First Offense

Начало книги

Malcolm Rainey was released from prison on a morning in May when thick clouds drifted low and slow and there was a humid smell of earth and growth in the prison town. He had been permitted to phone his wife the evening before his release. There had been people in the office when he had phoned, and so he had tried to keep his voice level and factual, but Mary had been under no such restraint. She had tried to laugh at herself in the midst of tears, saying in a shaking voice, “I wasn’t going to... be like this. I’ll be there, darling. I’ll be there.”

The assistant warden had said, “You’ll be reporting to Laurts. He’s one of the best. He won’t be on your back. And it’s only for eighteen months.”

Rainey had thanked him.

“I’m glad you adjusted the way you did, Rainey. What I said five years ago still goes. Don’t work up a sweat. Let the ball bounce. Canelli was doing his job. I damn near believe your story. Suppose it’s true. Should Canelli believe it? The jolt for armed robbery, even on a first offense, is stiff. It has to be. Don’t go out with a con psychology. Canelli was a rookie. He was nervous. You had a gun in your hand, and he shot you.”

Читать дальше →