speaker 1: the grid, and two indeterminate splotches in the upper half
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Speaker 1: of the sculpe flared out to the margin morningside, the
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Speaker 1: operator said. The splashes of light separated. One moved quickly
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Speaker 1: off the screen, the other held stationary for several minutes.
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Speaker 1: Then contracted and began a steady, jagged advanced toward the
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Speaker 1: center of the grid, one inch down, half an inch over,
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Speaker 1: two inches down, then four inches on a diagonal line,
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Speaker 1: like I said, said Blaney. An accident. Eight minutes later,
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Speaker 1: at five thirty two, a slightly pompous and thoroughly outraged
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Speaker 1: young salesman marched through the doors of the station house
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Speaker 1: and over to the desk. Sergeant. Some clown just hit me,
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Speaker 1: he began with his fist. Asked the sergeant with his car,
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Speaker 1: said the salesman, my car with his car. He hit
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Speaker 1: my car with his car. The sergeant raised his hand.
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Speaker 1: Simmer down, young feller. Let me see your driver's license.
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Speaker 1: He reached over the desk for the man's cards with
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Speaker 1: one hand, and with the other he sorted out an
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Speaker 1: accident form. Just give it to me. Slowly he started
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Speaker 1: filling out the form. The Deangelus operator leaned back in
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Speaker 1: his chair and winked at the controller. I'm a whiz,
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Speaker 1: he said to the young reporter. I'm a phenom I
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Speaker 1: never miss The reporter smiled and walked back to his colleague,
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Speaker 1: who was playing gin with the book business man. The
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Speaker 1: lights glowed on and off all evening, but only once
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Speaker 1: had they called for action. At ten thirty four, two
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Speaker 1: sharp readings of ninety two point two and ninety four
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Speaker 1: even had sent Blaney back to his dials and screen.
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Speaker 1: He narrowed it down to a four block. When the
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Speaker 1: telephone rang to report a fight at the red Antler grill,
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Speaker 1: the controller dispatched beat cop already in the area. Twenty
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Speaker 1: two minutes later, two very large and very obedient young
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Speaker 1: tufts stumbled in, followed by an angry officer. In addition
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Speaker 1: to the marks of the fight, both had a lumbering,
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Speaker 1: off balance walk that showed that the policeman had been
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Speaker 1: prodding them with his riot club. It was called an
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Speaker 1: electronic persuader. It also doubled as a carbine. Police no
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Speaker 1: longer carried side arms. He pointed to the one on
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Speaker 1: the left, This one hit me. He pointed to the
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Speaker 1: one on the right. This one kicked me. The one
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Speaker 1: on the left was certain he would never hit another cop.
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Speaker 1: The one on the right knew he would never kick
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Speaker 1: another cop. Book em, the sergeant said. He looked at
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Speaker 1: the two youths. You're going to the can you want
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Speaker 1: to argue? The youth looked down. No one else said anything.
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Speaker 1: The younger reporter came over and took down the information
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Speaker 1: as the cop and the two tufts gave it to
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Speaker 1: the sergeant. Then he went back to his seat at
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Speaker 1: the card table and took a mini typer from his pocket.
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Speaker 1: He started sending to the paper. You ought to send
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Speaker 1: that stuff direct. The card player said, I scribbled too bad.
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Speaker 1: The reporter answered backcrap, said the older man. That little
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Speaker 1: jewel can transcribe chicken scratches. The cubs crunched over his
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Speaker 1: mini typer. A few minutes later, he looked up at
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Speaker 1: his partner. What's a good word for hoodlum? The other
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Speaker 1: reporter was irritated. He was also losing at gin. What
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Speaker 1: are you a Steinbeck? He laid down his cards. Look, kid,
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Speaker 1: just send it just the way you get it. That's
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Speaker 1: why they pay rewrite men. We're reporters. We report o K.
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Speaker 1: He went back to his cards. At eleven forty light
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Speaker 1: at the end of the second road turned pinkish, but
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Speaker 1: no reading showed on the dial below. It was only
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Speaker 1: one of a dozen bulbs showing red. It was still
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Speaker 1: pinkish when the watch was changed. Blaney was replaced by
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Speaker 1: King Watch. This one Blaney said to King, indicating and
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Speaker 1: entering the log. It was numbered eight twenty eight three
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Speaker 1: zero five nine seventy eight four A. I've had it
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Speaker 1: on four times now, all in the high seventies. I
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Speaker 1: got a feeling. The number indicated date, estimated area and
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Speaker 1: relation to previous alerts in the month, estimated intent and
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Speaker 1: frequency of report. The A meant intermittent. The only last
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Speaker 1: three digits would change if it comes on again. I
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Speaker 1: think I'd lock a circuit on it right away. The
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Speaker 1: rules called for any continuous reading over seventy five to
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Speaker 1: be contacted and connected after its sixth appearance. About that one,
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Speaker 1: King said, pointing to a seventy point four that was
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Speaker 1: unblinking in its intensity. Some drunk, said Blaney, or a
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Speaker 1: baby with a head cold. Been on there for twenty minutes.
