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At the same moment that Mr. Esmeralda closed the door of Eva Crowlcy's
apartment, Sergeant Skrolnik opened the door of El Krusho's cell, folded his
arms, took a deep breath, and said, "It's all right. We've dropped the
charges. You can go."
Maurice had been working out by lifting and lowering his stool with one hand.
He blinked at Sergeant Skrolnik and said, "What?"
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245
Sergeant Skrolnik said, "You deaf or something?"
"I don't know. What? You said I could go?"
"You think I'd leave the fucking cell door wide open if you couldn't? Go.
Collect your belongings at the desk."
Maurice looked almost disappointed. "You found out who really did it?" he
asked, as he tugged on his T-shirt and tried to straighten his hair in the
two-way mirror. Skrolnik watched this impromptu primping with disgust. "We
didn't find out who did it," he said. "We just happen to know that it wasn't
you. Although, believe it or not, I said from the beginning that it wasn't
you. I only had to take one look at that sheep's behind of a face of yours,
and I knew it wasn't you."
"You really thought I was innocent?"
"You're about as homicidal as a pet llama. Physically, could have taken us
both to pieces when we arrested you, but you weren't even angry. You didn't
know what you were being arrested for, and you weren't even angry."
Maurice said, "Can I claim compensation?"
"Compensation for what?"
"Well, for spending a couple of nights in the cells. It was pretty
uncomfortable. And my mother's totally convinced that I'm a mass murderer."
Sergeant Skrolnik took El Krusho's beefy arm and led him down to the desk to
collect his belongings. He said confidentially, "If I were you, I would get
the hell out of this place, and not worry about compensation or defamation or
any of that shit, because the best place that anyone can ever be is miles and
miles away from the law. You got me?"
Maurice counted his $27.76, thrust it into the back pocket of his jeans, and
nodded. "I still think there ought to be some kind of compensation. You know,
a month's exemption from parking tickets, something like that?"
Just then, the swinging doors of the police headquarters opened and Mack Holt
strode in, with Olive close behind him. "Hey, Maurice!" said Mack. "They told
me you were sprung."
246
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247
"You know why he was sprung," said Sergeant Skrol-nik, poker-faced.
"Well, yes, I'm sorry about that," said Mack.'"I guess I'm just pleased that
Maurice is out, that's all. Are you coming back to my place, Maurice? How
about it? A couple of beers, a steak or two? Fifteen eggs? Maurice has to keep
up his strength," he explained to Sergeant Skrol-nik.
"Why was I sprung?" asked Maurice, his eyes on Skrolnik. "You didn't tell me
that. You just said I was free to go."
Mack glanced at Sergeant Skrolnik, then at El Krusho, and then back again to
Sergeant Skrolnik. "Ah," he said uncomfortably.
But Sergeant Skrolnik said, ' 'You were sprung because I didn't believe you
were guilty, that's all; and because twelve hours' intensive police work has
so far failed to tease out the slightest evidence that you were the man
responsible for Sherry Cantor's murder, or that you were anywhere near the
Hollywood Freeway when Patrolman Ed Russo was killed."
Page 120
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Skrolnik hesitated. Olive started to say something, but ; Mack nudged her to
keep quiet. This was, after all, I Skrolnik's show; and Mack considered that
Skrolnik was reasonably human. Whatever Mayor Tom Bradley had said about "the
dimensions of violent crime," whatever Sheriff Peter J. Pitchcss had said
about everybody in Los Angeles suffering from a "siege mentality," whatever
Governor Jerry Brown had said about prisoners taking karate lessons in
California's prisons "so that when they get out, they're more dangerous than
ever," it was Sergeant Skrolnik who had to go out on the streets and track
down the killers and the weirdos and the homicidal freaks, and Mack respected
him for that. If Maurice had actually committed those murders, Mack wouldn't
have gone near Maurice with a loaded .45 and half a division of the California
National Guard. Yet Skrolnik had arrested Maurice, albeit mistakenly, with
nobody to help him but Detective Pullet.
Sergeant Skrolnik laid his hand on El Krusho's shoulder and said, "The main
reason you were sprung is because last night someone broke into the Rancho
Encino Hospital, and tore several people wide apart in the same way that
Sherry Cantor was torn apart. The similarities of the killings are
overwhelming; and besides that, we have the body of the man who did it. So,
what happened at Orchid Place quite obviously wasn't down to you."
"You caught the guy?" asked Maurice.
"If you want to,know the confidential truth, we caught the guy and blew his
fucking head off," said Skrolnik.
"Instant justice," said Olive.
Skrolnik looked at her balefully. This morning she was wearing a thin
cheesecloth blouse that dimly revealed the darkness of her nipples and an
extremely tight pair of canary-yellow pants. The effect of the pants, as
Detective Pullet was to remark afterward in a moment of intense lateral
thinking, was to remind him of two bananas side by side.
Mack said, "It's over, then? You've caught him and killed him?"
"You think it's over. The governor thinks it's over. The mayor thinks it's
over. Even the police commissioner thinks it's over. But, of course, we now
have several weeks of intensive and incredibly tedious investigation to carry
out to discover who this fruitcake was, and why he committed those killings."
