crack - 11. bill and william

by nick nelson

part 11 of ?

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ali walked down the street. he did not look up at the tall buildings beside him or at the sky above him. he had nowhere to go and all the time in the world to get there. he had been disappointed by bill smith’s indifference to his new identities, but not surprised. it was the story of his life. he wondered what was he to do with the rest of his day. he decided to do what he did best - annoy somebody. at the park, or at a cafeteria or coffee shop? he looked up at he sky. it looked like it might rain. the 236 cafe was five blocks away, but he had a good chance of finding one or two of his favorite adversaries there. * meanwhile, back at the great western education and entertainment company, bill smith finished the last of his scheduled clients, a soft spoken woman named annabelle armstrong, and waited for detective constantine or some other policeperson to show up and interview him about william wilson. hopefully about william wilson and not about anything else. sergeant giao friday, not detective emperor constantine showed up at two minutes after four o’clock. mister bill smith? that’s me. i am detective friday. here is my i d. bill glanced at the i d to be polite. pleased to meet you. have a seat. i have some questions about your tenant, wiliam wilson. bill sat back in his chair behind his desk. yes, i assumed as much, detective constantine thought i should interview you because i had interviewed wlliam wilson, and he had not. whatever. so that we could be sure that you and william wilson were not the same person. oh, that makes sense. i guess. what do you want to know about wiilliam? for a start, how close are you to him? not close at all. i hardly see him except when he pays his rent every month. which he always pays in person? yes. so he knows your schedule? he knows i usually get home at a certain time. suppose you are not at home? he comes back the next day. he never slips the cash under your door? no. he comes back the next day. i am sorry to begin with might seem trivial questions, but i just want to get clear in my mind what seems a curious situation. i understand. have you dealt with the police very often before? yes, in my job i deal with the police quite often. friday looked around the small office. which was not much bigger than a cubicle. really? and what exactly do you do? to be continued