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Speaker 1: You can watch for it if you like. His tone
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Speaker 1: suggested that it to be a waste of time. I'll
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Speaker 1: watch it, said King. His tone suggested he knew how
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Speaker 1: to read the circuit, and if Blaney had any suggestions,
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Speaker 1: he could keep them to himself. Joe Millsop finally staggered home, exhausted.
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Speaker 1: He was half drunk and worn out from being on
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Speaker 1: his feet all day, but the liquor had finally done
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Speaker 1: its work. He could think about the incident without flushing
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Speaker 1: hot all over. He was too tired and too sorry
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Speaker 1: for himself to be angry at any one, and with
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Speaker 1: his new found alcoholic objectivity, he could see now where
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Speaker 1: he had been in the wrong. Old Bloomgarten shouldn't have
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Speaker 1: chewed him out in front of a customer like that,
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Speaker 1: but what the hell, well, he shouldn't have sassed the customer,
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Speaker 1: even if she was just a dumb broad who didn't
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Speaker 1: know what she wanted. He managed to get undressed before
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Speaker 1: he stumbled into bed. His last coherent thought before he
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Speaker 1: fell into a drug sleep was that he'd better apologize
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Speaker 1: in the morning. A twenty eighteen three zero five nine
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Speaker 1: seven eight four A stayed off the board at one
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Speaker 1: eighteen a m. The DeAngelis flared to A ninety eight
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Speaker 1: point four, then started inching down again. The young reporter
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Speaker 1: sat up alert from where he had been dozing. The
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Speaker 1: loud clang of a bell had brought him awake. The
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Speaker 1: older reporter glanced up from his cards and waved him down.
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Speaker 1: Forget it, he said, some wife just opened the door
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Speaker 1: and saw lipstick. On her husband's neck. Oh, honey, how
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Speaker 1: could you fifty dollars? She was crying, don't mother? I
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Speaker 1: thought I could make some money, some real money. The
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Speaker 1: youngster looked sick. I had four nines, four nines? How
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Speaker 1: could I figure him for a straight flush? He didn't
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Speaker 1: have a thing showing? How could you? Sobbed the mother,
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Speaker 1: Oh how could you? The book businessman dealt the cards.
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Speaker 1: The reporter picked his up and arranged them in his hand.
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Speaker 1: He discarded one. The business man ignored it and drew
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Speaker 1: from the deck. He discarded. The reporter picked up the
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Speaker 1: discard and threw away a card from his hand. The
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Speaker 1: businessman drew from the deck and discarded the same card
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Speaker 1: he drawn. The reporter picked it up, tapped it slowly
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Speaker 1: in place with his elbow, placed his discard face down,
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Speaker 1: and spread his hand. Jin he said, rah, said the
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Speaker 1: business man. Damn it. You play good, You play real good.
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Speaker 1: A light on the Deangelus flashed red and showed a
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Speaker 1: reading of sixty five point four on the dial. Can't
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Speaker 1: beat skill, said the reporter. Count fifty six, said the businessman.
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Speaker 1: That's counting gin, he added game, The reporter announced, I'll
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Speaker 1: figure the damage. You play good, said the businessman, in disgust.
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Speaker 1: You only say that because it's true, the reporter said.
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Speaker 1: But as sweet of you all the same. Shut up,
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Speaker 1: said the businessman. The reporter looked up concerned. You stuck,
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Speaker 1: he asked solicitously. He seemed sincere certainly, I'm stuck. The
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Speaker 1: businessman snarled. Then stay stuck, said the reporter in a
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Speaker 1: kindly tone. He patted the businessman on the cheek. The
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Speaker 1: same light on the Deangelus flashed red. This time, the
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Speaker 1: dial registered eighty two. The operator chuckled and looked over
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Speaker 1: at the gamblers, where the reporter was still adding up
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Speaker 1: the score. How much you down, Bernie, he asked the businessman.
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Speaker 1: Four dollars and ninety six cents. The reporter answered, you
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Speaker 1: play good, Bernie said again. The Deangelus went back to normal,
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Speaker 1: and the operator went back to his magazine. The bab
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Speaker 1: at the end of the second row turned from light
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Speaker 1: pink to a soft rose. The needle on his dial
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Speaker 1: finally flickered onto the scale. There were other lights on
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Speaker 1: the board, but none called for action. It was still
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Speaker 1: just a quiet night in the middle of the week.
