The Killer Inside Me Page #4

I had a flat tire

when I pulled off the highway.

- Now, wait a minute.

- No, I had a puncture, sure.

Felt the car sway a little,

but I pulled off the lane

before the tire

could really go down.

I hope you boys didn't chew up a

perfectly good tire for nothin'.

Doggone it, Howard,

if this ain't

the strangest damn deal.

- Getting away

with a stupid mistake

can be a blessing twice over.

When a man's rope

slides off you once,

he's mighty cautious

about making a second throw.

Feeling twitchy, Lou?

Oh, it's just-

just a passing hunger.

- Yeah, I wouldn't mind

grabbing a bite myself.

- Joyce was bound to die

if she wasn't dead already.

As soon as things quieted down,

I'd quit my job.

I'd sell the house.

I'd leave Central City

once and for all.

Ooh, those look good.

She still unconscious?

Yeah.

Thank you.

And anything else for you?

No, I'm good, thank you.

Enjoy your food.

- Conway wants to fly her

to Fort Worth.

Says she can't get the right

kind of medical attention here.

- Yeah, well,

maybe I'll go myself.

What do you think, Lou?

Want to take a little flight

into Fort Worth?

- I've never been

on an airplane.

Wait a minute.

She hasn't even been booked yet,

let alone arraigned.

Well, Conway wasn't asking you

if he could take her

to Fort Worth.

He was telling ya.

Did he say what time?

- Oh, well, that'll give Lou

and me time

to scrub up a little

and pack a bag.

Right, Lou?

Yeah.

- What's the matter

with those eggs, boy?

Better eat 'em

before they get cold.

Don't.

I have to travel.

- Baby, you aren't

goin' anywhere.

I want to see her burn.

[Bob laughs]

First time on a plane,

and you waste the whole

damn trip sleepin'.

Take it easy.

Sheriff.

- Yes, sir?

You go with the ambulance.

Lou, come on.

You ride in the car with me.

All right.

You didn't like that, did ya?

The way I spoke

to ol' Bob Maples.

But I have a reputation,

and I'm not about to

let anybody's tender feelings

get in my way.

If she pulls through

this operation,

she's gonna be able

to talk tonight.

I want you to be there

when she comes out

of that anesthetic.

What about Bob?

- Bob Maples is too old

to be on his toes.

You can use my hotel suite.

You just come over

when I give you a call.

Let's go to the hospital.

- Conway thought

he was a big shot.

But his son

had just been killed

by a whore

he'd fallen in love with,

and he'd never be able

to live it down,

not if he lived to be 100,

and I damned well

hoped he would.

It was the first time

I'd been out of West Texas,

and I wanted to see the sights.

Instead, I had to stay

cooped up in the hotel.

It was almost like

there was a plot against me.

I had done something wrong

when I was a kid,

and I'd had my nose rubbed

in it day after day

until like an overtrained dog,

I started crapping

out of pure fright.

Hey there, Lou.

Hey, Bob.

Quite a palace.

- You know, Bob, I want you

to know that I'm awful sorry

about what happened out there

at the airport.

I didn't like it one bit,

and I-I told Conway that too.

Did you have some kind

of trouble out at the hospital?

She's dead, Lou.

She never came out of the ether.

Well, that's that.

Mm-hmm.

Hey, Lou.

Where are ya, buddy?

Lou.

What you doin'?

What you doin' sitting here?

Oh, I'm just having a smoke.

[Chuckles]

Well, you can smoke out here.

Come on.

Free booze.

I know what you are, Lou.

I know what you are.

[Chuckles]

I know.

I know you

backwards and forwards.

I knowed you since you was

knee-high to a grasshopper,

and you ain't

never done anything wrong.

Maybe I'm behind the times.

Maybe...

Maybe I'm too old for this game.

- Why don't you lay down

awhile, Bob?

- Ain't gonna skip out on me,

are ya?

Just pull up,

have yourself a drink

on Mr. Conway,

and enjoy it.

[Twangy blues guitar riff]

# #

- # I heard a Ionely coyote

a- howlin' for its mate #

# I took the blues

and packed my shoes #

# and left

the Lone Star State #

# I thought

if I should ride away #

# I would lose the blues #

# But I found out

that Texan soil #

# Was sticking to

my shoes #

# I'm headin' back #

# I've got the Texas blues #

# #

- When's the next train

for Central City?

- Well, sir, we've got one

leavin' tonight at 7:00.

Well, that'd be all right.

- All right.

- Two passengers.

Thank you, ma'am.

Bob.

Whoa.

You're gonna spill your drink.

Oh.

Boy, I'm as frazzled

as a cow's hide

under a branding iron.

- Oh, why you always do that

sly grin, spilled-milk stuff?

Well, I bet I know somethin'

you never thought of.

What's that?

It's always lightest...

just before the dark.

You got it wrong, Bob.

No, Lou, you got it wrong.

It's always lightest

before the dark.

[Humming]

[Doorbell rings]

You mind if I come in, Lou?

Not at all, Mr. Rothman.

All right.

This is very nice.

It's very nice.

Want some coffee?

No, thank you.

Would you like an egg?

Oh, no, thank you.

So very discreet newspaper

stories are correct

in their hints?

That Elmer tried to dish it out

and had it thrown back at him?

- Well, it looks that way,

doesn't it?

- I can't help but wondering how

a girl with her face caved in

and her neck broke

can land four bull's-eyes

on a guy,

I mean, even one

as large as Elmer Conway.

Well, she was shooting him

while he was punching her.

- Well,

from what I hear, she-

she was still alive

after he died,

and any one or, well, two

of the bullets

that she put into him

were enough to lay him low.

You know?

The genuine article, Lou.

No substitutes accepted.

- I don't know where you get off

in questioning me.

- Well, I know you had it in

for Conway,

and perhaps I share

some of that responsibility

for setting you against him.

I just don't want anything

to come out

that might put the union

in a bad light.

- Oh, my, well,

it hadn't occurred to me,

but now that you say it...

sure looks bad.

- Incidentally, what's the score

as of today?

A one or a two?

She's dead.

- Well, they can't

prove anything.

But then again,

if they knew what I know

about you having a motive.

A motive...

for killing Joyce Lakeland?

Why would I want to do that?

- Say she's just

a piece of stage setting.

- I can't tell you

what happened,

'cause I wasn't there.

But I know that

there are flukes in murders

just as there are

in anything else.

A woman gets her brains

blown out

and she crawls five miles.

Some fella gets hanged

and poisoned and chopped up,

and he goes right on living.

I don't know

why those things happen.

But I know they do,

and so do you.

Yeah, I guess so, Lou.

I guess so.

You know, as screwy

as things are...

you just don't fit the bill

as a killer.

Oh.

Well, what do I say to that?

- What were you trying

to pull off?

- The money was supposed

to be a payoff.

Conway was paying Joyce

to leave Elmer alone.

- So Elmer was trying

to leave with the whore.

That's right.

- Almost wish I thought

of it myself, Lou.

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