“I like talkin’ about dough.” His hand shifted up, closing over her breast, it felt firm and full, imprisoned in his hand. She shivered and stiffened. Hienie went on talking, trying to keep his voice normal. “I like hearin’ about guys with plenty of dough. It must be a swell feeling to give a dame like you just what you want without wondering where the dough’s comin’ from to pay for it.” He didn’t know what he was saying, but he knew he had to keep on talking. He could feel her relaxing against his arm. “I’ve been a bum all my life. Maybe you wouldn’t understand what that means.” He shifted his hand, taking the weight of her breast.
She made a little face. “Now you’re being miserable,” she said, her full lips parting a little. Her long slender fingers gripped his wrist and pulled at his hand.
“Let it stay, baby, it feels good.”
She hesitated, keeping her eyes turned away from him, then her hand fell away. Hienie said thickly: “You’re a swell kid. Gee! You’re a swell kid!”
She moved her long legs restlessly. “You haven’t told me who you are,” she said. There was no interest in her voice.
Hienie reached down and put his hand under her knees. “I’ll show you how to be comfortable,” he said, swinging her legs off the ground, so that she was half sitting, half lying across his knees. He expected some resistance, but she lay limply, her hand hanging by her side. He thought, “It’s a push over.” “Ain’t this comfortable?” he said, leaning over her. Her head fell back, her eyes closed, she murmured something that he couldn’t hear. He pulled her to him roughly and mashed his mouth down on hers. Her mouth opened and he could feel her breath in his throat. Her arms encircled his neck and she began to moan softly.
His free hand slid over her silken knee, touched warm, smooth flesh, and then she suddenly gripped him, forcing her mouth against his until it hurt. He found it was difficult to breathe and he tried to move his head away, but she moved with him. He jerked his hand from her, trying to push her off, the blood drumming in his head. Her arms were encircling his throat like steel bands, cutting the air from his lungs. In a sudden panic, he began fighting, but he couldn’t shift her. Then lights began to flash before his eyes, and he was conscious that she was strangling him, and he couldn’t do anything about it.
Long after midnight, Joe and a State trooper found them. The State trooper stopped his car close to the ambulance and they climbed out.
“It looks like he’s beaten it,” Joe said, looking into the cab. He climbed in and glanced through the aperture. Then he said, “For God’s sake,” and almost threw himself out of the cab.
The State trooper looked at him. “What’s up?” he asked.