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Speaker 1: The room was filthy. It had a natural filth that
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Speaker 1: clings to a cheap room and a man made careless
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Speaker 1: filth that would disfigure the taj Mahal. It wasn't so
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Speaker 1: much that things were dirty, It was more that nothing
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Speaker 1: was clean. Pittsburgh was no longer a smoky city. That
15:46
Speaker 1: problem had been solved before the mills had stopped belching smoke. Now,
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Speaker 1: with atomics and fielders on every stack in every home,
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Speaker 1: the city was clean, clean as the works of man
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Speaker 1: could make it, yet still filthy as only the minds
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Speaker 1: of man could achieve. The city might be clean, but
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Speaker 1: there were people who were not, and the room was not. Overhead,
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Speaker 1: the ceiling light still burned, casting its harsh glare on
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Speaker 1: the trashy room and the trashy huddled figure on the bed.
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Speaker 1: He was an old man, lying on the bed, fully
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Speaker 1: clothed even to his shoes. He twisted fretfully in his sleep.
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Speaker 1: The body tried to rise, anticipating nature, even when the
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Speaker 1: mind could not. The man gagged several times and finally
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Speaker 1: made it up to a sitting position before the vomit came.
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Speaker 1: He was still asleep, but his reaction was automatic. He
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Speaker 1: grabbed the bottom of his sweater and pulled it out
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Speaker 1: before him to form a bucket of sorts. When he
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Speaker 1: finished being sick, he sat still, swaying gently back and forth,
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Speaker 1: and tried to open his eyes. He could not make it.
16:56
Speaker 1: Still asleep, he ducked out of the foul sweater, made
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Speaker 1: an ineffectual dab at his mouth, wadded the sweater in
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Speaker 1: a ball and threw it over in front of the
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Speaker 1: bathroom door. He fell back on the bed, exhausted and
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Speaker 1: went on with his fitful sleep. At four fifteen in
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Speaker 1: the morning, a man walked into the station house. His
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Speaker 1: name was Henry Tilton. He was a reporter for the
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Speaker 1: Evening Press. He waved a greeting to the desk sergeant
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Speaker 1: and went over to kibbitts the card game. Both players
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Speaker 1: looked up, startled the reporter playing cards said hullo, Henry.
17:34
Speaker 1: He looked at his watch. Hush, I didn't realize it
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Speaker 1: was that late. He turned to the business man. Hurry up,
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Speaker 1: finish the hand. Got to get my beauty sleep. What
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Speaker 1: do you mean, hurry up, said Burney. You're into me
17:48
Speaker 1: for fifteen bucks. Get it back from Hank there, the
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Speaker 1: reporter said. He nodded at the newcomer. Want this hand,
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Speaker 1: You're fourteen points down. Lover boys got sixty eight on game.
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Speaker 1: But you're a box up, sure, said Tilton. He took
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Speaker 1: the cards. The morning news reporters left the businessman deald
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Speaker 1: a new hand. Tilton waited four rounds, then knocked with ten.
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Speaker 1: Bernie slammed down his cards. You lousy reporters are all alike.
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Speaker 1: I'm going home. He got up to put on his coat.
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Speaker 1: I'll be back about ten. You still be here, sure,
18:26
Speaker 1: said Tilton. With the score, he folded the paper and
18:30
Speaker 1: put it in his pocket. The businessman walked out, and
18:33
Speaker 1: Tilton went over to the Deangelus board. Anything he asked, Nah,
18:38
Speaker 1: said King. He pointed to the lights. Just lover's quarrels tonight,
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Speaker 1: all pink and peaceful. Tilton smiled and ambled back to
18:47
Speaker 1: the cell block. The operator put his feet up on
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Speaker 1: the desk, then frowned and put them down again. He
18:54
Speaker 1: leaned toward the board and studied the light at the
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Speaker 1: end of the second row. The needle registered six. The
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Speaker 1: operator pursed his lips, then flicked a switch that opened
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Speaker 1: the photo file every five minutes, and automatic camera photographed.
