— Yes you probably don’t remember our drive in together Mister Bast, I must say I’m greatly relieved to see you up and, what is this you’re doing…
— He’s writing a piece for the unaccompanied cello because all they’ll give him is a crayon, he said he has to finish something before he dies.
— Silly he’s not going to die, now let Mis…
— Well then give him his fifty pencils, how do you know who’s going to die Waddles you give him this drawing paper and one purple crayon all he can write is something for one instrument, give him his fifty sharp pencils he can probably write us a whole concert and bring me some more newspapers…!
— Mister Bast? You may not recall my telling you about Mrs Angel, your cousin Stella? She’s still, still somewhat uncommunicative I saw her downtown last evening where I believe I mentioned she might go for observa…
— Before you sit down Cohen reach across him in that night table and just hand me that urinal?
— Why why, yes excuse me Mister Bast no go ahead with what you’re doing just let me, there. Now. About your aunts Mister Bast I’ve been making every effort to learn what became of them, it occurred to me they might even have returned to Indiana? Recalling their devotion to their local newspaper out there fortunately I remembered the name of it and placed an ad urging them to get in touch with us, I’ve also renewed my efforts to reach their attorney out there a Mister Lemp? Their position seems to have assumed particular urgency since…
— Mind putting this back Cohen? careful…! just got the cuff you won’t even notice it when it dries, listen to this one…
— Excuse me Mister Bast if I might borrow that washcloth yes now, yes in looking into the complications implicit in Mister Angel’s present condition and possibly also that of his wife as affecting your aunts’ position with regard to settlement of the estate and attempting to verify their original holding in the family company, I learned that they appear to have had the bulk of their securities in a discretionary account where they have already suffered substantial losses through unsound investment decisions on their part, and since what stock remained was being held by this broker in a street name, in all likelihood it was included in the collateral he put up for very substantial loans he now appears unable to…
— Listen to this here’s a couple of wetbacks one of them got a new Cadillac for five dollars, the other one’s got an eighty foot yacht for ten how do you like that.
— To, I assume you’ve, Mister Bast? I assume you’ve had no word from the, from your father?
— I can help you out on that one Cohen.
— Pardon?
— Is that it? Cohen? with an h? You a lawyer Cohen?
— Why why yes, yes that’s…
— Try this one on tell me if I can sue the city, walking down the street here a chippy came up she said she’d fix me up right there in the doorway for five dollars all I had was a ten, you know what she said? She said she’d go upstairs and get her sister to change it for me I’m not that dumb, I said I’d go up with her, hallway up there black as your hat and wham! That’s what I’m doing here, ruptured spleen three broken ribs a torn…
— Frankly I doubt if you would have any success in attempting to sue the city Mis…
— Duncan Isadore Duncan, maybe you heard of my…
— The name sounds familiar yes but I’m afraid I…
— Just want to get fixed up and get back to Zanesville.
— I see yes I, I can hardly blame you and now, Mister Bast? Yes what was I, Mrs Angel yes, as I assumed the results of the paraffin test proved negative as of course so did the prints when they dusted the weapon an old octagonal barrel twenty-two, a sort of relic of Mister Angel’s boyhood I believe. Of course I had had no doubt that the wound was self inflicted, I don’t know whether you were aware of the growing despondency that had overtaken him lately but for a man of his fiercely independent nature seeing the comp…
— A man in the paper shot himself performed a perfect lobotomy, you read about that one Cohen? Held the gun up to his temple and fired put it down and walked away, the bullet went right through his head performed a perfect lo…
— That’s very interesting Mister Duncan yes but I, I wonder if you would excuse us we have some rather important…
— Just put the gun down and walked away he didn’t even know what he’d done, left him a little simple minded but I guess but that’s better than being…
