Dead-Bang (38 page)

“Shell …” she said, her voice like the higher registers of an oboe.

“Yeah?”

She didn't say anything else for a while, just smiled.

I guess it was all the result of a kind of brainwashing by life, an attack upon the noodle by too many confusing stimuli, weariness approaching exhaustion, trauma from trying to choose between Heaven and Hell, the strain of estrangement from her peers and the stress of holding out, maybe even the feeling of being
left
out. Which was O.K. by me.

Regina commenced by kicking her shoes off. Then removing that pink sweater. And, slowly, all the rest. She was really astonishingly lovely. I mean, she
really
was. That is, under circumstances even remotely approaching normal, she would have been a sensual, sexy, and immensely desirable woman.

Naked as a fried egg, she stood a few feet away, facing me, smiling and smiling and smiling.

“There,” she said dramatically. “I did it! You kept after me and after me and after me—”

“I did?”

“—and I did it! Well, you win, Shell.
You win!”

“I do, huh?”

“Yes. You win! Shell, I feel so … free. I feel just
wonderful!”

“Yeah. You look great. You look like you should come in a plain sealed wrapper. But … Regina, there are, in the real world, which is sure where we're at now, sometimes serious and sometimes rather laughable little problems—”

“Shell, I'm really glad. I didn't think I would be, but I am. I can hardly wait!”

“For what?”

“Why, I've
done
it. I've taken my
clothes
off. Here I am! This is what you
wanted
…” The bright smile faded, just a little. “Isn't it?”

“Yeah. Sure. You better believe it.
I
better believe it.”

“Shell—darling—take me!”

“Take you, huh? You mean … yeah, I suppose you do.”

She did.

So it came to pass that, at the very end, Regina Winsome awakened from her sleep, saw the light—and was saved.

Well.…

About the Author

Richard S. Prather (1921–2007) was the author of the world-famous Shell Scott detective series, which has over forty million copies in print in the United States and many millions more in foreign-language editions abroad. There are forty-one volumes in the series, including four collections of short stories and novelettes. In 1986, Prather was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He and his wife, Tina, lived in Sedona, Arizona.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1971 by Richard S. Prather

Cover design by Mauricio Díaz

ISBN: 978-1-4976-5218-7

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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New York, NY 10014

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