"Isn't that what we pay you for?" asked Olive sharply. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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At the same moment that Mr. Esmeralda closed the door of Eva Crowlcy's
apartment, Sergeant Skrolnik opened the door of El Krusho's cell, folded his
arms, took a deep breath, and said, "It's all right. We've dropped the
charges. You can go."
Maurice had been working out by lifting and lowering his stool with one hand.
He blinked at Sergeant Skrolnik and said, "What?"
Tengu
245
Sergeant Skrolnik said, "You deaf or something?"
"I don't know. What? You said I could go?"
"You think I'd leave the fucking cell door wide open if you couldn't? Go.
Collect your belongings at the desk."
Maurice looked almost disappointed. "You found out who really did it?" he
asked, as he tugged on his T-shirt and tried to straighten his hair in the
two-way mirror. Skrolnik watched this impromptu primping with disgust. "We
didn't find out who did it," he said. "We just happen to know that it wasn't
you. Although, believe it or not, I said from the beginning that it wasn't
you. I only had to take one look at that sheep's behind of a face of yours,
and I knew it wasn't you."
"You really thought I was innocent?"
"You're about as homicidal as a pet llama. Physically, could have taken us
both to pieces when we arrested you, but you weren't even angry. You didn't
know what you were being arrested for, and you weren't even angry."
Maurice said, "Can I claim compensation?"
"Compensation for what?"
"Well, for spending a couple of nights in the cells. It was pretty
uncomfortable. And my mother's totally convinced that I'm a mass murderer."
Sergeant Skrolnik took El Krusho's beefy arm and led him down to the desk to
collect his belongings. He said confidentially, "If I were you, I would get
the hell out of this place, and not worry about compensation or defamation or
any of that shit, because the best place that anyone can ever be is miles and
miles away from the law. You got me?"
Maurice counted his $27.76, thrust it into the back pocket of his jeans, and
nodded. "I still think there ought to be some kind of compensation. You know,
a month's exemption from parking tickets, something like that?"
Just then, the swinging doors of the police headquarters opened and Mack Holt
strode in, with Olive close behind him. "Hey, Maurice!" said Mack. "They told
me you were sprung."
246
Tengu
Tengu
247
"You know why he was sprung," said Sergeant Skrol-nik, poker-faced.
"Well, yes, I'm sorry about that," said Mack.'"I guess I'm just pleased that
Maurice is out, that's all. Are you coming back to my place, Maurice? How
about it? A couple of beers, a steak or two? Fifteen eggs? Maurice has to keep
up his strength," he explained to Sergeant Skrol-nik.
"Why was I sprung?" asked Maurice, his eyes on Skrolnik. "You didn't tell me
that. You just said I was free to go."
Mack glanced at Sergeant Skrolnik, then at El Krusho, and then back again to
Sergeant Skrolnik. "Ah," he said uncomfortably.
But Sergeant Skrolnik said, ' 'You were sprung because I didn't believe you
were guilty, that's all; and because twelve hours' intensive police work has
so far failed to tease out the slightest evidence that you were the man
responsible for Sherry Cantor's murder, or that you were anywhere near the
Hollywood Freeway when Patrolman Ed Russo was killed."
Page 120
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Skrolnik hesitated. Olive started to say something, but ; Mack nudged her to
keep quiet. This was, after all, I Skrolnik's show; and Mack considered that
Skrolnik was reasonably human. Whatever Mayor Tom Bradley had said about "the
dimensions of violent crime," whatever Sheriff Peter J. Pitchcss had said
about everybody in Los Angeles suffering from a "siege mentality," whatever
Governor Jerry Brown had said about prisoners taking karate lessons in
California's prisons "so that when they get out, they're more dangerous than
ever," it was Sergeant Skrolnik who had to go out on the streets and track
down the killers and the weirdos and the homicidal freaks, and Mack respected
him for that. If Maurice had actually committed those murders, Mack wouldn't
have gone near Maurice with a loaded .45 and half a division of the California
National Guard. Yet Skrolnik had arrested Maurice, albeit mistakenly, with
nobody to help him but Detective Pullet.
Sergeant Skrolnik laid his hand on El Krusho's shoulder and said, "The main
reason you were sprung is because last night someone broke into the Rancho
Encino Hospital, and tore several people wide apart in the same way that
Sherry Cantor was torn apart. The similarities of the killings are
overwhelming; and besides that, we have the body of the man who did it. So,
what happened at Orchid Place quite obviously wasn't down to you."
"You caught the guy?" asked Maurice.
"If you want to,know the confidential truth, we caught the guy and blew his
fucking head off," said Skrolnik.
"Instant justice," said Olive.
Skrolnik looked at her balefully. This morning she was wearing a thin
cheesecloth blouse that dimly revealed the darkness of her nipples and an
extremely tight pair of canary-yellow pants. The effect of the pants, as
Detective Pullet was to remark afterward in a moment of intense lateral
thinking, was to remind him of two bananas side by side.
Mack said, "It's over, then? You've caught him and killed him?"
"You think it's over. The governor thinks it's over. The mayor thinks it's
over. Even the police commissioner thinks it's over. But, of course, we now
have several weeks of intensive and incredibly tedious investigation to carry
out to discover who this fruitcake was, and why he committed those killings."
"Isn't that what we pay you for?" asked Olive sharply. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]