19:09
Speaker 1: The DeAngelis board developed the film and filed the pictureway
19:14
Speaker 1: in its storage vault. King studied the photographs for quite
19:17
Speaker 1: a while, then pulled his log book over and made
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Speaker 1: an entry. He wrote eight twenty nine three one four
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Speaker 1: two one X. The last three digits meant that he
19:29
Speaker 1: wasn't sure about the intensity, and the X signified a
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Speaker 1: continuous reading. King turned to the audio controller. Do me
19:38
Speaker 1: a favor, Gus, but strictly unofficial. Contact everybody around us. Oakland,
19:44
Speaker 1: Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Lawrenceville, Gloomfield, everybody in this end
19:50
Speaker 1: of town. Find out if they've got one low intensity
19:53
Speaker 1: reading that's been on for hours, if they haven't had
19:57
Speaker 1: it since before midnight. I'm not interested. Something up, the
20:01
Speaker 1: controller asked. Probably not, said the operator. I just like
20:06
Speaker 1: to pin this one down as close as I can.
20:09
Speaker 1: On a light like this, my screen shows nothing but milk.
20:13
Speaker 1: Give you a lift home, the old reporter asked, Thanks,
20:17
Speaker 1: said the cub, shaking his head. But I live out
20:20
Speaker 1: by the young Hilginny River, so the old man shrugged.
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Speaker 1: Half hour flight hop in. I don't understand, said the cub,
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Speaker 1: What me offering you a lift? No, said the cub
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Speaker 1: back there in the station house. You know you mean
20:38
Speaker 1: the Deangelists, not that exactly, said the cub. I understand
20:43
Speaker 1: a deangelist's board, everybody broadcasts some motions, and if they're
20:47
Speaker 1: strong enough, they can be received and interpreted. It's the
20:51
Speaker 1: copse I don't understand. I thought any reading over eighty
20:55
Speaker 1: was dangerous and had to be looked into, and anything
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Speaker 1: over ninety was plain and had to be picked up.
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Speaker 1: Here they've been ignoring eighties and nineties all night long.
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Speaker 1: You remember that children's story you wrote last Christmas about
21:09
Speaker 1: an Irish imp named Shano Claus. His companion asked him, certainly,
21:15
Speaker 1: the cub said, scowling, I'll sell it some day. You remember,
21:19
Speaker 1: the fashion editor killed it because she thought sea Ann
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Speaker 1: was a girl's name and it might be sacrilegious. You're right,
21:27
Speaker 1: I remember, the cub said, his voice rising like to
21:31
Speaker 1: bet you didn't register from ninety that day. As a
21:34
Speaker 1: matter of fact, I'll head for the nearest precinct and
21:37
Speaker 1: bet you five you're over eighty right now. He laughed aloud,
21:41
Speaker 1: and the young man calmed down. I had that same
21:45
Speaker 1: idea myself at first, about ninety being against the law.
21:49
Speaker 1: That's one of the main troubles the law. Every damned
21:53
Speaker 1: state in the dominion has its own ideas on what
21:55
Speaker 1: is dangerous. The laws are all fouled up. But what
21:59
Speaker 1: more most of them boil down to is this. A
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Speaker 1: man has to have a continuous reading of over ninety
22:05
Speaker 1: before he can be arrested, not arrested, really detained. Just
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Speaker 1: a reading on the board doesn't prove a thing. Some
22:13
Speaker 1: people walk around boiling at ninety all their lives, like editors.
22:18
Speaker 1: But the sweet old lady down the block who's never
22:21
Speaker 1: sworn in her life, she may hit sixty five and
22:24
Speaker 1: reach for a knife, and that doesn't prove a thing.
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Speaker 1: Ninety sometimes means murder, but usually not. Up to one
22:33
Speaker 1: hundred and ten usually means murder, but sometimes not. And
22:37
Speaker 1: anything over one twenty always means murder, and it still
22:41
Speaker 1: doesn't prove a thing. And then again, a psychotic or
22:45
Speaker 1: a professional gunsul may not register at all. They kill
22:50
Speaker 1: for fun or for business. They're not angry at anybody.
22:54
Speaker 1: It's all up to the DeAngelis operators. They're the kingpins.
22:58
Speaker 1: They make the system work, not Simon Deangelists who invented it,
23:03
Speaker 1: or the technician who installs it, or the police commissioner
23:07
Speaker 1: who takes the results to city Hall. The operators make
23:10
Speaker 1: it or break it. Sure, they have rules to follow
23:14
Speaker 1: if they want. But a good operator ignores the rules,
23:18
Speaker 1: and a bad operator goes by the book, and he's
23:21
Speaker 1: still no damn good. It's just like radar was sixty
23:25
Speaker 1: seventy years ago. Some got the knack, some don't. Then
23:29
Speaker 1: the deangelist doesn't do the job, said the cub. Certainly
23:34
Speaker 1: it does, the older man said. Nothing's perfect. It gives
23:38
Speaker 1: the police a jump on a lot of crime, premeditated murder,
23:42
Speaker 1: for one. The average citizen can't kill anyone unless he's
23:46
Speaker 1: mad enough, and if he's mad enough, he registers on
23:49
Speaker 1: the deangelists, and ordinary robbers get caught their plans don't
23:54
Speaker 1: go just right, or they fight among themselves, or if
23:58
Speaker 1: they just don't like the society. A good Dangelis operator
24:02
Speaker 1: can tell quite a bit if he gets a reading
24:04
Speaker 1: at the wrong time of day or night, or in
24:07
Speaker 1: the wrong part of town. But what about the sweet
24:10
Speaker 1: old lady who registers sixty five and then goes berserk.
