Love Me and Die Read online

  Healy said, “There’s one thing she overlooked—that while she was busy having Lerdo sabotage those refrigerator trucks, I was buying back control of the company from those San Francisco loan sharks.”

  Bonita said suddenly, “Chester, I’m sick of worrying about who controls what part of the company. Why don’t we just settle the whole affair and make everything community property?”

  Healy turned my way and dropped one eyelid in a lascivious wink. I got up and signaled to the redhead. As we tiptoed out, I heard Bonita murmur in an awed voice, “Sometimes seven times a week, Carlotta said!”

  • • •

  The redhead drove the Mercedes into downtown Ramiera. I was yawning again. She said suddenly, “They made you feel kind of romantic there at the last, didn’t they, Jojo?”

  I couldn’t answer her. I was too busy yawning.

  She glared at me and swung the car to the curb in front of a brightly lighted all night grocery. “Oh, no, not again!” she exclaimed.

  Before I could ask her what she was talking about, she was out of the car and trotting briskly into the grocery store. She came back carrying a paper sack. She plunked it into my lap. It was heavy.

  She said, “There! And eat every one. I’m not going to spend another night in that lovely motel room listening to you complain about how tired you are.”

  I opened the sack and pulled out a wide, squat jar. The label read: GUARANTEED BEST QUALITY OYSTERS.

  LOUIS TRIMBLE is a native of Seattle, which accounts for the Pacific Northwest locale of many of his best mystery novels (as THE DUCHESS OF SKID ROW). On the other hand, he likes to travel, and has resided in past years in Southern California and its neighboring Western states (which shows up in LOVE ME AND DIE). A married man, he has a daughter, three degrees, and a post on the faculty of a great college.

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  Copyright © 1960 by Louis Trimble.

  Copyright © renewed 1988 by Louis Trimble.

  Published by arrangement with Golden West Literary Agency.

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction.

  Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  eISBN 10: 1-4405-4231-7

  eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-4231-2

  Cover art © 123RF/Olga Ekaterincheva