And All Through the House Read Free Page B

me. D' factory where he works, he says there's a job there. He says come up."
        "Oh, now there's a cousin," Parker said to Hawes, hoping for a more receptive audience than he'd found in Carella. "What's your cousin's name?" he asked Jose.
        "Cirilo Lopez."
        "Another bullfighter?" Parker said and winked at Hawes. Hawes did not wink back.
        "Whyn't you leave him alone?" Carmody said from the cage.
        Parker swiveled his chair around to face the cage. "Who said that?" he asked and looked at the black man. "You the one who said that?"
        The black man did not answer.
        "I'm the one said it," Carmody admitted.
        "What are you in that cage for?"
        "Holding frankincense and myrrh," Carmody said and laughed. Knowles laughed with him. The black man in the cage did not crack a smile.
        "How about you?" Parker asked, looking directly at him.
        "He's mine," Kling said. "That big valise there is full of hot goods."
        "Nice little crowd we get here," Parker said and swiveled his chair back to the desk. "I'm still waitin' for an address from you two," he said. "A legal address."
        "We wass s'pose' to stay with my cousin," Jose said. ''He says he hass a room for us."
        "Where's that?" Parker asked.
        "Eleven twenny-four Mason Avenue, apar'men' thirty-two."
        "But there's no room for us," Maria said. "Cirilo, he's-" She caught her breath. Her face contorted in pain again.
        Jose took her hand. She looked up at him. "D' lady lives ness door," he said to Parker, "she tells us Cirilo hass move away."
        "When's the last time you heard from him?"
        "Lass' month."
        "So you don't think to check, huh? You come all the way up from Puerto Rico without checkin' to see your cousin's still here or not? Brilliant. You hear this, Bert?" he said to Kling. "Jet-set travelers we got here; they come to the city in their summer clothes in December, they end up in an abandoned building."
        "They thought the cousin was still here, that's all," Kling said, watching the girl, whose hands were now spread wide on her belly.
        "OK, what's the big emergency here?" someone said from the railing.
        The man standing there was carrying a small black satchel. He was wearing a heavy black overcoat over white trousers and tunic. The snow on the shoulders of the coat and dusted onto his bare head was as white as the tunic and pants. "Mercy General at your service," he said. "Sorry to be so late; it's been a busy night. Not to mention two feet of snow out there. Where's the patient?"
        "You'd better take a look at the girl," Carella said. "She's in-"
        "Right here," Carmody said from the cage.
        "Me, too," Knowles said.
        "Somebody want to let them out?" the intern said. "One at a time, please."
        Hawes went to the cage and threw back the bolts on the door.
        "Who's first?" the intern said.
        Carella started to say, "The girl over there is in la-"
        "Free at last," Carmody interrupted, coming out of the cage.
        "Don't hold your breath," Hawes said and bolted the door again.
        The intern was passing Parker's desk when Maria suddenly gasped.
        "You OK, miss?" he said at once.
        Maria clutched her belly.
        "Miss?" he said.
        Maria gasped again and sucked in a deep breath of air.
        Meyer rolled his eyes. He and Miscolo had delivered a baby right here in thesquad room not too long ago, and he was grateful for the intern's presence.
        "This woman is in labor !" the intern said.
        "Comes the dawn," Carella said, sighing.
        "Iss it d' baby comin'?" Jose asked.
        "Looks that way, mister," the intern said. "Somebody get a blanket or something. You got any blankets up here?"
        Kling was already on his way out of the squad room.
        "Just take it easy, miss," the intern said. "Everything's