24:14
Speaker 1: That's where your operator really comes in. Usually that kind
24:18
Speaker 1: of a reading comes too late. Grandma's swinging the knife
24:22
Speaker 1: at the same time the light goes on in the
24:24
Speaker 1: station house. But if she waits to swing or builds
24:28
Speaker 1: herself up to it, then she may be stopped. You know,
24:32
Speaker 1: those poor operators are supposed to log any reading over
24:35
Speaker 1: sixty and report downtown with anything over eighty. Sure they are.
24:40
Speaker 1: If they logged everything over sixty, they'd have writers cramp
24:44
Speaker 1: the first hour they were on watch. And believe me, sonny,
24:48
Speaker 1: any operator who reported downtown on every reading over eighty
24:52
Speaker 1: would be back pounding a beat before the end of
24:54
Speaker 1: his first day. They just do the best they can,
24:58
Speaker 1: and you'd be surprised at how good that can be.
25:02
Speaker 1: The old man woke up but kept his eyes closed.
25:06
Speaker 1: He was afraid it was too quiet, and the room
25:09
Speaker 1: was clammy with an early morning chill. He opened his
25:12
Speaker 1: eyelids a crack and looked out the window, still dark outside.
25:18
Speaker 1: He lay there trembling and brought his elbows in tight
25:21
Speaker 1: to his body. He was going to have the shakes.
25:24
Speaker 1: He knew he'd have the shakes, and it was still
25:26
Speaker 1: too early, too early. He looked at the clock. It
25:30
Speaker 1: was only a quarter after five, too early for the
25:34
Speaker 1: bars to be open. He covered his eyes with his
25:37
Speaker 1: hands and tried to think. It was no use. He
25:41
Speaker 1: couldn't think. He sobbed. He was afraid to move. He
25:45
Speaker 1: knew he had to have a drink, and he knew
25:48
Speaker 1: if he got up he'd be sick. Oh lord, he breathed.
25:53
Speaker 1: The trembling became worse. He tried to press it away
25:57
Speaker 1: by hugging his body with his arms. It didn't help.
26:01
Speaker 1: He looked wildly around and tried to concentrate. He thought
26:05
Speaker 1: about the bureau, No, the dresser. No, his clothes, He
26:11
Speaker 1: felt feverishly about his body. No, under the bed. No, wait,
26:17
Speaker 1: maybe he'd brought some beer home. Now he remembered, maybe
26:22
Speaker 1: there was some left. He rolled over on his stomach
26:25
Speaker 1: and groped under the bed. His tremulous fingers found the
26:29
Speaker 1: paper bag, and he dragged it out. It was full
26:32
Speaker 1: of empty cans. The carton inside was ripped. He tore
26:36
Speaker 1: the sack open empty cans. No, there was a full one,
26:42
Speaker 1: two full ones. He staggered to his feet and looked
26:45
Speaker 1: for an opener. There was one on the bureau. He
26:49
Speaker 1: stumbled over and opened his first, beautiful, lovely can of beer.
26:53
Speaker 1: He put his mouth down close to the top so
26:56
Speaker 1: that none of the foam could escape. He'd be all
26:59
Speaker 1: right till set the bars opened at seven. He'd be
27:03
Speaker 1: all right till seven. He did not notice the knife
27:07
Speaker 1: lying beside the opener. He did not own a knife
27:10
Speaker 1: and had no recollection of buying one. It was a
27:13
Speaker 1: hunting knife, and he was not a hunter. The light
27:17
Speaker 1: at the end of the second row was growing gradually brighter.
27:21
Speaker 1: The needle traveled slowly across the dial. Sixty eight point two,
27:27
Speaker 1: sixty eight point four, sixty eight point six. King called
27:32
Speaker 1: over to the audio controller. They all report in yet.
27:36
Speaker 1: The controller nodded. Squirrel Hill's got your signal on same
27:40
Speaker 1: reading as you have. Bloomfield thinks they may have it.
27:44
Speaker 1: Oakland's not too shore. Everybody else is negative. The controller
27:49
Speaker 1: walked over. Which one is it? King pointed to the
27:53
Speaker 1: end of the second row. Can you get it on
27:55
Speaker 1: your screen? Hell, yes, I've got him on my screen.
