Rubbed Out Read Online Free Page A

their own chances.” Paul opened the folder and took the top page out. “Feel like earning a little extra cash?”
    â€œWhat do you have in mind?”
    â€œSomething simple. Walter Wilcox. His wife’s gone missing. I thought maybe you’d be interested in finding her for him.”
    â€œWhy don’t you want it?”
    â€œAlways suspicious. Because I’m up to my neck with an insurance fraud scam and I don’t have the time. Being a nice guy, I thought of you.”
    I didn’t say anything.
    â€œGo over and talk to Wilcox, see what he has to say.”
    â€œFifty-fifty split?”
    Paul grinned. “I can find someone to do it cheaper.” “But then you wouldn’t get to see me.”
    â€œTrue.” He handed me the paper. “Everything you need is on it. After you talk to Wilcox, we can discuss the case over a drink at my place.”
    â€œDon’t you ever stop?”
    â€œNo. Not until I get what I want. That’s why I’m a success.”
    â€œBecause you wear women down?”
    â€œYou shouldn’t be so negative. You should give things a chance.”
    â€œI have.”
    â€œNot really. You don’t know what you’re missing. I was just hitting my stride.”
    â€œI’ll call you after I speak to Wilcox.”
    Paul shrugged. “Suit yourself. But remember I’m always here for you. I’m not asking you to change, like some people I could mention.”
    â€œYou mean George?”
    â€œI didn’t say that. You did.”
    â€œGood-bye, Paul.”
    The wheels on Paul’s chair gave out with another squeak as he shifted position. “Hey, you can bullshit me if you want, but don’t do it to yourself.”
    I grabbed my jacket and went out the door. The elevator was slow coming. While I waited for it I took out my cell phone and called Wilcox’s number.
    I was in the middle of leaving a message on his answering machine when he picked up. He sounded distraught, but then most people would in his situation. We set up a meeting for the following afternoon.
    It was snowing as I left the building. Big fat flakes fluttered down, blotting out the sky and whitening the streets and the cars. I closed my eyes, lifted my head up, and stuck out my tongue. Spots of cold hit it and dissolved.
    As I drove home, I thought about Tiger Lily. Then I thought about Zsa Zsa. We hadn’t been out for a long walk in a while. Maybe I’d take her out to the field behind Nottingham High School. She liked that. And I got a kick out of watching her root around in the snow and scare the deer mice out of their winter nests. When it happened, it was always hard to tell who was more surprised, Zsa Zsa or the mice.

Chapter Five
    I t was snowing as I drove over to Walter Wilcox’s office. We’d gotten six inches since last night and, according to the weather forecaster, were due for six more by this evening. The roads were gray with churned-up slush, but the houses, streets, and lawns were a pristine white.
    Wilcox’s office was located over on the north side of Syracuse, four blocks before the farmer’s market. I’d passed by the building hundreds of times but had never really looked at it closely until now. It was an undistinguished, narrow, two-story rectangular affair constructed out of brick that someone had painted blue. But they must not have primed the walls correctly because the paint was flaking. It made the walls look as if they had a bad skin disease.
    A dusting of snow covered a white stretch limo parked outside the front door. It was one of those big ones, the kind with the double wheels in back that was large enough to transport a football team. Mostly, they come out on the roads in the spring when the kids have their proms. For some reason they’ve always reminded me of millipedes. I wondered what it was doing here now as I studied the placard on the building wall.
    Wilcox’s