Grimm Tales Read Online Free Page B

Chris-Craft coming up the Gulf. He’d sent Tammy in to town for provisions and a smattering of the local post gazettes. This captioned photo shows Mr. Marx with his arm ’round the waist of one Hannah Zambowser, rather jovial, toasting bubbly. It seems they were embarking upon a new partnership voyage which steered clear of the deal that was supposed to come down. The article mentions—
here
, see, in the fourth paragraph down, that Mr. Marx had returned fit and flush from a recent junket to South Africa. Big Daddy, you see, is as good at simple math as he is at complex power structures, so he put those two and two and two together last week, when one of his crew’s trawlers scooped a soggy Sammy from the sea on Saturday, saturated in a steel oil drum—”
    â€œOils not well that ends well?” cut in Jake, between two low long Piper whistles. Thinking double time about double-dealers he swiftly tallied his own summary. “So then he bluffed hard-hearted Hannah with surmisal blackmail?”
    â€œ
Jackpot, Dick Tracy!
But once I met her when we overtook the
Clems
, then took over the
Clems
, I didn’t figure that grim bitch too gone for too long. Big Daddy’s people pulled enough on her priors to scare her off awhile, while the painter signed off on the new christened bow name, but—well, call it woman’s intuition, she didn’t seem the type to be a bygone, closing curtains on a full disappearing act.”
    â€œThey do this transacting alone? You remember?”
    â€œGot perfect recall here, Piper. Nope, she had with her a lurking grizzled fellow who kept just a shoulder’s length to her shadows, patting his head a lot. Then there was a scrawny scrappy squawky gal, plus a quieter dumpy dame who distinctly seemed the only one of the lot with a full faculty of wits about her. As they were being unceremoniously escorted down the gangplank, Hannah hepped up, swiveled around and shouted about a sudden sentimental attachment to that tawdry red chandelier I saw you gaping at and spurted back to the starboard side. Big Daddy bellowed they should
get while their gettin’ was good
, and Biff or maybe Jed held high a Glock .44 to echo his bellow the more. When the scrawny one screeched to see such a gun, the dish ran away from the goon. She latched on to Big Daddy’s arm with no conceivable charm, and it was the rounder one who pulled her off and quickened some sort of half-curtsy about how they’d be moseying off now and not causing any trouble since decisions made were plans best played.”
    â€œ
That’s
how she said it?”
    â€œExactly. My story, and I’m sticking to it. Though her eyes didn’t look beat. They fired glint. Lucky for that bunch my sister Tammy chose just that moment to approach Big Daddy squooshing a tube of Bain de Soleil, turning her other cheek for assistance. Those rats scurried their sinking hopes off this ship, but as I said, I expected someone to come back. So, you with them?”
    â€œ
Not exactly.
But for the moment, I’m going to play this out nice and copacetic. Pick up the ransom, so to speak, and get outta Dodge.”
    â€œYou mean Hamelin.”
    â€œMore fun to say ‘Dodge.’”
    She smirked. He smiled.
    * * *
    The cheap beer mug shattered to cheap shards when the barkeep of Hamelin’s Hooligans turned back from the sink and saw the man at the bar who hadn’t been there at all a second ago.
    â€œHello, George. My usual, and look sharp, man, watch your step there.” Piper turned left. Piper turned right. “The girls around?”
    As if on cue, Hannah Zambowser, jaded in a linen pants suit, still not looking at all bad for her age, bustled her signature grim gumption from the backroom, bellying it up to the bar. “I’ve heard about you, Piper. Seems my daughters inquired of a small assist in a tiny family matter. George, a glass of absinthe.”
    â€œIt