28:00
Speaker 1: King swiveled in his chair and turned on the set.
28:03
Speaker 1: The scope was covered with pale dots. Which one is he? There?
28:07
Speaker 1: He pointed to the left. That's a guy who didn't
28:11
Speaker 1: get the race he wanted. There, he pointed to the center.
28:15
Speaker 1: That's the girl with bad dreams, she has them every night. There,
28:20
Speaker 1: that's my brother. He's in the veteran's hospital and wanted
28:24
Speaker 1: to come home a week ago. So don't get excited,
28:27
Speaker 1: said the controller. I only asked, I'm sorry, Gus. King
28:31
Speaker 1: apologized my fault. I'm a little leedgy. Probably nothing at all. Well,
28:37
Speaker 1: you got it narrowed down anyway, Gus said. If you've
28:40
Speaker 1: got it and squirrel Heels got it, then he's in
28:44
Speaker 1: Shady Side. If Oakland doesn't have him, then he's on
28:48
Speaker 1: this side of Aiken Avenue. The controller had caught King's
28:52
Speaker 1: fever the it had become a hymn. And if Bloomfield
28:56
Speaker 1: doesn't have him, then he's on the other side of
28:58
Speaker 1: Bomb Boulevard. Only Bloomfield might have him. Well, what the hell,
29:04
Speaker 1: You've still got him located in the lower half of
29:06
Speaker 1: Shady Side. Tell you what, I'll send a man up Ellsworth,
29:11
Speaker 1: get Bloomfield to Cruz Bomb Boulevard in a Scout car,
29:14
Speaker 1: and have squirrel Hill put a patrol on Wilkins. We
29:18
Speaker 1: can triangulate. No, said King, not yet. Thanks anyway, Gus,
29:24
Speaker 1: But there's no point in stirring up a tempest in
29:26
Speaker 1: a teapot. Just tell them to watch it. If it
29:29
Speaker 1: climbs over seventy five, we cannarrow it down. Then it's
29:33
Speaker 1: your show, said Gus. The old man finished his second
29:38
Speaker 1: can of beer. The trembling was almost gone. He could
29:42
Speaker 1: stand and move without breaking out in a cold sweat.
29:46
Speaker 1: His hand ran through his hair and looked at the
29:48
Speaker 1: clock six fifteen too early. He looked around the room
29:53
Speaker 1: for something to read. There were magazines and newspapers scattered everywhere,
29:59
Speaker 1: the papers all for hold back to the sports section.
30:02
Speaker 1: He picked up a paper, not even bothering about the date,
30:06
Speaker 1: and tried to interest himself in the batting averages of
30:09
Speaker 1: the Intercontinental League. Yamamuh was on top with point three
30:13
Speaker 1: eighty seven. The old man remembered when Yamamuhah came up
30:17
Speaker 1: as a rookie, but right now he didn't care. The
30:21
Speaker 1: page trembled and the type kept blurring. He threw the
30:25
Speaker 1: paper down. He had a headache. The old man got
30:29
Speaker 1: up and went over to the bathroom. He steadied himself
30:33
Speaker 1: against the door jam and kicked the wadded sweater out
30:35
Speaker 1: of sight beneath the dresser. He went into the bathroom
30:39
Speaker 1: and turned on the water. He ran his hands over
30:42
Speaker 1: his face and thought about shaving, but he couldn't face
30:45
Speaker 1: the work involved He managed to run a comb through
30:49
Speaker 1: his hair and rints out his mouth. He came back
30:52
Speaker 1: into the room. It was six thirty. Maybe Freddy's was open.
30:57
Speaker 1: If Freddy wasn't, then maybe the grill. He'd have to
31:01
Speaker 1: take his chances. He couldn't stand it here any longer.
31:05
Speaker 1: He put on his coat and stumbled out. At eight o'clock,
31:09
Speaker 1: the watch was changed. Mat Sick replaced King. Anything, asked Matesick,
31:16
Speaker 1: Just this one, chuck, said King. I may be a fool,
31:20
Speaker 1: but this one bothers me. King was a diplomat, where
31:23
Speaker 1: Blainey was not. King showed him the entry. The dial
31:27
Speaker 1: now stood at seventy two point eight. It's been on
31:31
Speaker 1: there all night, since before I had the watch, and
31:34
Speaker 1: has been climbing, just slow and steady, but all the
31:37
Speaker 1: time climbing. I locked a circuit on him. But I'll
31:41
Speaker 1: take it off if you want me to. No, said Matsick.
31:45
Speaker 1: Leave it on. That don't smell right to me neither.
