The Ying on Triad Read Free Page B

how Danny O'Banion had managed, but I
ran into no problems in seeing Robert Packard. I was
escorted into a small room with a single chair in front of
a window looking into an adjoining room, which also
contained only a single chair. On the wall beside the window, on each side, was a telephone receiver.
    A few minutes later, a thin, dark-haired man with a sallow complexion entered. The door closed behind him.
When he saw me, he frowned. I picked up the receiver. He
followed my lead. "Bobby? I'm Tony Boudreaux. Your
cousin, Danny O'Banion, sent me. He wants me to do
what I can to help you"
    Bobby arched an eyebrow. "Cutting the time short,
isn't he?" Resentment edged his words.
    "He acted as soon as he learned your appeal had been
denied" I paused, he shrugged, and I continued, "Now,
let's start at the beginning. Did you kill Hastings?"
    His eyes flashed anger. He snarled, "None of us in here
are guilty. Don't you know that?"
    I held my temper. "Listen, Bobby. If you don't want any help, you just say so, and I'll leave. I'm here as a
favor to your cousin. He's a friend" I paused a moment.
-- - - - - -- -- - - -- - -

    He drew a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.
Anger drained from his face as he shook his head, leaving a veneer of fear. "Hey, Man, don't pay no attention to me. It's just that-well, truth is, I'm scared"
His Adam's apple bobbed nervously. "I'm scared like
something you wouldn't believe. I'd always figured that
if a guy was innocent, nothing could happen to him. But,
I found out the hard way how wrong I was. Something
bad can happen. When the system gets it in for you,
something real bad can happen even if a guy don't
deserve it"
    I looked straight into his dark eyes. "I understand. Now,
tell me your story"
    Bobby eyed me warily for several moments, then
released a long breath. "Not much to tell. I was framed"
He hesitated, then hurried to add, "Look, I know a lot of
cons claim that, but I was"
    Suppressing my skepticism, I said, "Go on"
    "Well, it was like this. Hastings learned that Lorenethat's his wife-that Lorene and me were having an affair.
He didn't do nothing about it. Then several months later,
he jumped me at the Double Eagle-that's a bar on the
south side of Austin-but I beat him to the punch. Two
days later, I was fired. I blew up. I grabbed my gun and
threatened him. But I didn't kill him. I wanted to. Oh, how
I wanted to" He paused, then added wryly, "But he wasn't
worth the price I'd have to pay for killing him, so I left
him in his office. I was standing in front of the elevator
when I heard the shots"
    "Then what?"
    "I was scared. When the doors opened, I stepped into
the elevator and left" He paused, studying me.
    "Did anyone see you go into his office?"

    "Some secretary. She saw me go in, but it wasn't his
office. It was in the board room of his building"
    `Building?"
    "Yeah. Hastings' Real Estate. Ten stories. The boardroom is on the top floor."
    "What about when you left? She must have seen you
leave the boardroom"
    With a rueful grin, he shook his head, "Just my luck,
she wasn't at her desk"
    "Danny said something about a tape proving you didn't
kill Hastings"
    He nodded. "That's what I was told. About two weeks
after I was arrested, some guy named Red went to my
Uncle Liam and claimed he had a tape showing a Chink
gunning down Hastings after I left the room. For ten thousand, we could have it. My uncle said the guy claimed the
tape showed the killer's face"
    "Where did this Red get the tape?"
    "He said it came from the security camera. My uncle
planned to get the money from the bank."
    "And?"
    "And the guy didn't show up where they were supposed
to meet"
    I frowned, "Your uncle-did he see the tape?"
    'No"
    Bobby displayed none of the giveaway traits of a liar.
He looked me straight in the eye and didn't hesitate with
his story. Either he was telling the truth, or he was an
accomplished actor delivering well-rehearsed lines. I had
a