No Dogs in Philly Read Free

people that supposedly looked at the UausuaU and didn’t
go mad, or they went mad but kept their ability to think and plan
and take action.
    “ So nice to run into you like
this,” he said. “Seeing your face always brings me cheer. You’re
too pretty for this line of work.”
    “ And you’re too fat.”
    He chuckled. “True, true. I’m too busy to
exercise and too cheap to buy a better body. Besides,” his voice
changed; it was warm still in character, but she could feel the
chill below, “it would only get ruined anyway.”
    She stood to the side and watched his fat rump
shuffle down the hallway. How did he do it? Even if he hired mercs
to do the dirty work, there were too many everyday near-death sits
for a PI to have the body of a pastry chef. Any scum worth talking
to would doodle a wound in his paunch and tap dance away with his
wallet. She filed an idea: follow him, see what he does, how he
operates.
    She went into the office and offered her
customary sneer at the opulence. The PIs of the private justice
system did the work and the lawyers saw the rewards. Shiny wood
floors, fancy rugs from foreign zones, paintings of his family
everywhere—was that a new chandelier?
    “ Jesus Christ, what’s next? A
golden throne?” she said aloud.
    Eugene gave a snort and stood to offer her his
hand. He was tall, taller even than she was, and stupidly handsome.
She had thought a few times of pumping him full of drink and
running her hands through that curly black hair, but she’d probably
get an invoice in the mail for it. She slapped his hand away and
collapsed into the overly plush seat before his
altar-desk.
    “ The Gaespora want me for
something,” she said. “What is it?”
    “ Saru, I appreciate your
patronage, but you can’t just barge in here like this. I was in a
meeting with Mr. Friar, which he kindly—let me stress
that— kindly , agreed to postpone because I didn’t want you
kicking down my door again.”
    “ They were calling me all night,
outbid my call blocking, custom summon tone, a sonata that made me
almost cry and a picture of my parents’ farm.”
    “ Are you listening to
me?”
    “ They bought my building
today.”
    “ What?”
    “ They bought the whole office
building. Thirteen Oh Six Walnut. Shut it down. I’m guessing by
this point they’ve found where I live and they got that too. What’s
going on?”
    “ I don’t know. This is
unusual.”
    “ I want to get a case together.
Start putting together some sort of action, something aggressive,
to put them on the defensive. Money’s no object; I’m flush from the
Favre case. They can’t get away with this.”
    Eugene stared at her flatly and then burst out
laughing—God he was pretty when he laughed. He went to his liquor
cabinet and poured them each a tumbler of bourbon—his on the rocks
and hers a straight fistful. He handed her her glass and then sat,
swirling the bourbon, serious.
    “ I’m flattered, really, that you
think I’m up for this, but what you’re proposing is ridiculous.
Launch a case against the Gaespora? On what grounds?”
    “ I don’t know,” she said, hotly.
“You’re the lawyer, make something up, reckless intimidation,
intent to violate American freedom, do something .”
    “ What do you think I can do here?
What judge do you think would even hear the case? Their salaries,
their mistresses, their kids’ medicines and their wives’ fake tits
all come from the Gaespora. I’d be laughed out of court and if I
didn’t shut up you’d find me dying of diphtheria.”
    “ So you believe that
bullshit.”
    “ I don’t believe—I know. They
bought your office building for crissakes.”
    “ So what am I supposed to do, get
on my knees and suck their alien dicks?”
    “ You could talk to them—maybe not
hang up and ignore their phone calls. Jesus, most people would give
their right arm to have a sit-down with the Gaespora and you’re
ignoring their phone calls. I don’t believe