31:50
Speaker 1: The old man was feeling better. He'd been in the
31:53
Speaker 1: bar two hours, and he'd had two pickled eggs, and
31:57
Speaker 1: the bartender didn't bother him. The beer was all right,
32:01
Speaker 1: but a man needed whiskey when he was sick. He'd
32:04
Speaker 1: have one, maybe two more, and then he'd eat some breakfast.
32:08
Speaker 1: He didn't know why, but he knew he mustn't get drunk.
32:13
Speaker 1: At nine o'clock, the needle on the dial climbed past
32:16
Speaker 1: seventy five. Maysick asked for coverage. That meant the two
32:21
Speaker 1: patrolmen would be tied up doing nothing but searching for
32:24
Speaker 1: an echo, and it might be a wild goose chase.
32:28
Speaker 1: He was complaining to the captain, but the captain wasn't listening.
32:33
Speaker 1: He was looking at the photographs in the DeAngelis file.
32:36
Speaker 1: You don't like this, the captain asked. Matsick said he
32:40
Speaker 1: didn't like it, and King said he didn't like it.
32:44
Speaker 1: King thinks the same way I do. He's been on
32:47
Speaker 1: there too damn long and too damn consistent. Pick him up.
32:51
Speaker 1: The captain turned and ordered the audio controller. If we
32:54
Speaker 1: can't hold him, we can at least get a look
32:57
Speaker 1: at him. It's not too clear yet, he said, Metzig,
33:01
Speaker 1: it'll take a spread. I know what litt'll take. The
33:05
Speaker 1: captain roared, don't tell me my job, but every available
33:09
Speaker 1: man on this I want the guy brought in. The
33:14
Speaker 1: old man walked back to his room. He was carrying
33:17
Speaker 1: a dozen cans of beer, but the load was light,
33:20
Speaker 1: and he walked upright. He felt fine, like a million dollars,
33:24
Speaker 1: and he was beginning to remember. When he entered the room,
33:29
Speaker 1: he saw the knife. And when he saw the knife,
33:31
Speaker 1: he smiled. A man had to be smart, and a
33:34
Speaker 1: man had to be prepared. They were smart, wicked and smart.
33:39
Speaker 1: But he was smarter. He'd bought the knife a long
33:43
Speaker 1: long time ago, in a different world. They couldn't fool
33:46
Speaker 1: him that way. They were clever, all right. They fooled
33:50
Speaker 1: the whole world. He put his beer on the bureau,
33:53
Speaker 1: then walked into the bathroom and turned on the water
33:56
Speaker 1: in the tub. He came back out and started to undress.
34:00
Speaker 1: He was humming to himself. When he finished undressing, he
34:04
Speaker 1: went over to the bureau and opened a can of beer.
34:07
Speaker 1: He carried it back into the bathroom, put it beside
34:10
Speaker 1: the tub, and lowered himself into the water. Ah, that
34:15
Speaker 1: was the ticket. Water and being clean, clean and bean
34:19
Speaker 1: water being water, and being candy and being smart. They
34:24
Speaker 1: fooled the whole world, but not him, the whole wide world.
34:29
Speaker 1: But they couldn't fool him. He was going to fool
34:32
Speaker 1: them all pretty and innocent, ha innocent. He knew they
34:38
Speaker 1: were rotten. They were rotten all the way through. They
34:42
Speaker 1: fooled the whole world. But they were rotten, rotten, and
34:46
Speaker 1: he was the only one who knew. He finished the
34:50
Speaker 1: beer and stood up in the tub. The water ran
34:53
Speaker 1: off his body in greasy runlets. He didn't pull the plug.
34:57
Speaker 1: He stepped out of the tub and over to the
34:59
Speaker 1: bathroo through mirror. His face looked fine, not puffy at all.
35:05
Speaker 1: He'd fooled them. He sprinkled himself with lilac water, put
35:09
Speaker 1: the bottle to his lips, and switched some of it
35:11
Speaker 1: in his mouth. Oh, yes, he'd fool them. A man
35:15
Speaker 1: couldn't be too clever. They were clever, so he had
35:19
Speaker 1: to be clever. He began to shave. The captain was
35:24
Speaker 1: on an audio circuit talking to an assistant commissioner. Yes, sir,
35:29
Speaker 1: I know that, Yes, sir, it could be, but it
35:32
Speaker 1: might be something else. Yes, sir, I know Squirrel Hill
35:37
Speaker 1: has problems, but we need help. Yes, Commissioner, it's over
35:42
Speaker 1: ninety now. The captain signaled wildly to Matsick. Matsick held
35:47
Speaker 1: up four fingers, then two ninety four point two and
35:51
Speaker 1: still going up. No, sir, we don't know. Some guy
35:55
Speaker 1: going to quit his job or kill his boss. Maybe
35:58
Speaker 1: he found out his why I was cheating on him.
