Read Yellow Dog Contract for Free Online Page B

thoughtfully and smiled gently. “Oh, I think we’ll be all right,” he had said. Then he had reached into his inside pocket and brought out a letter and unfolded it. He had read the letter silently, nodding to himself in a curiously comfortable, gentle sort of way.
    â€œThis letter,” he had said, “is from my practitioner.” Hundermark was a Christian Scientist.
    â€œHe assures me that the forces of good will overcome the forces of evil.”
    â€œWell,” I’d said, “maybe you’d better see if those forces of good can scratch up another ten thousand dollars.”
    Hundermark had smiled gently again. “Well, yes, I’m sure that they will be able to do that.”
    The forces of good, although I didn’t know it, had been the CIA, of course, and it had promptly come up with the ten thousand, all cash, which I had spent as wisely and well as I knew how. But the forces of evil won by four votes anyway and Hundermark was out of a job and sometimes I wondered if later he had ever discussed the mystery of it all with his practitioner.
    Vullo didn’t want to talk about Hundermark anymore. He wanted to talk about me. “What happened to you after you got fired?”
    â€œI quit,” I said.
    â€œI mean quit.”
    â€œI came down with mononucleosis and got an offer to jump into a senatorial campaign to see whether I could turn it around in the last four weeks. Or maybe three. I did and the guy won and paid me a lot of money and I paid off most of my farm and went to England.”
    â€œWhat did you do in England?”
    â€œI lay down for a long time until the mono went away.”
    â€œThen what?”
    â€œI met my wife.”
    â€œIs she English?”
    â€œNo.”
    Vullo sat there as if he were waiting for me to tell him some more about Ruth, but when I didn’t he gave up and said, “You came back from England when?”
    â€œSixty-six.”
    â€œAnd took on a couple of campaigns, I understand. One for the Senate and one for the House.”
    â€œThat’s right. Both sure losers.”
    â€œBut they didn’t lose.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œAnd you gained quite a reputation.”
    It wasn’t a question so I didn’t say anything.
    â€œBetween 1966 and 1972 you took on thirteen Congressional and Senatorial campaigns and won twelve of them and each of them was what virtually everyone considered to be what you call a sure loser. I’m curious how you did it.”
    â€œI knew where to look.”
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œDead bodies.”
    â€œ Time called you a political gunslinger.”
    â€œ Time still gets a little vivid.”
    â€œAnd sometimes you hired Murfin and Quane.”
    â€œThat’s right.”
    â€œWhat do you really think of those two?”
    I thought about it. “I’d hire them again should the occasion arise, which it won’t.”
    Vullo went back to work on his fingernails again. After a moment or two he stopped gnawing at them, looked up at me, and said, “I’ll make you a proposition.”
    I nodded. There was no reason to say anything.
    â€œTwo weeks,” he said. “That’s all. I want you to spend two weeks on Arch Mix and then come up with a report on why you think he disappeared. Not why he disappeared, but why you think he did.” Vullo came down hard on the you. He was watching me carefully to see how I was taking it. I tried to have no expression at all.
    â€œFor your two weeks’ work,” he went on, “I’ll pay you—” He paused. I decided that he was something of an actor. “Ten thousand dollars.”
    I had always wondered what my price was. Apparently it was ten thousand dollars for two weeks’ work because I said, “All right,” and then started planning how Ruth and I were going to spend quite a bit of money in Dubrovnik. I had heard that it’s really quite pleasant