The Ying on Triad Read Free Page A

she had said. Maybe I had
misunderstood. Nervously, I asked. "You-you ... ah ...
what?"

    Janice nodded emphatically. "I want to be your partner.
I want to help you solve crimes like Nick and Nora
Charles"
    "Nick and Nora who? What on earth are you talking
about?"
    "You know," she said, her words gushing with excitement, "those two actors in the old movies back when talking films were just beginning. Way back in the olden days.
I don't remember their real names, but they were on TV
last week. Together they solved a big crime. That's what
gave me the idea"
    Now, I have always considered myself fairly glib. I
taught English to high school kids who didn't want to
learn, in schools that didn't want me to teach. And later, I
did well selling insurance, but I was now at a loss for
words. Janice was obviously enthralled with the idea, as
she was with her many impulses. Most of them died a
slow, agonizing death, and within a few weeks she usually
found another interest.
    Being heiress to the largest distillery in the state of
Texas provides the luxury of indulging such caprices.
    I enjoyed our time together. I didn't want an argument
and the last thing I wanted her to do was start pouting. She
was the ultimate pouter, probably having majored in pouting at the exclusive finishing school she had attended in
Atlanta. The intensity of her pouting could make a firm
decision suddenly limp.
    Figuring this idea was simply a passing fancy, I tried to
sidestep her suggestion. "It isn't what you think, Janice.
There's nothing glamorous about the job"
    Her brows knitted in an attractive frown. "Oh, I know that. I know it's hard, but we can do it." She paused, then
added, "Don't you think so?"

    I whistled to myself. What a loaded question. I was
sunk either way I answered, so I opted for the coward's
way, "I sure do"
    She jumped from her chair, clapping her hands in glee,
and then she threw her arms around my neck, "Oh, Tony,
thank you, thank you, thank you!"
    Embarrassed by the puzzled frowns that quickly turned
into beaming smiles from the tables around us, I hugged
her to me. "All right, if you're going to work with me, I'd
better get you home. I leave for death row in Huntsville at
6:00 in the morning."
    She looked up in surprise and parted her lips to protest.
    I quickly explained. "The job doesn't work on your
hours. You have to go whenever and wherever the job calls,
in all kinds of weather." It might have been a little melodramatic, but I was hoping she would change her mind.
    She didn't. Instead, she pulled away and grabbed her
wrap and purse. "Then take me home"
    At 5:30 next morning, Huey delivered the transcript of
the trial. I eyed it anxiously, eager to peruse the sheath of
documents. I tossed it on the computer table so I would
not forget to take it with me, after which I gave Oscar, my
albino tiger barb, his morning feast. "Take it easy, little
fella," I muttered, watching him as he swam in circles to
suck the food from the surface of the aquarium.
    To my surprise, Janice was waiting on the sidewalk
when I pulled up in front of her apartment at 6 A.M. She
wore a brown suit and a matching brown Dolce and
Gabbana belted cardigan vest over a white silk blouse.
The perfect outfit for detecting, I thought wryly.

    At 9:00 A.M., we pulled up in front of the Polunsky
Unit east of Livingston, Texas, forty miles or so southeast
of Huntsville. I climbed out and glanced across the seat at
Janice, "Well, are you ready?"
    With grim apprehension, she eyed the bleak buildings
surrounded by twelve-foot chain link fences topped with
curls of concertina razor wire. She looked at me and shivered. "You go in. I'll wait out here."
    I suppressed a grin. "I thought you wanted to be part of
it-to work with me."
    She drew a deep breath but her face had paled. "I do,
but, but-this .." she gestured to the cold, severe buildings housing the death row inmates. "I'll wait for you out
here"

     

I don't know