36:01
Speaker 1: We can't tell until we pick him up. Yes, sir, Yes,
36:06
Speaker 1: thank you sir. The captain hung up. I hate politicians,
36:10
Speaker 1: he snarled. Watch it. Captain said, matsick. I'll get you
36:15
Speaker 1: on my board. Get me on at hell, the captain said,
36:18
Speaker 1: I've never been off. The old man finished dressing. He
36:23
Speaker 1: knotted his tie and brushed off the front of his
36:26
Speaker 1: suit with his hand. He looked fine. He'd fool them.
36:30
Speaker 1: He looked just like everybody else. He crossed to the
36:33
Speaker 1: bureau and picked up the knife. It was still in
36:36
Speaker 1: the scyboard. He didn't take it out, he just put
36:40
Speaker 1: it in his pocket. Good, it didn't show. He walked
36:44
Speaker 1: out on the street. The sun was shining brightly and
36:47
Speaker 1: the heat waves were coming up from the sidewalk. Good good,
36:52
Speaker 1: this was the best time people. The real people would
36:56
Speaker 1: be working or lying down asleep, but they'd be out.
37:00
Speaker 1: They were always out out, all sweet and innocent in
37:04
Speaker 1: the hot sun. He turned down the street and ambled
37:07
Speaker 1: toward the drug store. He didn't want to hurry. He
37:11
Speaker 1: had lots of time. He had to get some candy first.
37:15
Speaker 1: That was the ticket. Candy. Candy worked, Candy always worked.
37:21
Speaker 1: Candy was good, but candy was wicked. He was good,
37:24
Speaker 1: but they were wicked. Oh, you had to be smart.
37:30
Speaker 1: That has to be him, Matesik said. The screen was
37:33
Speaker 1: blotched in milky, but a large splash of the light
37:36
Speaker 1: in the lower left hand corner out shone everything else.
37:40
Speaker 1: He's somewhere around Negli Avenue. He turned to the captain.
37:44
Speaker 1: Where do you have your men placed in a box?
37:47
Speaker 1: The captain said, fifth and Negli, Achin and Neglie. Send
37:51
Speaker 1: her an Achin and send her in Negli and three
37:55
Speaker 1: scout cards overhead. The old man walked up Ellsworth to
38:00
Speaker 1: the Liberty School. There were always lots of young ones
38:03
Speaker 1: around Liberty School. The young ones were the worst. I'm
38:08
Speaker 1: losing him. Where are you send her? An Akin? Anybody
38:13
Speaker 1: getting him stronger? Yeah? Me? Negli and fifth? Never mind,
38:18
Speaker 1: never mind, We've got him. We see him now where
38:22
Speaker 1: Bellafont and Ivy Liberty School. She was a friendly little
38:27
Speaker 1: thing and pretty, maybe five maybe six, and her mommy
38:32
Speaker 1: had told her not to talk to strangers. But the
38:35
Speaker 1: funny old man wasn't talking. He was sitting on the curb,
38:38
Speaker 1: and he was eating candy, and he was offering some
38:42
Speaker 1: to her. He smiled at the little girl, and she
38:45
Speaker 1: smiled back. The scout car settled to earth on automatic.
38:50
Speaker 1: Two officers climbed out of the car and walked quietly
38:53
Speaker 1: over to the old man, one on either side. They
38:57
Speaker 1: took an arm and lifted him gently to his feet.
39:00
Speaker 1: Hullo there, old timer, Hi little girl. The old man
39:05
Speaker 1: looked round, bewildered. He dropped his candy and tried to
39:08
Speaker 1: reach his knife. They mustn't inter fear. It was no use.
39:14
Speaker 1: The officers were very kind and gentle, and they were
39:17
Speaker 1: very very firm. They led him off as though he
39:21
Speaker 1: were an old old friend. One of the officers called
39:25
Speaker 1: back over his shoulder, Bye bye, little girl. The little
39:29
Speaker 1: girl dutifully waved by. She looked at the paper sack
39:33
Speaker 1: on the sidewalk. She didn't know what to do, but
39:36
Speaker 1: the nice old man was gone. She looked around, but
39:40
Speaker 1: no one was paying any attention. They were all watching
39:43
Speaker 1: the softball game. Suddenly, she made a grab and clutched
39:47
Speaker 1: the paper bag to her body. Then she turned and
39:50
Speaker 1: ran back up the street. To tell her mommy how wonderful, wonderful,
39:54
Speaker 1: lucky she was. End of Section nine.